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Zagora 'endeavours' to win at Tampa Bay

Zagora returned a winner in her five-year-old debut at Tampa Bay (Tom Cooley Photography) Martin S. Schwartz's Zagora was sent off the 4-5 favorite in Saturday's Grade 3, $150,000 Endeavour Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs under jockey Javier Castellano and easily ran away with the race in the stretch to score by 2 1/4 lengths over longtime pacesetter Exclusive Love on the wire. The Green Tune mare finished up 1 1/16 miles on the firm turf in 1:40 4/5 in her return from a four-month break. Trainer Chad Brown saddled Zagora to victory in the Grade 1 Diana Stakes last July at Saratoga, but the chestnut mare entered Saturday's contest off a seventh-placing in the Grade 2 Canadian Stakes on September 18 at Woodbine. That was her first off-the-board finish since shipping to the United States in the fall of 2010, but she got back on the winning track here. Castellano settled Zagora into third behind Exclusive Love through splits of :24 2/5, :49 and 1:12 4/5. Crying Lightening ran in second on the outside, and those three maintained their positions until the stretch. Exclusive Love still held the advantage entering the lane, but Zagora was just unleashing her rally. The classy French-bred flew past the leader and pulled away to return $3.80, $2.60 and $2.20 to her faithful backers. "It's the first time I've been up on her since last year (in the Canadian) but it was like getting back with an old friend," Castellano said. "We really had a perfect trip. I got her to the inside and she relaxed. When we were getting near the stretch, I asked her and she put in a strong run and that was that."

Assistant trainer Jose Hernandez, who accompanied Zagora on the van trip from Palm Meadows on Saturday morning, was ecstatic about her performance.

"She was doing so well and training really good at Palm Meadows (Training Center)," Hernandez said. "Chad didn't tell me anything, only 'Good luck' about a half-hour before the race. It is something amazing to be around a mare like this. Javier had a great hold on her and got great position, the fractions were good and she showed her class."

Exclusive Love ran well to be second, 1 1/4 lengths in front of Keertana on the wire, while Jenny's So Great finished another 1 3/4 lengths back in fourth. Martita Sangrita, Dundalk Dust and Crying Lightening completed the order of finish after Blue Angel Express and Master Shade were both withdrawn.

Abuela faded badly on the backstretch and was pulled up rounding the turn. She collapsed on the track and died.

Zagora was a two-time Group 3 winner in France before shipping stateside, where she immediately ran second in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes at Keeneland. Close placings in the Grade 3 Hillsborough Stakes and Grade 2 New York Stakes followed, with a third in the Grade 2 Jenny Wiley Stakes sandwiched in between those two.

Zagora finally broke through with a first U.S. victory in the Diana, but was given some time off following her uncharacteristic seventh in the Canadian. This return to the winner's circle boosted her career earnings to $769,589 and her line now reads 15-6-4-2.

Bred by E. Puerari and Oceanic Bloodstock, Zagora sold for $139,602 at the Arqana August Yearling Sale. She is out of the Mtoto mare Zaneton and comes from the same family as French highweight Titus Livius, Group 2 German One Thousand Guineas heroine Briseida and Grade 2 scorer Regal Bearing.

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