Weekend Winners Impress But Only Ocean Knight As Derby Horse

There were no points races last weekend, but a trio of stakes races for three-year-olds featured some familiar names and a new player on the scene, so let’s get to the action:

Ocean Knight continues to shine

The most startling thing about the Sam F Davis Stakes on Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs was the slow early pace. The opening half mile of 48.75 seconds was almost two full seconds slower than the opening half in the Suncoast stakes, a two-turn dirt race for three-year-old fillies run an hour earlier on the card.

Divining Rod—a 28-to-1 longshot getting Lasix for the first time—led after a half mile and proceeded to capitalize on the tactical advantage by finishing a valiant second while five lengths clear of the third-place finisher.

Ocean Knight had to unleash a determined late rally to get this win. According to Trakus, Ocean Knight ran a 24.59-second final quarter, which was faster than his 24.61 first quarter. He also traveled much wider than any of the other horses who finished in the top seven.

A son of Racing Hall of Fame inductee and two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, Ocean Knight was dazzling in the under-tack show at the 2014 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. March two-year-old sale. The March sale is the premier one at OBS, and Ocean Knight ran the outright sales-fastest quarter mile in 20.60 seconds. Here is the video clip of his excellent drill at that sale.

As you might recall, it was the Bob Baffert trained Chitu who delivered the outright sales-fastest quarter mile in 20.60 seconds, at the 2013 OBS March two-year-old sale. Clip here: