Records Fall as Win Win Win Prevails at Tampa Bay Downs
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Photo: SV Photography
Win Win Win takes the Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs
Michael Trombetta, the trainer of Live Oak Plantation's homebred Win Win Win, had a helpless feeling Jan. 19 after Gladiator King broke through the gate as the field for the $125,000 Pasco Stakes was being loaded, delaying the start of the Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) prep for 3-year-olds at Tampa Bay Downs.
But a horse with the kind of talent Win Win Win went on to display moments later—when he set a seven-furlong track record—has a way of making his connections feel like they're just along for the ride.
After breaking slowly from post 2, Win Win Win was taken in hand for the first part of the race before jockey Julian Pimentel launched his bid from the outside at the quarter pole. Win Win Win surged past Gladiator King and Overdeliver, speeding to a 7 1/4-length victory in a track- and stakes-record time of 1:20.89.
Overdeliver finished second, followed by Cave Run, War Bridle, and Gladiator King. Jackson and Zenden were late scratches.
Win Win Win improved to 3-for-4, and Trombetta's coy reply of "maybe" when asked whether the horse would be nominated to the Feb. 9 Sam F. Davis Stakes had a definitive air to it.
"We've always liked this guy, and we're very happy with him," Trombetta said. "They left the two inside horses in there while they were chasing the loose horse, and I think he might have fallen asleep in there. He broke flat-footed, but Julian knows him really well. He had a nice little pace to run at (22.10 for the first quarter-mile and 44.52 for the half), and he showed what he can do."
Despite being forced to go wide on the turn, Win Win Win left his four rivals behind in a few quick, powerful strides.
"I didn't panic (at the start) because he did the same thing last time," Pimentel said of Win Win Win's awkward break in a runner-up effort in the Dec. 29 Heft Stakes at Laurel Park. "He's very quick, so I just took my time and let him do his thing.
"I had so much horse, and when I asked him to run, he took off."
The winner's share of $56,000 boosted Win Win Win's earnings to $127,300. The son of Hat Trick—Miss Smarty Pants, by Smarty Jones , broke the stakes and track mark set in 2014 by subsequent grade 2 winner Catalina Red as a 2-year-old (the Pasco was run Dec. 27 that season). El Grande Rojo equaled the old track mark of 1:21.40 the following year.
It was a record-setting Skyway Festival Day at Tampa Bay Downs, where the 3-year-old filly Molto Bella set a stakes record of 1:22.20 for seven furlongs in the $125,000 Gasparilla Stakes and the 5-year-old mare Tapa Tapa Tapa established a new stakes standard of 1:43.27 for 1 1/16 miles in the $50,000 Wayward Lass Stakes.
Molto Bella Shines in Gasparilla
After Molto Bella raced virtually head-and-head with Warm during the early stages of the Gasparilla, through swift fractions of :22.61 and :45.12, it seemed unrealistic for either to sustain that effort throughout the race.
But Molto Bella had other ideas. The daughter of Violence out of grade 1 winner Dr. Zic kept pushing her limits to record a 6 1/2-length victory over Into Trouble, with Another Time finishing third in the 10-horse field.
The winner's time of 1:22.20 broke the former mark of 1:22.41 set by Irish Jasper as a 2-year-old in December 2014. Bred in Kentucky by SF Racing Group, Molto Bella is owned in partnership by the Six Column Stables of Brad Stephens, Randall L. Bloch, Robert T. Manfuso, Fred Merritt, John Seiler, and Stephen Harner. She is trained by Ian Wilkes.
"She broke really good, and she was a little bit aggressive early," said winning jockey Luca Panici. "I tried to relax her, but that didn't work too well, so I let her go by herself and she responded really well. She is a very nice filly with a lot of class and a good brain."
Molto Bella improved to 2-for-6, with two seconds. She finished fourth in her previous start, the Dec. 1 Demoiselle Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack.
"Ian said he wanted to go back to one turn today and see where she takes us," Bloch said. "We may be back for the (Feb. 9) Suncoast Stakes, but we'll let Ian make the call."
Wilkes was at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, with Oldsmar (Fla.) assistant Cesar Morales filling in and excitedly talking to his boss a few minutes after the race.
"She shipped up from Palm Meadows (Training Center in Boynton Beach, Fla.) a few days ago, and I could see she handled this track pretty well," Morales said. "I thought it was pretty amazing the way she kept going."
Tapa Tapa Tapa to Rejoin Graded Ranks
Tapa Tapa Tapa, an easy winner of the 35th edition of the $50,000 Wayward Lass Stakes, might be getting better with age. She rolled past pacesetter Almond Roca inside the three-eighths pole and powered home to a five-length victory from Puerto Rico star Pure Lemon in a stakes-record time of 1:43.27.
Her time bettered the mark set last year by Well Humored, who won the Wayward Lass in 1:43.86 while finishing three-quarters of a length ahead of Tapa Tapa Tapa.
Now 5-for-14 lifetime and 3-for-4 at Tampa Bay, Tapa Tapa Tapa finished third in her previous start, the Dec. 15 Rampart Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park. She is owned by the Beau Ravine operation of her breeder, Patricia Pavlish, and husband Ed Pavlish, who are from Cleveland and attended the race.
"She is kind of a growthy, stretchy, light-framed filly who has gotten better every year, which is why we've taken our time with her," said trainer Timothy Hamm. "We give her a break after every race trying to prolong her career and get her to hold her weight better. She has a lot of ability, and we just have to hold it together."
The daughter of Tapit —Kickin' the Clouds, by Dixieland Band, has plenty of early speed, but jockey Antonio Gallardo was content to keep her within tracking distance of Almond Roca until the far turn. After dispatching Almond Roca, herself a two-time stakes winner at Tampa Bay, Tapa Tapa Tapa kept to her task and was never threatened.
Pure Lemon, who had won her previous five races at Hipodromo Camarero, finished 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Figarella's Queen, with Almond Roca fading to fourth.
"I knew (Almond Roca) has a lot of speed, but I didn't think she could make the distance," Gallardo said. "My filly is doing awesome, and she loves this track. I knew she was miles the best, so I rode her with a lot of confidence. And when I asked her in the second part, she got to running."
Hamm said Gallardo has been working Tapa Tapa Tapa in the mornings and established a strong rapport. Four of her last five workouts produced the fastest time for the distance, including a 1:00 flat five-furlong breeze Jan. 12.
"Tony did a great job. She was running with a loose rein, and he's been working her that way," Hamm said. "She has really been responding well and relaxing, so when I saw the loose rein and a good horse inside us to clock, it looked like a good setup."
Hamm said he intends to return Tapa Tapa Tapa to graded stakes competition, where a victory would increase her value as a broodmare.