John Hancock bold up front in Sam F. Davis; La Cara wires Suncoast

Speed was the name of the game in both points races on Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs.

The Brad Cox-trained John Hancock repelled Owen Almighty in a stakes-record renewal of the $200,000 Sam F. Davis S. to join the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard. Earlier, Tracy Farmer’s homebred La Cara rebounded from a non-threatening fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) to dominate the $100,000 Suncoast S. on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

Sam F. Davis S.

Campaigned by CHC Inc. and breeder WinStar Farm, John Hancock was making his stakes and two-turn debut fresh off a maiden score in his Jan. 8 unveiling over this track. The Constitution half-brother to 2020 Ashland (G1) heroine Speech is bred to go further, so his pacesetting conquest in a six-furlong sprint was a very encouraging sign.

Bettors accordingly sent John Hancock off as the slight 5-2 favorite, with Owen Almighty a close second choice at 2.60-1. The market leaders ran up to their odds in a virtual match race. Hitherto unbeaten Remsen (G2) winner Poster drifted to 4.60-1, given the fitness query while cutting back in trip versus sharper foes.  

Under new pilot Flavien Prat, John Hancock dashed to the early lead through an opening quarter in :22.75. Owen Almighty took closer order to apply pressure by the half in :46.23. The duo grappled through six furlongs in 1:10.49 and continued to duel in the lane, when Owen Almighty briefly appeared to have the upper hand. But he couldn’t put away a stubborn foe.

John Hancock found extra to finish with a flourish worthy of his namesake. Edging a half-length clear, the chestnut polished off 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.27. His time eclipsed the old stakes mark of 1:42.44 set by Flameaway (2018), and it wasn’t far off Stanford’s track record of 1:41.75 from the 2017 Challenger S.

Now 2-for-2, John Hancock has earned $138,560 and 20 Derby points. Owen Almighty garnered 10 more points, improving his total to 15.

Poster rallied from last for third (six points), another 2 1/4 lengths astern, and the Godolphin runner sports 16 points in all. The well-tried maiden Camp Hale held fourth (four points). Very Bold, like Poster trained by Eoin Harty, rounded out the top five (two points). Early stalker Naughty Rascal retreated to sixth, trailed by Dr Ruben M, Smoken Boy, Treaty of Rome, and Gateskeeper in a strung-out field.

Kentucky-bred John Hancock was produced by Scribbling Sarah, a Freud mare from the further family of millionaires Rated R Superstar and Carson’s Run.

Suncoast S.

The complexion of the Suncoast changed right out of the gate when hitherto unbeaten Her Laugh, the 2.40-1 favorite, totally missed the break. Instead of being involved in the pace as forecast, Her Laugh found herself hopelessly far back in last, and she did well to recover eventually to grab second.

But La Cara seized the early initiative for new rider Dylan Davis, and the Mark Casse filly was too classy for her pursuers. Carving out splits of :24.03, :47.08, and 1:11.54, La Cara spurted away turning for home and crossed the wire a handy 6 1/4-length winner. The 3.60-1 chance negotiated the mile and 40 yards in 1:38.51 and paid $9.20.

La Cara banked 20 Oaks points to increase her total to 33, the same as scoreboard leader Tenma. But Tenma retains the number one spot through the tiebreaker of non-restricted stakes earnings, having amassed $384,000 compared to La Cara’s $291,945.

Her Laugh, who had opportunistically wired the Untapable S. at Fair Grounds, was given plenty of time to regroup by a patient Irad Ortiz Jr. She responded by raising her game on the far turn, splitting foes down the stretch, and emerging as best of the rest by 1 1/4 lengths. Her Laugh added 10 points to double her tally to 20.

Deloraine, a stablemate of Poster’s for the Godolphin/Harty tandem, got up for third to snag six points in her stakes debut. Italian Soiree failed to kick on from her stalking spot and faded to fourth (four points), and Dancing Magic received two points in fifth. Next came Cloe, Queen in the Deck, and Junta.

La Cara was winning her second points race, after the Sept. 14 Pocahontas (G3) at Churchill Downs. The Kentucky-bred rallied from off the pace that day, but she’d previously led throughout in her Saratoga maiden rout, and her tactical flexibility came in handy here. La Cara’s resume now reads 7-3-1-0, $378,520.

Sired by Street Sense, La Cara is out of the Bernardini blueblood Cara Caterina, who is herself a full sister to multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire To Honor and Serve as well as Grade 1 queen Angela Renee. Cara Caterina is also a half-sister to Grade 1-placed stakes scorer Elnaawi, a son of Street Sense and thereby closely related to La Cara. This is also the family of Grade 2 vixen India, dam of the versatile Japanese Group 1 victor Mozu Ascot.

Pelican S. and Minaret S.

The two sprint stakes on the undercard literally came down to the wire, with odds-on favorites Nutella Fella and Nic’s Style prevailing in dramatic photo-finishes.

The other common denominator was jockey Junior Alvarado. In the $100,000 Pelican S., he extricated the 4-5 Nutella Fella from a tough spot and made the key decision to dart to the rail. The Gary Contessa pupil picked up as soon as he saw daylight and edged Caramel Chip by a neck. The wide-traveling Life Is Precious was another head away in third.

Nutella Fella, who covered six furlongs in 1:09.47, is eyeing the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) on World Cup night April 5. The Bell Gable Stable runner has compiled a record of 5-3-1-1, $314,500, highlighted by his 54-1 surprise in the 2023 Hopeful (G1). Nutella Fella wasn’t seen again until last summer at the Spa, where he finished a respectable third in the Woody Stephens (G1). The son of Runhappy faced another spell on the sidelines, but resurfaced with a closing second in a Jan. 11 Tampa allowance to set him up for the Pelican.

One race later in the $92,500 Minaret S. for distaffers, Alvarado took the overland route with the 3-5 Nic’s Style to deny front-running Dazzling Blue by a nose. Trained by Bill Mott for Stephen Rousseau, the Uncaptured mare clocked 1:09.16 to enhance her resume to 7-6-1-0, $390,900.

Nic’s Style has now won three straight stakes, including last fall’s Pumpkin Pie S. at Aqueduct and the restricted City of Ocala Florida Sire S. Her only loss was a runner-up effort to Ways and Means in the Gallant Bloom (G2).