Exotics Plays for the Endeavour Stakes

A deep and well-matched field of 11 fillies and mares will vie in Saturday’s $175,000 Endeavour (G3), one of two graded stakes tilts on the strong Tampa Bay Downs card. The 1 1/16-mile affair on the grass will close out the day of racing, and they might have saved their most competitive event for last. 

Endeavour Wagers

• $1 trifecta box 1,4,5,11 ($24)
• 50-cent trifecta box 1,4,5,11 ($12)
• 10-cent superfecta 5 with 1,4,11 with 1,4,11 with all ($4.80)
• 10-cent superfecta 5 with 1,4,11 with all with 1,4,11 ($4.80)

The William Walden-trained #5 Aussie Girl has not been the most consistent horse in training since arriving in the states, but the chestnut can be very good on her best day and wouldn’t be a surprise in this spot. The six-year-old daughter of Starspangledbanner was a game winner of the Noble Damsel S. at Aqueduct in October, and in her 2025 finale, the mare had an awful voyage and was pulled up early in the very deep Suwanee River S. at Gulfstream Park. 

Aussie Girl is quick from the gate in a field with only one other pace threat on board, and the Irish-bred could secure a fine voyage while saving ground throughout on or near the lead. She has posted four morning drills in advance of her seasonal bow and will have solid turf pilot Ben Curtis in the silks. 

Chad Brown’s #4 Al Jafara lacks the credentials of many in the field, but the lightly raced filly has won two races in succession and gave a fine account of herself at Keeneland in her stateside debut. The Pinatubo four-year-old went last-to-first in blitzing her fellow sophomores in Lexington in April, and she has trained steadily since November in preparation for her return, as well. I won’t be thrilled if the chestnut is a low price in the deep field, but she will be on my tickets, nonetheless. Samy Camacho has the assignment. 

#11 Public Defender was a clear third in the aforementioned Suwanee River in her first run for conditioner Saffie Joseph, and the mare was flattered when the top two out of that tilt came back to finish second and third in the recent Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf (G1) next time out. The five-year-old daughter of Constitution turned a corner in the summer and has been going well ever since, and the mare has every right to improve in her second since moving to this barn, as well. I’m not thrilled that the Kentucky-bred was assigned the widest post in the race, but she has the tactical speed to overcome it with Pablo Morales on board. 

The Mark Casse-trained #1 Candy Quest had the misfortune of knocking heads with some of the top three-year-old turf horses in training in 2025 and comes in fresh for her seasonal bow. The Grade-3 winning daughter of Connect, who finished an even fifth in the Queen Elizabeth II (G1) in her sophomore finale, gets a nice slot on the fence and will be doing her best work in the stretch beneath Sonny Leon.