Scully: Pick 3 Play at Tampa Bay Downs Saturday

A pair of Grade 3 turf events, the Tampa Bay and Endeavour for fillies and mares, highlight Saturday’s nine-race program at Tampa Bay Downs, and I will incorporate both stakes into a Late Pick 3.

Here is my ticket, along with an analysis of races.

$10 Pick 3 (races 7-9): 4,7 with 9 with 1,3 ($40)

Race 7 - Tampa Bay (G3)

A neck runner-up in the Hollywood Derby (G1) last out, #7 Tom’s Magic (3-1) was flattered when third-placer Test Score came back to win last Saturday’s Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1). And there’s no reason why Tom’s Magic won’t have more to offer as a four-year-old. A maiden and listed turf stakes winner at Fair Grounds last winter, his sophomore campaign was interrupted by layoffs, but he finally got on track during the second half of the season for Michael Stidham, recording a fine win in a Canadian classic on turf prior to the Hollywood Derby. The versatile Justify colt can show speed or rate and is a three-time winner at the distance; I like his chances from just off the pace.

#4 Discreet Dancer (20-1) will also be included at a price. He flashed some potential on turf last spring before being sidelined and after troubled trips in his first two starts back last fall, the four-year-old colt recorded a sneaky third in a deep Gulfstream allowance on Jan. 4. I don’t like the recent efforts by #3 Quatrocento (5-2) and #6 Win for the Money (7-5), fading the top two choices on the morning line in the first leg.

Race 8

An entry-level allowance at seven furlongs, race 8 marks the comeback for #9 Disruptor (6-5), who will make his first start since finishing fifth in last year’s Florida Derby (G1). The Todd Pletcher-trained Gun Runner colt showed an affinity for seven furlongs when breaking his maiden two starts previously, registering a field-best 94 Brisnet Speed rating, winning by 9 1/4 lengths, and Disruptor’s final time was only .06 seconds off stakes-caliber older allowance rivals on the same card. 

Race 9 – Endeavour (G3)

The three-year-old filly turf division was outstanding in 2025; so deep that recent Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G2) winner Destino d’Oro wasn’t among the top four or five fillies in the division at any point. A pair of runners in the Endeavour, #1 Candy Quest (3-1) and #3 Scythian (15-1), competed against the likes of Lush Lips, Laurelin, and Fionn last season, and I will include both in the Pick 3.

Scythian owns plenty of upside and will be a better price. After a smashing win in the 2024 Ms. Grillo (G2), the daughter of Tiz the Law experienced a troubled trip in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), and Bill Mott couldn’t get her back to the races until late last summer. She lost any chance when being sawed off in the stretch of her turf comeback in mid-October and was probably short on fitness in the 1 3/8-mile Jockey Club Oaks (G3) next out, offering a nice move to challenge in upper stretch before weakening late. She hasn’t missed a beat in her morning workouts since, and Scythian figures to relish the cutback to 1 1/16 miles (2-for-3 at distance).