It couldn’t have been any better if you had been in the middle of a confectionary. Could it be that the man from Mobridge, S.D. possibly had an exacta up his sleeve? It was a one-two punch that landed as hard as an unforgiving right hand from Julian “The Hawk” Jackson. Candy Man Rocket and Nova Rags, both conditioned by hall of fame trainer Bill Mott, would finish a length apart in the 41st running of the Grade Three Sam F. Davis Stakes Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs.
Candy Man Rocket was ridden to victory under the confident handling of jockey Junior Alvarado.
“It was a beautiful trip, it helps when you have fast horses and good ones,” said Alvarado, who rode Flat Out to victory for Mott in the 2013 Grade One Cigar Mile Handicap. “He broke out of there and stepped in right where he wanted to be. I was just a passenger. At the 3/8th’s pole, he started picking it up, he started running his way out. I knew what I had under me. “The two Mott horses were saddled by his son, University of Kentucky graduate Riley Mott, who learned a thing or two about patience from working in his father’s barn.
Candy Man Rocket is owned by Frank Fletcher Racing Operations, Inc.’s Frank Fletcher, who earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas, and is a member of the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame. It was the lightly raced son of Candy Ride’s third lifetime start, having broken his maiden his second time out last month at Gulfstream under John Velazquez, who opted to ride Known Agenda in the Sam F. Davis. It was the second graded stakes win for Alvarado on the day, who also captured the Tampa Bay Stakes (Gr. 3) earlier on the card. “I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to ride a lot of good horses for a lot of good trainers,” said Alvarado, who rode his first winner Esteivana in Dec. 2005, in his native Venezuela. Nova Rags had won the listed Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Jan. 16.
Story and Photo: Ben Baugh
