This horse racing preview was reprinted through permission of ScoresandStats.com
The Sam F.
Davis Stakes Highlights Saturday’s Card at Tampa Bay Downs
The 2022
Kentucky Derby Trail heads to Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday for the only major
prep race on this weekend’s horse racing schedule. The featured event on that
live card is the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes for three-year old Thoroughbreds.
With $250,000
in total prize money and Kentucky Derby qualifying points on the line, this
stakes race will cover 1 1/16 miles on the dirt track at Tampa Bay. The early field at Horse Racing Nation has 12
probable contenders taking a shot at winning this year’s event. Breaking down
the current list ahead of the official starting order, the following three
colts jump off the page for my Win-Place-Show bets.
Saturday,
Feb. 12
Sam F. Davis
Stakes – Tampa Bay Downs
Win: Classic
Causeway
This is the
best probable entry in the field on paper with a HRN rating of 5.76. I also
happen to think that the son of Giant’s Causeway will win this race if he runs.
Trainer Brian Lynch has been eyeing the Sam F. Davis for his colt’s thee-year
old debut ever since he placed second in last year’s Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey
Club Stakes at Churchill Downs on Nov. 27.
The
Kentucky-bred colt started his racing career with a victory in a Maiden Special
Weight event at Saratoga in early September. He covered the seven furlongs on
dirt in 1:22.67. He went on to take third in the Grade 1 Breeders’
Futurity at Keeneland on Oct. 9. He
finished behind Rattle N Roll and Double Thunder, who are considered top
contenders on this year’s Kentucky Derby Trail.
Place:
Shipsational
My second
choice for Saturday’s main event posted an impressive run in his last race as a
juvenile to win the ungraded Sleepy Hollow Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 30.
He covered the mile on dirt in 1:38.32. Bred in New York, he has won three of
four events at Belmont and Saratoga. Trainer Edward Barker is more than
interested to see what he can do on this Florida track.
Sired by
Midshipman, a win on Saturday would go a long way towards his Kentucky Derby
aspirations. This will be the first graded event of his young career, but
Shipsational has already proved that he knows how to win. This will also be his
first race over one mile. However, he has shown the late speed to handle the
extra distance.
Show: Golden
Glider
Hopefully,
trainer Mark Casse gives his three-year old Kentucky-bred colt the green light
to run on Saturday. He immediately caught my eye in the probable field with a
recent victory at Tampa Bay in his 2022 debut. Running in a 1 mile 40 yard
Allowance Claimer on Jan. 7, he bested the field with a winning time of
1:41.24. I am excited to see what he can do against a much stronger field in a
graded event.
The son of
Ghostzapper actually started his racing career at Woodbine in Toronto. He won a
1 1/16 miles Maiden Special Weight race at that track on Nov. 27 in his only
event as a juvenile. Golden Glider posted a winning time of 1:45.25 on the
synthetic turf at Woodbine. He comes into this race with a respectable 5.23
rating at HRN.
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