OLDSMAR, Fla. (March 14, 2009) A crowd of 10,420 gathered at the Oldsmar oval today to witness Musket Man capture the 29th running of the Grade III $300,000 Tampa Bay Derby, defeating the remaining field of nine to record his first graded stakes win. Musket Man is a Kentucky-bred son of Yonaguska who is conditioned by Derek Ryan for owner Eric Fein’s unprecedented second Tampa Bay Derby win.
Musket Man stalked the pace set by eventual second-place finisher Join in the Dance throughout the opening quarters, moving to the lead in final strides to win by a neck. Supplemental entry Justdontcallmejeri rounded out the trifecta, which yielded $10,232.20.
Winning owner Eric Fein said of his back-to-back Tampa Bay Derby victories, “It’s unbelievable. I probably buy five two-year-olds a year at mediocre prices, and just hope for the best and now I have two wins in a row in the Tampa Bay Derby.” Fein continued, “The last race was terribly disappointing to us. His first three races were unbelievable since I bought him as a two-year-old and we had high hopes for him. It was his first time around two turns and after that first turn I guess he thought his race was over. The trainer’s done an unbelievable job with him and we’ve got the leading rider at Tampa Bay Downs and the situation has worked out perfectly. When he was coming up the stretch, I thought the same thing I thought last year with Big Truck – ‘Just get there, kid’ – and he did. I believe he’s going to have one more race, and then we’ll have to make a really serious decision about the Kentucky Derby this year. Last year, I think the Derby fever got to me; I’m over that, and if he doesn’t fit in there he won’t go. But that will be up to the trainer.” Fein said that he has solid plans for his own future: “What am I going to do tonight? Party! We had a huge party last year and we’ll have an even bigger one tonight. Everyone’s invited.”
Trainer Derek Ryan said of Musket Man’s future, “We’ll take him back to the barn and see how he comes out. He’s nominated for the Illinois Derby at Hawthorne, but the owners are all from New York, so we might have to look at the Wood (Memorial), too. We just have to see how he comes out of it and go from there. Daniel (Centeno) had been working him in the mornings, and he never worked as well for anyone else. The last two times, when Daniel pulled up he told me, ‘This horse works like a freak for me.’ Usually when he works, when he hits the eighth pole he waits; I told Daniel that he had to get into him to teach him that he has to go on. I’ll definitely keep Danny on him now.”
Winning jockey Daniel Centeno said of Musket Man’s win, “This was my first grade three winner and I am really happy for myself and for Mr. Ryan, the trainer who gave me this chance. They told me this guy tends to be a little lazy and to stay after him when I set him down. I took him for a long gallop in the warm-up to let him know he had to run a big one today and he sure responded. I got in behind a bunch of horses early and he didn't like it but I was able to ease him out behind them getting to the turn. We still had a lot to do getting into the stretch and I thought, ‘You better not get lazy now.’ I went after him and let him know I wanted his run and he changed leads in mid stretch and just sort of took off for me. He sure wasn't lazy at the end.”
Jamie Lopez, who finished fifth on Sam F. Davis winner General Quarters, said of his trip, “We had the best trip in the last one and everything set up perfect. But today nothing went right: we got shuffled around in the run to the first turn; and every time I tried to move up we got stuck again. He was still trying every time I asked but we never had a chance. He still is a nice colt and came back all right and for him and me there will be another day. "
The Grade III $200,000 Florida Oaks for three-year-old fillies was captured by Alan Brodky’s Don’t Forget Gil, who ran the 1 1/16 main track event in the stakes record-setting time of 1:43.65, besting the old track record of 1:44.38. The Mark Hennig trainee was ridden to victory by Rajiv Maragh, with Ameribelle finishing second and Rock Candy in third.
Alan Brodsky, owner of Don’t Forget Gil, said of his filly’s win, “I was (pretty confident coming into the Florida Oaks.) The last time I came to a race from a long distance and won was on September 7, 1991, so the trainer wasn’t too interested in having me here! This horse is something special. She’s as good a horse as I’ve ever had, and I’m very happy with her. It’s been a really enjoyable day.” While Brodsky says he’d like to see how his filly emerges from the race before committing to any future starts, he has big plans for Don’t Forget Gil. “We’re going to look around and do what’s best for her. Certainly the Kentucky Oaks is a possibility. You know, from the Florida Oaks to the Kentucky Oaks - we’ll go state by state.”
