Good morning race fans! Today, we are treated to another Kentucky Derby prep race that serves the same purpose for the Tampa Bay Derby as well. The 37th Sam F. Davis Stakes will post on 2/11/17 at 4:45 P.M EST. Following last weekend’s upset in the Holy Bull and the the additional points gathered in the Withers and the Robert B. Lewis, the KY Derby leaderboard is looking a little different. A win by McCraken could shoot him into the top 4 on the board.
The Sam F. Davis Stakes race was inaugurated in 1981. It takes place annually at Tampa Bay Downs racetrack in Tampa, FL. The race is for 3 year-old Thoroughbreds. It is a Grade 3 dirt race of 1 and 1/16 miles (8.5 furlongs). The purse is $250,000. The race awards 10-4-2-1 KY Derby points to the top 4 finishers respectively once again, for the first time in a few years. Last year, Destin won. He went on the win the Tampa Bay Derby then finished 6th in the KY Derby before impressing again with a close 2nd place finish in the Belmont Stakes.
Today’s contenders are as follows by post/horse/jockey/trainer/owner/morning-line odds:
- State of Honor/Julien Leparoux/Mark Casse/Conrad Farms/8-1
- King and His Court/Gary Boulanger/Mark E. Casse/Wachtel Stable and Gary Barber/8-1
- Fact Finding/John Velazquez/Todd A. Pletcher/Stonestreet Stables, LLC/9-2
- Chance of Luck/Ronald Dale Allern, Jr./zgerald S Bennett/J J Breven Stable, LLC/15-1
- Six Gun Salute/Pablo Morales/Eoin G. Harty/Casner Racing, LP and Equilite/30-1
- Wild Shot/Robby Albarado/George R. Arnold, II/Calumet Farms/5-1
- Tapwrit/Jose Ortiz/Todd A. Pletcher/Bridlewood Farm, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Robert V. LaPenta/8-1
- McCraken/Brian Joseph Hernandez Jr./Ian R. Wiles/Whitham Thoroughbreds, LLC./2-1
- No Dozing/Daniel Centeno/Arnaud Delacour/Lael Stables/4-1
State of Honor is a Canadian bred horse who raced 6 times at Woodbine in Canada before his last race at Gulfstream in FL. He is sired by To Honor and Serve, whom I met at Gainesway Farm. His dam is State Cup. State of Honor has a record of 1 in 7. His only win came in his fifth start in a maiden, he has placed twice since. His jockey, Leparoux, won the Sam F. Davis on Battle Hardened in 2012. Neither the trainer or owner have won this race thus far.
King and His Court is yet another Canadian bred. He has had all 9 of his career starts at Woodbine. He has won 3 times. King and His Court is the gelded offspring of CourtVision and Pennywhistle. He shares the same trainer as State of Honor while neither his jockey or owner have won the Sam. F. Davis.
Fact Finding is the lovely grey KY colt of The Factor and Sweet Belle. Fact Finding is undefeated in 3 starts. He has won at Saratoga, Keeneland and Gulfstream. His connections are the lucky Sam F. Stakes winning combination of Velazquez and Pletcher. They have won this race together with Bluegrass Cat in 2006, Rule in 2010 and last year with Destin. Fact Finding’s owner, Stonestreet Stables won in 2015 with Ocean Knight.
Chance of Luck is another grey KY boy. He is by Skipshot and Winning Chance. Chance of Luck has won 2 of his 3 races. He has raced at both Laurel Park and twice at Tampa Bay. Will that give him some of the home court advantage feeling? His connections do not have a prior win in the Sam F. Davis.
Six Gun Salute was born to Colonel John and Well Dressed. Bred in KY he has won 1 in 4 starts. The win was his maiden, at Hawthorne. He raced at Tampa Bay his last time out. His team of humans do not have a Sam F. Davis Stakes win in their past.
Wild Shot already has 6 points on the KY Derby Leaderboard. This KY bred colt is the product of Trappe Shot and Ranter. Wild Shot has a 1 in 4 record but the important thing to know is that he has earned his points in 2 KY Derby prep races already. He was 3rd in the Breeders’ Futurity and 2nd in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. His connections are awaiting their first Sam F. Davis Stakes win.
Tapwrit is by no surprise a KY bred grey colt of Tapit. His dam is Appealing Zophie. Tapwrit has a 2 in 3 record. His last 2 starts were wins at Gulfstream. He is trained by Pletcher, whom holds several wins in the Sam F. Davis.
McCraken is the favorite to win. He is another KY bred. He is the son of Ghostzapper and Ivory Empress. McCraken is undefeated in 3 starts and he already has 10 points on the KY Derby Leaderboard after his first place in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. McCraken has won all his races while at Churchill Downs. It would be the first Sam F. Davis win for his team.
No Dozing also holds a spot on the KY Derby Leaderboard. He has 6 points from when he placed 4th in the Breeders’ Futurity and 2nd in the Remsen Stakes. His career has given him a 2 in 4 record. He is also a KY bred horse. Union Rags and Stay Awake are his parents. No Dozing has not raced at Tampa Bay nor anywhere in Florida. His connections have no former Sam F. Davis wins.
I am looking forward to seeing who grabs the points today in the Sam F. Davis Stakes. It will be interesting to see the impact it will have on the March 11th Tampa Bay Derby and the May 6th KY Derby. The Tampa Bay Derby awards 50-20-10-5 KY Derby points to the winners. The Sam F. Davis Stakes is an important race along the road from Davis to Derby. Stay with me as we follow this road and take all kinds of little diversions along the way.
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