Domestic Product ahead of his determined victory in the Tampa Bay Derby (Ben Baugh)
Blue Sparkle, Waskeisu, Skippylongstocking and Full Nelson Win Stakes on Star-Studded Card
By Ben Baugh
OLDSMAR, Fla.— A toteboard delay, a race without wagering and payouts to a stakes race waiting resolution, were an unexpected part of Saturday’s Tampa Bay Downs’ Festival Day.
And although the unexpected played a role in a day that featured five stakes races, four of them graded, the 44th running of the Lambholm South, $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby (Gr. 3), run at a mile-and-a-sixteenth, more than made up for what were unusual circumstances.
Klaravich Stable’s Domestic Product’s margin of victory was a neck over Sam F. Davis winner No More Time and it was a head back to Grand Mo the First. Seth Klarman, the founder of the Baupost Company and author of Margin of Safety, would be proud of the effort given Saturday by the Chad Brown charge. Regular rider Tyler Gaffalione piloted the son of Practical Joke to victory.
The lightly raced colt demonstrated his promise in his previous start, a strong second in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park earlier this winter.
“This horse was always a horse that we thought a lot about as a baby, he just took a little while to figure it out,” said Brown. “He threw some races in there, had some excuses, the first time out, he was a bit green at Saratoga, he liked to take back. In the Remsen, he caught a sloppy track, and that’s really not for him.”
Saturday’s effort suggests that bigger things are on the horizon for a colt who is maturing and evolving at the right time.
“Now that he’s run a couple on dry race tracks at a mile-and-a-sixteenth, he’s really finished well in the slow paces, I think stretching out a little farther, this horse is going to be fine,” said Brown. “I don’t see any problem with this distance for a mile-and-a-quarter for this guy. It’s going to have to be every round of these preps, are they good enough? Is he fast enough to win? And not just run the race. I want to try to get these horses ready to win, and right now, he’s on his way.”
Domestic Product is learning as he goes, overcoming adversity at the start of the Holy Bull, and he overcame some bumping in the stretch Saturday, but not letting it get in the way of the task at hand.
“I think he took a huge step forward, last time we took the blinkers off, he was a little aggressive that day (during the Holy Bull), still learning, took an inside trip, when I popped him out he was pretty green,” said Gaffalione. “Today, he was much more professional, even with the delay, he handled everything great, and got out on the track very relaxed, very calm and went in the gate.”
The colt seemed to find his stride while stalking No More Time, but it was hardly a windfall for his connections who have believed in his ability.
“Throughout the race he settled great behind Javier, I got an ideal trip, followed him the whole way, he got a little green in the stretch, and still hasn’t figured out exactly what he’s doing yet, but there’s a lot of potential, and he’s continuing to make strides moving forward,” said Gaffalione. “We’re very excited.”
George Strawbridge’s Augustin Stable and Catherine Parke’s Sparkle Blue, glistened like a diamond in the 26th edition of the mile-and-a-sixteenth Hillsborough Stakes (Gr. 2) contested on the turf. The 5-year-old daughter of Hard Spun scored a half-length victory over Aspen Grove, under the confident handling of jockey Jorge Ruiz. Graham Motion conditions the now four-time stakes winner. The $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes was Sparkle Blue’s second graded stakes victory, with the first coming in the fall of 2022 at Keeneland, the Rubicon Valley View Stakes (Gr. 3).
“She’s been knocking on the door in one of these races,” said Motion. “She’s very consistent. I trained most of the family, and they’re a hard knocking family, and they just get better as they get older, and she showed that today. Jorge gave her a great ride.”
Sparkle Blue is no stranger to Tampa Bay Downs, having finished a strong third in the Grade Three Endeavor Stakes on Feb. 3.
“Having a race under her belt (at Tampa this winter), and ending up on the lead, Jorgie kind of let her do her thing, and she did it pretty easily I think in the end,” said Motion.
The conditioner from Cambridge, England, worked as an assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard, whose influence continues to resonate through Herringswell Stable.
“I think about him most days, it’s races like these that he pointed horses toward,” said Motion. “It’s a little different now that he’s gone. I think about him a lot. This is what we did, and this is what we did when I worked for him. We won races like this. I’ve trained a lot of this family and that’s what Jonathan did. There are not too many days that go by that I don’t think of him.”
The lightly raced Waskesiu was making her second graded stakes start in the 41st running of the $200,000, Grade 3 Florida Oaks, at a mile-and-sixteenth on the turf.
Campaigned by Chiefswood Stable Limited and conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, Junior Alvarado piloted the daughter of the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah to victory.
“I had a great trip today, I got to save ground around the first turn, I got to save ground around the second turn, and when I took her out, she was there for me,” said Alvarado. “She came out with a good run and that’s all I could ask for. She was full of run when we turned for home.”
Skippylongstocking added to his growing resume with his fifth graded stakes victory, by winning consecutive runnings of the Grade 3 $100,000 Ultra Michelob Challenger Stakes at a mile-and-sixteenth. Daniel Alonso campaigns the 5-year-old son of Exaggerator. Saffie Joseph Jr. trains Skippylongstocking, and the bay horse was ridden to a two-and-a-half length victory by Tyler Gaffalione.
The multiple graded stakes winner was eased in his last race, the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes at Gulfstream Park earlier this winter, but Saturday’s performance indicated that he’s back to his former self, with his next start possibly coming in a state that boasts the Ouachita Mountains.
“It was a good performance, it was similar to last year, last year, he stalked the pace and drew off to win by two or three lengths, and I think the margin was the same today,” said Joseph Jr., in a phone interview Saturday afternoon. “It was a pretty similar performance to last year, today, but the most important thing was to get him back on track. He’ll more than likely go to the Oaklawn Handicap.”
Full Nelson wrestled the lead away from Rose Collector entering the stretch, to win the $75,000 Columbia Stakes, contested at a mile on the turf, by a one and three-quarter length margin. Samy Camacho rode the winner, Jose Fransisco D’Angelo conditioned the victor, and the first time stakes winner is owned by Gold Square LLC, Joseph Hardoon and the trainer.
The son of Lord Nelson is a horse for the course, having now won three consecutive starts at the Oldsmar oval, and four straight overall.
“He’s a nice horse,” said D’Angelo. “I really like him. He’s still improving. I was looking for an easier stake at Gulfstream, but when we saw the field shape up (in the Columbia) and it was a solid field, he ran very well. I’m very proud of him. I believe he’s going to continue to hold his own against the competition in those stakes races that have deep and talented fields.”
