If Echo Lane continues his recent pattern of following a loss with a win, he could capture Sunday’s Turf Classic at Tampa Bay Downs at a nice price. The Turf Classic is one of six $110,000 stakes for registered Florida-breds offered on Florida Cup Day, an event being held for the 22nd time at the Oldsmar, Fla., track.
The Turf Classic drew a competitive 12-horse field, one that includes Forever Souper, who won this race as the 1-2 favorite last year in a seven-horse field.
Echo Lane has won four of his last seven starts since August, when he won a starter allowance at Colonial. One of those losses was a three-length defeat to Deterministic in the Grade 3 Virginia Derby. Another came in a second-level allowance at Gulfstream on March 1, when Echo Lane clipped heels with another runner at the top of the stretch, stayed upright, rallied widest of all, and was beaten just 1 1/4 lengths by Seminole Chief in a solid time of 1:39.36 for 1 1/16 miles. Seminole Chief was scheduled to run in Saturday’s Appleton at Gulfstream Park.
The Turf Classic is run at 1 1/8 miles, the distance at which Echo Lane won that starter allowance at Colonial last summer.
“He doesn’t have the biggest kick, but he grinds,” trainer Rohan Crichton said. “We’re hoping we stay on the turf Sunday and he should be tough in that race.”
There is a chance of rain in the Tampa area Sunday.
On last year’s Florida Cup card, Forever Souper and Crystal Quest, both trained by Mike Trombetta for Live Oak Plantation, won stakes about an hour apart. Forever Souper won this race by 1 3/4 lengths and won five stakes overall last year. He is 3 for 3 against Florida-breds.
Crystal Quest is 2 for 2 against Florida-breds, including a victory in the Sophomore Turf at Tampa last March. He hasn’t been out since finishing fifth in last year’s Hawthorne Derby. Trombetta planned to scratch Crystal Quest out of an allowance Saturday at Gulfstream.
Distaff Turf
Seat At the Table goes for her fourth consecutive victory at the meet for trainer Mark Casse in the $110,000 Distaff Turf at 1 1/16 miles.
A 4-year-old filly by The Factor, Seat At the Table won a $25,000 claiming race at a mile, and a first-level allowance and starter allowance at 1 1/8 miles in her three starts at Tampa this meet. She has won from on or just off the pace.
Her biggest rival may be her Casse-trained stablemate, Dancing N Dixie, who makes her 4-year-old debut after competing in some difficult spots in her last four starts of 2024. She won the Tepin Stakes at Churchill in June and was third in four graded stakes, including the Grade 3 Florida Oaks at Tampa.
Vibrant Lady ships in for Cherie DeVaux. Her lone win from three starts came in her only start on turf a year ago at Gulfstream.
NYRABets Sprint
Saffie Joseph Jr. won the NYRABets Sprint last year with Mish. Gerald Bennett won the 2023 NYRABets Sprint with Magical Warrior. Those two trainers have four of the 10 runners entered in this year’s Sprint at six furlongs.
Joseph sends out Comedy Town and Classify, who finished second and third, respectively, behind Damon’s Mound in the Sunshine Sprint for-Florida breds at Gulfstream on Jan. 18. Comedy Town most recently finished fourth in the Gulfstream Sprint on Feb. 22.
“He ran disappointing last time, but he was too far off the pace,” Joseph said. “Classify is consistent. He doesn’t win a lot, but he always shows up and runs a decent race.”
Bennett sends out Rouki, who won the Turf Dash at 20-1 last out but was an allowance winner on dirt at 10-1 in a starter allowance two starts back. Chrome Ghost hasn’t run since winning a second-level allowance at Tampa on Jan. 11.
Pure Class won the Sophomore Sprint on this card last year. He is coming off a win in a $50,000 claiming race at Gulfstream on March 9.
Cajun Gem, a winner of three straight, and Hurricane Nelson, a five-length allowance winner at Gulfstream on Feb. 5, add depth to the field.
Sophomore Sprint
In Macho Music, Crichton appears to have the horse to beat in the $110,000 Sophomore Sprint for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs.
Macho Music is coming off a runner-up finish behind Gate to Wire in the Swale at Gulfstream on Feb. 1. In his lone race against Florida-breds, Macho Music won a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race by 9 1/2 lengths last August at Gulfstream.
“I thought he ran really well in the Swale,” Crichton said. “He showed he can run with quality horses and I think seven-eighths might be his best trip.”
P Four, coming off a maiden win going 5 1/2 furlongs, and Rip Riding Away, a two-time winner for the meet’s leading trainer, Kathleen O’Connell, are potential upsetters.
Sophomore Fillies
Frida, dropping back to Florida-bred company following two tries in graded stakes, looms as the horse to beat in the $110,000 Sophomore Fillies at seven furlongs on dirt.
Frida, trained by Jose D’Angelo, won a Florida-bred maiden race by 5 3/4 lengths at Gulfstream on Jan. 3 before running fifth in the Grade 3 Forward Gal and fifth in the Grade 2 Davona Dale. D’Angelo is adding blinkers to Frida’s equipment. Samuel Marin, the meet’s leading rider. is aboard Frida for the first time.
D’Angelo also entered Spirited Boss in this spot, though she was cross-entered in Saturday’s Sanibel Island, which is scheduled for 7 1/2 furlongs on turf.
Bella Cleopatra won a statebred first-level allowance on Jan. 1 at Gulfstream but hasn’t run since. Trainer George Weaver said races didn’t fill, and then his filly got sick.
Bella Cleopatra has been firing bullet drills in the morning at Palm Beach Downs.
Sophomore Turf
Weaver has entered the filly Good Long Cry against the boys in the $110,000 Sophomore Turf scheduled for 1 1/16 miles.
Good Long Cry, after four consecutive runner-up finishes, won a 1 1/16-mile maiden race at Aqueduct in November by 6 1/4 lengths. She then ran ninth in the Ginger Brew at Gulfstream on Jan. 4.
“She was nervous that day and it wasn’t a smooth trip,” Weaver said. “There’s some some suspicion she doesn’t love Gulfstream Park’s turf.”
Koctel War, despite drifting in the lane, won a one-mile Florida-bred maiden race at Gulfstream on Feb. 7. He has since been gelded.
Latch the Hatch would be trying turf for the first time if he runs, but he would very much be the horse to beat if this race, the last of 11 on the card, was rained off the turf.
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