Domestic Product Can Give Brown A First Tampa Bay Derby

Trainer Chad Brown has started but three horses in the GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, none of which has finished better than sixth, but in the form of Klaravich Stable's Domestic Product (Practical Joke), he could very well be getting his picture taken Saturday afternoon.

Having won his maiden over nine furlongs at second asking at Aqueduct in late October, the next logical step was the Dec. 2 GII Remsen S., but he caught a rain-affected strip he may not have preferred and faded through the final furlong to finish a well-beaten seventh. As has been well documented, the oft-maligned Remsen has proved productive, with Dornoch (Good Magic) and 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) winning 50-point Derby preps over the last several weeks. The 8-5 morning line second pick, Domestic Product ran on well to finish two lengths behind Hades (Awesome Slew) in the GIII Holy Bull S. Feb. 3.

Morplay Racing's No More Time (Not This Time) is the 7-5 pick on the strength of his 1 1/4-length defeat of the running-on 'TDN Rising Star' Agate Road (Quality Road) when a surprising favorite in the GIII Sam F. Davis S. over course and distance Feb. 10. Javier Castellano takes over at the controls from Paco Lopez on a horse whose speed figures remain very light.

Juxtaposed to Brown is trainer Todd Pletcher, who has won the Tampa Bay Derby no fewer than six times, including his first with Limehouse (Grand Slam) 20 years ago and Tapit Trice (Tapit) last March. Heartened (Street Boss) has not missed the top three in his four trips to the race, two each on turf and dirt. The bay most recently validated a quote of 40 cents on the dollar to break his maiden by a widening 4 1/2 lengths going this track's extended mile Feb. 10, and his 74 Beyer for that effort is not all that far off the 80 earned by No More Time in the Davis.

Florida Oaks A Tasty Appetizer

An intriguing field of 12 sophomore fillies is slated to go to post for Saturday's GIII Florida Oaks, and while Chad Brown is looking for a maiden win in the Derby one race later, his runners have taken the Oaks on three occasions, most recently with Dolce Zel (Fr) (Zelzal {Fr}) in 2022.

Klaravich Stables' Dynamic Pricing (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) is the preferred half of an uncoupled entry. A 170,000gns purchase at Tattersalls October in 2022 by Mike Ryan on behalf of Seth Klarman's operation, the bay filly was up in the nick of time to break her maiden at first asking at Aqueduct Nov. 4.  Dynamic Pricing returned to action at a generous 28-5 in the Feb. 3 GIII Sweetest Chant S. and came with a solid finish to cross the line third, beaten two necks by Life's an Audible (Audible) and the re-opposing Style Points (Oscar Performance).

Austere (Mendelssohn) was a debut winner on the turf at Ellis Park last August before taking out the valuable Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies the following month. Tyler Gaffalione managed to work out an inside trip from a high draw in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Nov. 3, and the dark bay was scarcely disgraced in fifth, beaten two lengths behind Hard to Justify (Justify).

Placed once from two sprint tries over the Saratoga main track, Waskesiu (American Pharoah) improved by several lengths when bounding away to graduate by 4 1/2 lengths at Aqueduct Nov. 18. Made the 9-5 favorite in the Jan. 6 Ginger Brew S., the Chiefswood homebred was a bit wayward out of the gates, then turned in a mostly even effort to be third. She has since worked well up at Payson Park.

Pletcher Ships A Pair In For Beholder Mile

Rare are the California shippers for non-Breeders' Cup events from the barn of Todd Pletcher, but the Hall of Famer is set to be represented by a pair of entrants in Saturday's GI Beholder Mile at Santa Anita.

Commenting that he 'is trying to save racing one horse at a time,' Mike Repole paid $1.4 million to acquire the dual graded-stakes winner Interstatedaydream (Classic Empire) from her previous owner Staton Flurry at Keeneland November just days after winning the Turnback the Alarm S. at Aqueduct. Frankie Dettori takes the ride on the Ontario-bred 5-year-old, while John Velazquez has the mount aboard 'TDN Rising Star' Green Up (Flatter), who–like her stablemate–exits a victory in Aqueduct stakes company, in her case the Nov. 5 Pumpkin Pie S.

Adare Manor (Uncle Mo) is the 5-2 favorite to give her sire back-to-back Beholder Mile winners following A Mo Reay last year. Also kept in training for a 5-year-old campaign, the Michael Lund Petersen colorbearer defeated Desert Dawn (Cupid) for her first elite-level success in the Clement L. Hirsch S. at Del Mar and added this track's GII Zenyatta S. in October before finishing seventh, but not beaten far, in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff.

Arizona-bred Desert Dawn was winless in seven starts last term, including a runner-up effort in the GIII Bayakoa S. at Los Alamitos Dec. 15, but she got her 5-year-old season off on a high note with a one-length defeat of Coffee in Bed (Curlin) in the GIII La Canada S. Jan. 20.

Kinza Rates the Marquee in Santa Ysabel

'TDN Rising Star' Kinza (Carpe Diem) puts her undefeated record on the line against seven others in a renewal of the GIII Santa Ysabel S. that looks competitive on paper.

The $350,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic breezer belied debut odds of 11-2 to romp home by 7 1/2 lengths going six furlongs over this strip Dec. 29 and was made the even-money choice in the GIII Las Virgenes S. Feb. 10. The New York-bred set reasonable fractions beneath Juan Hernandez and was never truly in danger, scoring by two lengths, with She's a Tempest (Connect) another 1 1/2 lengths back in third.

Of the five last-out maiden winners looking to negotiate the hike into stakes company, Ultimate Authority (Practical Joke) shapes with the most promise. She has turned in a pair of cracking efforts around two turns–each good for a 90 Beyer Speed Figure–missing by a head to She's a Tempest in a mile maiden Jan. 5 before defeating Where's My Ring (Twirling Candy) by a half-length over the same distance Feb. 2. The latter also takes her chance here.