Tacitus Sets Stakes Record in Tampa Bay Derby
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Photo: Joe DiOrio
Tacitus wins the Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs
Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott clearly is not a man in a hurry.
A mere 22 years after his first victory in Tampa Bay Downs' biggest race, Mott grabbed another Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2) triumph. And he did it with Tacitus, a colt with only two starts as a 2-year-old and one who had not raced since his maiden victory Nov. 10 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Juddmonte Farms' homebred son of Tapit out of multiple grade 1 winner Close Hatches took his first strides on the Road to the Kentucky Derby in impressive fashion Saturday when he closed from far back under jockey Jose Ortiz. Tacitus ran the 1 1/16 miles in a stakes-record 1:41.90, eclipsing the 1:42.36 mark set by Tapwrit in 2017.
"He's been a big, growthy colt all along, and when we were breezing him in the middle of the summer, he was just a big, laid-back horse. We didn't know what we had until we got into the fall," Mott said after Tacitus got through late on the rail and powered to a 1 1/4-length victory over Outshine. Pasco Stakes victor Win Win Win, the 7-5 favorite in an 11-horse field, finished third, with pacesetter Zenden holding on for fourth.
Sent off at odds of 8-1, Tacitus paid $19.80 to win as the fifth betting choice in the field.
Total wagering handle on Saturday's 12-race card was $13,956,020, the second-highest amount in Tampa Bay Downs history.
In the feature race on the card, Ortiz managed to find the inside early from post 10 and rated Tacitus midpack up the backstretch while Zenden led Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) winner Well Defined and the others through taxing fractions.
"He broke very well and gave me a lot of choices by the first turn," Ortiz said. "When (Dunph) went out, I decided to go in and follow (Admire) because I thought he had a good chance to win.
"I took a lot (of dirt), but the dirt doesn't stick as much here as some other tracks, so I think it was good for my horse. He's a little green still, but we got a rail trip and it opened up for us."
A few anxious moments followed, with Outshine and Joel Rosario still looming as a threat, but Ortiz re-engaged the winner.
"He's a big horse, and when he made the lead, he didn't keep going; he kind of waited a little bit," the jockey said. "He does everything so easy, and I don't know if he's given me 100% yet (in his three races). I don't think so."
Ortiz won the Tampa Bay Derby for the second time, adding to his 2017 score on Tapwrit. Mott won the race in 1997 with Zede.
"I've been waiting a long time," Mott said with a big grin.
"We've always liked this horse and thought he could be a horse that would be on the (Kentucky) Derby trail," the trainer continued. "I liked him a lot better today at the three-eighths pole than I did at the five-eighths pole, because it looked like when he was trying to get between horses, I couldn't tell if he was maybe fighting with the racetrack.
"He was climbing a little bit, but once he got through between those horses, he really got some confidence and got some momentum. Jose said he actually finished with something left. He got to the lead and maybe started to dog it a little bit, but I thought it was a very good race and a very good education for him."
Tacitus earned 50 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and now ranks fourth on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.
Bred in Kentucky, Tacitus is the first foal out of five-time grade 1 winner Close Hatches, who was campaigned by Mott for Juddmonte. The daughter of First Defence has a 2-year-old filly by Malibu Moon named Atheer, a yearling colt by Tapit , and a Curlin colt born Feb. 21.
Flameaway Turns Back Clock in Challenger
The Challenger Stakes was a case of déjà vu all over again for 4-year-old Flameaway, who rallied in the stretch after losing the lead to Pelican Stakes winner Killybegs Captain to post a half-length victory. The time was a sizzling 1:41.89 for the 1 1/16-mile test, .14 seconds off the stakes and track record.
Ortiz rode Flameaway for owner John Oxley and trainer Mark Casse.
Although it was the first victory for Flameaway since last year's Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3), the Scat Daddy colt finished second in three grade 2 events as a 3-year-old: the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, and the Jim Dandy Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets.
"Somebody was saying this reminded them of the Sam F. Davis (when Flameaway defeated eventual grade 1 winner Catholic Boy by a half-length), and we've said all along he's as game as he can be," Casse said. "We've had some issues with him; he actually cracked a rib when we ran him at Parx (in the grade 3 Smarty Jones Stakes in August), so we gave him a break, and he has come back good and strong."
Ortiz said the pre-race strategy was to track Killybegs Captain and Jay's Way early, but Flameaway wanted the lead from post 1 and Ortiz let him go.
"We broke really well and nobody challenged me until the backside, so I let him be there. I think his heart is way bigger when he's on the lead," Ortiz said.
The 5-year-old Killybegs Captain, under Samy Camacho, took the lead on the turn for home, but Ortiz got to scrubbing and Flameaway responded in a similar manner to last year's Sam F. Davis score.
"I knew (Killybegs Captain) has always been a sprinter, so I thought from the eighth-mile pole to the wire I was going to have a little more than him," Ortiz said.
Flameaway was bred in Ontario by Phoenix Rising Farms out of the Fusaichi Pegasus mare Vulcan Rose and was a $400,000 purchase by Oxley in 2016 from Taylor Made Sales Agency's consignment to The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's select yearling sale in New York. His record now stands at 6-3-1 from 15 starts, with earnings of $909,834.
Video: Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2)