Florida-breds relish their day in the sun at Tampa Bay Downs

Treasure King, by Pleasant Acres Stallions’ Treasure Beach (GB), captured the Equistaff Sophomore Turf Stakes. [SV Photography]

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Posted March 30, 2022 | By Michael Compton
Correspondent

Tampa Bay Downs celebrated Florida-breds with the 19^th annual Florida Cup Day program at the Oldsmar, Fla., oval on Sunday, March 27. The stakes-laden card featured six stakes races for Florida-bred runners with purses of $660,000, including a $10,000 Florida Sire Stakes win bonus in each purse that was presented by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association.

King Cab kicked off festivities with an authoritative 4 ¾-length tally in the $110,000 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Sophomore Stakes. The 3-year-old son of Ocala Stud stallion Noble Bird assumed command at the start of the seven-furlong test and dictated proceedings from there. The chestnut gelding maintained a clear advantage through the lane and won as he pleased in a time of 1:22.25 for trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. and owners David Melin, Leon Ellman, and Laurie Plesa.

Bred in the Sunshine State by Ocala Stud, Edward Wiest, and William J. Terrill, King Cab was a $110,000 graduate of last year’s OBS June Sale. He was ridden to the initial stakes victory of his young career by Emisael Jaramillo.

“This horse is very, very fast,” said Jaramillo. “Six furlongs, seven, he’s very strong. When I got to the three-eighths pole, I knew it was over. He’s so easy to ride.”

With the victory, King Cab is now a winner in three of five starts and boasts earnings of $141,940.

“He’s an exceptionally talented horse who things his way,” said Plesa of King Cab who is out of the Trippi mare Alotofappeal. “He didn’t switch leads down the lane, but it didn’t hinder him. That’s the only critique I can say about him. But when he wins like that it doesn’t make any difference.”

Treasure King emerged victorious in the $110,000 Equistaff Sophomore Turf Stakes at 1 1/16 miles to remain undefeated in his first two career starts. Ridden by Javier Castellano, Treasure King settled toward the back of the pack in the turf affair and raced in sixth position in the race’s early stages. He tipped out negotiating the far turn and closed resolutely through the lane to prevail by three-quarters of a length at the wire, stopping the clock in 1:42.19 for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. Live Oak Plantation’s Tapthespeedofsound finished a game second.

Bred in Florida by Patricia Generazio and owned by Mathis Stable LLC, Treasure Beach is a son of Pleasant Acres Stallions’ Treasure Beach (GB) and is out of the Midshipman mare Wave of Glory. Treasure King was purchased for $75,000 by Steve Young, agent, at last year’s OBS June Sale. Treasure King is now an earner of $93,000 and is perfect in two starts.

“I really like this horse,” Castellano said. “He’s by a Galileo horse (Treasure Beach), so I thought he would like the turf. Everything he did, he did the right way. I had a lot of confidence.”

Midnight Stroll ran to her moniker in the $100,000 Stonehedge Farm South Sophomore Fillies Stakes, turning the race into a procession with an impressive front-running victory in the seven-furlong event. With jockey Pablo Morales riding for trainer John Terranova II, Midnight Stroll broke sharply to show the way early. She was roused to maintain her clear advantage in the stretch and rolled to the wire unchallenged to score by 3 ¼ lengths in her stakes debut.

Owned by Gatsas Stables, R.A. Hill Stable, and Steven Schoenfeld, Midnight Stroll was bred in Florida by Dr. Carolin Von Rosenberg, DVM, and was a $225,000 purchase by Tonja Terranova, agent, at the 2020 OBS October Sale. Midnight Stroll is by Kentucky stallion Not This Time out of the Midnight Lute mare Midnight Magic.

“We got her started at Saratoga (last summer) and it took a while to get her going,” related Terranova. “So, we kind of regrouped and brought her down here and stretch her out to break her maiden. We had this race in mind even before then. She has shown a lot of quality and we really like her.”

In one of the more thrilling stretch battles of the day, Drama Chorus led from start to finish to take down the top prize in the $110,000 Grey Goose Turf Classic Stakes. Ridden by Alonso Quinonez, Drama Chorus set all the pace in the 1 1/8-mile turf test and had to dig deep to fend off a late rally from Max K.O. He held that rival at bay late, scoring by a neck at the finish in a final time of 1:48.58.

A homebred for Pete Mattson, Drama Chorus is by Florida-bred Big Drama, winner of the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), and is out of the Scat Daddy mare Missmollybygolly. Drama Chorus is now a winner in five of 21 career starts for trainer Tim Padilla and the 5-year-old gelding has banked $184,722.

“It’s great. Walk the dog early, then he outran some good horses,” Padilla said. “It was perfect. He finished strong and he battled back when (Max K.O.) came to him.”

In one of the more dominant performances on the card, Shifty She controlled the pace throughout the $110,000 Pleasant Acres Stallions Distaff Turf Stakes and crushed her opposition. Piloted by Edwin Gonzalez, Shifty She led early, quickened away from her rivals in the stretch, and won by a widening four lengths in the end.

Owned by Pedigree Partners LLC and trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., Shifty She was bred in the Sunshine State by Chris Pallas and George Klein. A 2016 graded stakes-winning daughter of Pleasant Acres Stallions’ Gone Astray, Shifty She is now an earner of $453,495. Her biggest career victory came in last year’s Noble Damsel Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park in New York.

“She won wire-to-wire and was in front the whole way, so it was a nice performance,” said Joseph, who is considering Grade 1 company for his charge in the future. “Before the owners sent her to us, she had an issue, and they gave her the time off she needed. It was almost two years. She came to us a good filly, and since she’s been with us, we’ve just tried to do as good of a job as the previous trainer. She’s just class.”

Pudding rounded out the Florida Cup Day program by prevailing in the $100,000 NYRABets Sprint Stakes at six furlongs on the dirt. Pudding attended the early pace, forged to the front at the half-mile mark, and dueled to the wire with a stubborn Tap It to Win, ultimately prevailing by a neck at the finish. Pudding stopped the timer in a brisk 1:09.01, just .34 of a second off It’s Me Mom’s stakes and track record. Trainer Elizabeth Doles is also co-owner of the gelding in partnership with Imaginary Stables. Dobles claimed Pudding last July for $25,000 off a victory at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach.

By Two Step Salsa and produced from the Johannesburg mare Jozi’s Turn, Pudding is an earner of $323,840 with a record of 33-9-7-8. Bred by JSL Thoroughbreds, Pudding was a $10,000 graduate of the 2016 OBS August Sale.

“He’s a dream to train,” related Dobles. “He’s one of my favorites. I guess almost every horse I train turns out to be one of my favorites, but he is definitely one of my heart horses.”