Endeavour

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

Twelve fillies and mares, plus two also-eligibles, were entered for

Saturday's $125,000 Endeavour S. (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs, but the 1 1/16-mile

turf feature boils down to only a handful of legitimate contenders as there are

quite a few allowance caliber types hoping to catch lightning in a bottle

here.

The choice is STORMY WEST (Gone West), who invades from Fair Grounds

following consecutive scores in the Blushing K. D. H., Furl Sail H. and Marie G.

Krantz Memorial H. The Bill Mott trainee has a checkered history in graded

events, but we can't overlook her outstanding effort in last year's Jenny Wiley

S. (G2), where she narrowly missed to Grade 1 queen Rutherienne (Pulpit) at 23-1 while

besting such notables as Lady of Venice (Fr), Roshani (Fantastic Light),

Precious Kitten and Sealy Hill. Subsequent tries in the Gallorette H. (G3) and

First Lady S. (G1) were less than stellar, but this race is not nearly as deep.

GINGER BREW (Milwaukee Brew), Canada's champion three-year-old filly last

season, figures to be a strong favorite despite a lackluster seasonal debut in

the January 11 Marshua's River S. at Gulfstream. Bet down to even money, she

moved boldly toward the lead at the top of the stretch but flattened out during

the run to the finish and wound up third, beaten 1 1/2 lengths. That performance

was vastly different from what her fans have become accustomed to seeing from

the chestnut, who romped in the Calder Oaks and Woodbine Oaks last year and was

an unlucky second versus colts in the Queen's Plate. We'll try and beat her at a

short price given her last effort.

The underestimated AMERICAN BORDER (Boundary) has won five of six since

joining the Jason Servis barn, including an 11-1 upset of the Violet S. (G3) two

back. She prepped for this race with a narrow allowance score over the Tampa Bay

Downs

turf last month, but might not have been totally cranked for that race. She's

been heavily favored in four of her last five, so her supporters should rejoice

in receiving a better price Saturday.

BALLYMORE LADY (War Chant) finished a half-length behind Ginger Brew in the

Marshua's River, a good effort despite being forced to steady turning for home.

She also encountered trouble in her prior start, and as a result was elevated to

first in an allowance over the Tampa sod. She's generally consistent but is

known to throw a clunker every once in awhile. AUDACIOUS CHLOE (More Than Ready)

has some early zip and would benefit by putting it to use here. She failed to do

so last time in the Violet, finishing ninth in a field of 13, though her margin

of defeat was only 2 1/2 lengths.

COZZI CAPITAL (Cozzene) was off slowly in her last two, but has enough back

class to warrant inclusion in exotics. ELUSIVE LADY (Van Nistelrooy) was second

in the Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf last out, but somebody had to

complete the exacta behind the heavily favored Wild Promises (Wild Event).

The rest of the field is more or less stabbing, at least in our humble

opinion. GRAND IN GREY (Alphabet Soup) and JAUNTY GALE have shown little at

Tampa this winter; IMPRESSIONISM (Broad Brush) is consistent but win shy;

SOUSAPHONE (Stravinsky) scored her lone stakes victory against Ohio-breds; ZIP

TRICK (City Zip) has been sent off at long odds in prior stakes engagements; and

AWESOME MOMENT (Awesome Again) and KITTY CAT EXPRESS (Cat Thief), the two on the

outside looking in, are eligible for a first-level and second-level allowance,

respectively.