A prep for the Tampa Bay Derby (G3), the race will take place this Saturday and features several promising names among its confirmed entries
TAMPA, Florida (Special para Turf Diario).- The road to the U.S. Triple Crown will make a new stop this Saturday with the Sam F. Davis Stakes (L), to be run over 1,700 meters on dirt, offering a purse of $250,000. A prep for the even more prestigious Tampa Bay Derby (G3), this race will distribute Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying points to the top five finishers, with points allocated as follows: 20-10-6-4-2.
Ten horses are confirmed for the starting gates of the Sam F. Davis, which held its first edition in 1981 but will lose its G3 status in 2025. Looking back at its history, it has yet to produce a Derby winner.
The morning-line favorite for this edition is Owen Almighty, trained by Brian Lynch with Irad Ortiz Jr. assigned to ride. A son of Speightstown out of a Bayern mare, he won the Ellis Park Juvenile Stakes (L) at two, before finishing his freshman campaign with a second-place finish in the Iroquois Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs. In his comeback here, he crossed the wire first in the Pasco Stakes (L) but was disqualified to fifth after an incident in the turn.
Owen Almighty is quoted at 2/1, with John Hancock as the 3/1 challenger. Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Flavien Prat, this son of Constitution, co-owned by the China Horse Club and WinStar Farm, made an impressive debut when winning over this very track.
Poster (by Munnings) is another major contender and one of Godolphin's hopes for the first Saturday in May. He remains unbeaten in three starts, with a notable victory in the Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct. Trained by Eoin Harty, he will be ridden by Antonio Gallardo.
Chad Brown will also be represented by Treaty of Rome (Uncle Mo), a colt from Coolmore who secured his first win at Aqueduct and followed up with a second-place finish in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes (L) at Gulfstream Park.
Not far behind the others is Naughty Rascal (Rogueish), who took the Pasco Stakes after Owen Almighty's disqualification but had also won both the Proud Man Stakes (L) and the Armed Forces Stakes (L), both at Gulfstream Park.
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