Brad Cox hasn’t climbed to the top of the Thoroughbred training profession by misjudging horses. But entering today’s $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, it was fair to ask if Cox was being overly ambitious entering a horse with a single lifetime start, 3-year-old colt John Hancock, in a field that included four stakes winners.
The way John Hancock performed under jockey Flavien Prat, you might almost believe he was trying to answer the doubters.
Despite being pressured almost the entire way by Owen Almighty and Irad Ortiz, Jr., John Hancock summoned an extra measure of resolve late to post a half-length victory. His time of 1:42.27 for the mile-and-a-sixteenth distance is a stakes record, lowering the former mark of 1:42.44 set by Flameaway in 2018.
Flavien Prat rode John Hancock, a son of Constitution-Scribbling Sarah, by Freud bred by WinStar Farm and owned by WinStar Farm and CHC Inc. WinStar has won a record six Sam F. Davis Stakes as an owner, alone or in partnership.
Poster, who concluded his 2-year-old campaign with a victory in the Grade II Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct, rallied from far back to finish third, 2 ¼ lengths behind Owen Almighty and a neck ahead of Camp Hale. The sentimental favorite, Oldsmar trainer Gerald Bennett’s Naughty Rascal, faded to sixth after challenging briefly on the turn for home.
John Hancock earned 20 “Road to the Kentucky Derby” qualifying points with the triumph.
The Sam F. Davis was an exciting wrap to an excellent day of stakes racing in beautiful weather. Two races earlier, trainer Mark Casse’s 3-year-old filly, La Cara, set a stakes record of 1:38.51 with Dylan Davis aboard in her $150,000, mile-and-40-yard Suncoast Stakes tour de force in which she finished 6 ¼ lengths ahead of Her Laugh, who overcame a hop at the start to gain the place. Deloraine finished third and Italian Soiree was fourth.
Earlier on the card, Nutella Fella won the $125,000, 6-furlong Pelican Stakes and Nic’s Style captured the $100,000, 6-furlong Minaret Stakes; more on those races below.
John Hancock’s career debut came on Jan. 8 in a 6-furlong maiden special weight race at Tampa Bay Downs. He won going gate-to-wire in a very good time of 1:09.45, but Cox knew he was taking a chance today.
“It was his first time facing winners, it was the second start of his life, it was his first time going long,” Cox said by telephone after the victory. “It was a lot to ask from a young horse. He took a lot of pressure and stayed on well. I’m very, very impressed with him. He fought off a horse (Owen Almighty) that had multiple starts and was a stakes winner. It was a big, big move forward for him and I’m very proud of the effort.
“We had a race over the track and broke our maiden on it, but we were a little short on seasoning. Once again, his talent showed up and it was a very big effort. This is a nice race to win and setting the new stakes record on top of it is very nice.”
Prat said John Hancock went out faster than he would have liked and he was caught between letting his natural talent take over and endeavoring to save enough for the finish.
“He (Owen Almighty) did get ahead of me at the 1/8 pole,” Prat said. “My horse was pretty aggressive going into the first turn, but he switched off nice on the backside. The both of us made a very good run turning for home, but my horse was very game after we got headed and came back.”
Brian Lynch, the trainer of Owen Almighty, believed his horse didn’t lose much except the race and thinks he can continue on his current path after earning 10 “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points. Owen almighty wore blinkers for the first time.
“He tried, he did give it everything he had,” Lynch said of his horse, who is owned by Flying Dutchmen Breeding and Racing. “He just got beat by a better horse today. We’ll take a deep breath and let the dust settle. I think our horse tried as hard as he can, maybe he’s a little discouraged but I don’t think he’s old enough yet to have worked all that out.
“I’m very happy with the way he ran. We’ll put our heads together with our crew and I’m sure we’ll stay the course. Brad’s horse ran really well and no excuse. He (John Hancock) was very impressive.”
The winner’s share of $120,000 raised John Hancock’s earnings to $138,560. He would obviously be in line to try the Grade III, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby here on March 8 if he comes back well and keeps training forwardly. A narrow betting favorite, John Hancock paid $7 to win.
Just about as impressive as John Hancock was Suncoast Stakes winner La Cara, who earned 20 “Road to the Kentucky Oaks” points with the victory. She lowered Nest’s previous stakes mark, set in 2022, by .79 seconds.
La Cara, who is owned by Tracy Farmer, her breeder, is 3-for-7 including the Grade III Pocahontas Stakes at Churchill Downs in September. Casse said the convincing victory will make him basically forget a puzzling fifth-place finish in the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
“I was disappointed in her at the Breeders’ Cup. I felt going in she had a legitimate chance and she just spun her wheels,” Casse said. “She came back training really well, and our gang at Palm Meadows, Nick Tomlinson and crew, did a great job with her. Her last few works have been really good.
“I was expecting a good effort, but this was beyond my expectations. The Farmers have been so good to us. This is a homebred, and I trained her mom (Cara Caterina), who could not outrun you or I. La Cara is her first foal, but she has a tremendous pedigree, so (the racetrack gene) skipped a generation.”
Davis, who was riding La Cara for the first time, had that look after the race a lot of kids sport after their first time on a Disney ride.