Winning jockey Rajiv Maragh said of Don’t Forget Gil’s victory, “I am two-for-two in stakes on this filly now and I was very glad for the chance to ride her again. I watched her last race and knew she would be solid again today. She had a problem in the gate that day, got shuffled back and was still closing fastest at the end. She's a New York Bred but I think there will be other opportunities open to her as well. Was that really a stakes record? She was going so easily at the end; for sure she had lots left.”
Carlos Montalvo, who rode third-place finisher and Suncoast Stakes and Gasparilla Stakes winner Rock Candy, said of his mount’s loss, “We got the perfect trip last time and beat this winner. Today we had some problems early and I had to send her up wide getting to the turn. She was still trying hard but the top two just got the jump on us today when it counted.”
The Grade III $175,000 Hillsborough Stakes was won by Backseat Rhythm for owner Paul Pompa, Jr. and trainer Patrick Reynolds with Eibar Coa aboard. The four-year-old El Corredor filly defeated front-running Elusive Lady by a nose to give Backseat Rhythm her fifth career win from 15 starts.
Trainer Patrick Reynolds was on hand to watch his trainee capture the Grade III Hillsborough Stakes. He said that he knew he’d won the race, “When they made it official. It was a tough trip. He (Coa) rode her in one race before, and I told him that you don’t have to bury her and hope for a speed duel. She’ll fire from anywhere. When I saw him kind of wrangle her back and drop her in, I knew if there was anything wrong with the pace scenario it could turn into a desperate situation. The good ones overcome that and the good ones make us look good. She helped him out in the drive and came through an impossible hole in the rail and got up in the last couple of jumps. She showed her class; she’s a Grade I mare in a Grade III race, and now we’ll go from here. I think bigger and better things are on the way. If she had a clean trip, she’d probably dominate, but she had a rough trip, and (jockey Eibar Coa) hung in there and she’s the real deal, and UI want to say thanks to Tampa Bay and thanks to the owner, Paul Pompa. He’s been great to me, and he’s not feeling too well, so I hope this makes you feel a little better, Paul.”
Backseat Rhythm’s pilot Eibar Coa said, “I was really happy the way the race set up for us early. She relaxed very nicely but was in touch with the field. I did get a little worried and didn't like my position being inside going into the turn; the leaders were getting away with a slow run and I was worried I might get outrun by them late. Heading into the stretch there was no room but I had no choice I just had to wait; and lucky for me the horse on the lead started to drift out a bit and gave me some room to run in the last few yards and she just blew through there.”
Joe Bravo, who was second by a nose on Elusive Lady, commented, “She got to the lead real easy and there wasn't any pressure until getting into the stretch. You know, I thought we would win it. She just came out a little late maybe tiring and Coa was through there. I still thought we might have caught the photo. A tough beat!”
The $75,000 Turf Dash was captured by Castles in the Sky, whose winning connections of trainer Jamie Ness, owner Balkrisna Sukharan and jockey Jamie Ness won the race last year with Lookinforthesecret; Lookinforthesecret and Centeno also won the Dash in 2007 while Ness was the gelding’s owner and trainer. Castles in the Sky finished the five furlong Turf Dash in the stakes record time of :55.75; Cooper County was second and Our Friend Harvey was third.
Leading Tampa Bay Downs rider Daniel Centeno had the call to ride Castles in the Sky and commented, “Jamie told me in the last race to see if he could stay off the pace and still put in a run. He won that one so we tried it again today; we had to! They we going so fast up front. But we were able to save all the ground and he put in a strong run in the turn and we got by the leaders. He was getting tired but he was still trying. I think that last race really helped him today.”
The thirteen race card produced a co-mingled all-source Festival Day handle in excess of $9,165,514; it was the fourth largest handle in Tampa Bay Downs’ history. Vice President and General Manager Peter Berube commented, “I’m very satisfied with the day overall considering the added competition of the Louisiana Derby card. The softer numbers were to be expected. The strong on-track handle was a reflection of the support the community brings to the track. Overall, the day went very well.”
Racing resumes tomorrow, March 16 with an eleven race card; there is a Pick 6 carryover of $3,292.04. The Silks Poker Room is open daily from 12:30 PM through 12:30 AM, and The Downs Golf Practice Facility is open on Mondays from 10:00 AM through 10:00 PM and on Tuesdays through Sundays from 8:30 AM through 10:00 PM.