“It was very impressive. I was working with her at Palm Meadows her last few works, and she is a very classy filly,” Davis said. “I just let her decide what she wanted to do – she can come off the pace or be on the lead – and she broke very aggressively and wanted to establish dominance going into the first turn. I was able to go with it and she got very comfortable.
“I asked her around the bend and she picked up very nicely. I took a peek back at the 1/8 pole and no competition, so I was able to take care of her at that point. She is capable of anything and we’ll have Mark decide where she goes to next.”
La Cara, who was sired by 2007 Tampa Bay Derby and Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, paid $9.20 to win as the third betting choice in the eight-horse field.
Before the running of the $125,000 Pelican Stakes, Nutella Fella’s trainer Gary Contessa snuck over to his secret spot on the first floor of the Grandstand to watch his 4-year-old colt tackle six rivals.
The way the race unfolded, Contessa needed extra room to vent his excitement after Nutella Fella surged along the rail to win by a neck from Caramel Chip under jockey Junior Alvarado in a time of 1:09.47 for the 6-furlong distance.
“It looked like he was all dressed up with nowhere to go for a long time,” Contessa said after the dramatic victory. “I liked him being up near the lead early, but when he got behind horses (on the turn for home), I said to myself ‘Oh, bleep, Junior, what are you doing? He’s never going to get through there.’ Then he did.”
After briefly thinking about trying to split horses for the stretch drive, Alvarado instead angled to the rail, finding just enough of an opening to stoke Nutella Fella’s competitive fire. Both Caramel Chip and 18-1 shot Life Is Precious, from the barn of Gerald Bennett, gave everything they had, but it was Nutella Fella who was best at the wire, with Caramel Chip a head in front of Life Is Precious. Dreaming of Kona finished fourth.
Nutella Fella, a Grade I winner as a 2-year-old, paid $3.60 to win as the betting favorite. He improved to 3-for-5 lifetime for owners Nick and Delora Beaver of Bell Gable Stable, who purchased him as a yearling for $12,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
First-place money of $60,000 raised his career earnings to $314,500. Nutella Fella paid $3.60 to win as the betting favorite.
Alvarado said he took Nutella Fella back slightly approaching the turn for home by design. “He’s a horse that usually likes to take a breather, and I think I was closer early than I wanted to be,” Alvarado said. “Right when we turned for home I picked him up again, and I had a lot of horse but I didn’t have room at that point.
“When I found a little hole on the rail, he squeezed through and showed what he is capable of. My horse just helped me get there today.”
Contessa said he is considering taking Nutella Fella to Dubai for the Golden Shaheen on April 5 if he is invited. “If he gets invited, I think I would be likely to train him up to the race,” he said.
In the $100,000 Minaret Stakes for older fillies and mares, 5-year-old mare Dazzling Blue broke alertly from the No. 6 post and seemed to be in control for most of the 6-furlong race, despite sizzling fractions of 21.88 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 44.71 for the half. But Florida-bred 5-year-old Nic’s Style unleashed a rally that had to be seen to be believed, catching Dazzling Blue in the final jump to post a nose victory under Junior Alvarado.
It was the second stakes victory of the meet for the daughter of Uncaptured, who won the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association City of Ocala Florida Sire Stakes on Dec. 14.
Nic’s Style improved to 6-for-7 in her career and first-place money of $62,500 boosted her career earnings to $390,900. She was the betting favorite, paying $3.20 to win.
“I commented to my wife Nicola (during the race) that she wasn’t doing it today,” said owner Stephen Rousseau. “It looked like she was struggling most of the way. But once Junior got her going, I know she has a good kick. But it was pretty close at the wire.
“She really tries hard every time. Hats off to Junior – he works with her a lot in the mornings and knows her very well,” said Rousseau.
The mare’s trainer, Hall of Famer Bill Mott, said there are no plans for her next start.
Nic’s Style’s time of 1:09.16 lowered the stakes record set last year by Chi Town Lady by .13 seconds. The defeat was another heartbreaker for trainer Brad Cox’s Dazzling Blue, who has finished second or third in eight of her 11 starts, three times by a neck or less.
Ruthless Rua finished third and Broken Hearts Bay was fourth.
Alvarado asked Dazzling Blue’s jockey, Flavien Prat, what he thought after Nic’s Style flew past on the outside as they were galloping out. “I thought I got the bob, but I said ‘What do you think, Flavien?’ and he said ‘I can’t tell if you got me or not, but I know you had me past the wire.’ I said ‘I don’t want to know about past the wire,’ and he said ‘I think you got me.’
“The two races she’s run here, she’s been far back early,” Alvarado said. “But when she gets to the 3/8 pole or the quarter pole and she gets into the rhythm and takes hold of the track, she finishes strong. She has such a big heart. She’s the kind of horse anyone would want to own – she’s a horse that knows how to win.”
Trainer Chad Brown sent out three winners today, a week after winning four races, including the Grade III Endeavour Stakes with Saffron Moon and the Grade III Tampa Bay Stakes with Running Bee.
Thoroughbred racing at Tampa Bay Downs continues Sunday with a nine-race card beginning at 12:35 p.m.
