The Road to the Kentucky Oaks (G1) wends its way to Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday for the $150,000 Suncoast Stakes where La Cara is ready to rejoin that journey.
The winner of the Suncoast for 3-year-old fillies earns 20 Oaks qualifying points. Now that we’re in February, harvesting points is increasingly important.
La Cara. Coady Photo.
Top Oaks contender takes another step toward a shot at wearing the lillies at Tampa on Saturday
La Cara served notice last year that she is a serious contender in the division. After scoring an eight-length maiden win at Saratoga with a powerful front-running effort, trainer Mark Casse sent her to Churchill Downs for the Pocahontas Stakes (G3) where La Cara demonstrated a different dimension.
Eleventh in the early stages, La Cara came rolling through the lane for a narrow win that served as a springboard to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Del Mar. Once again, she raced off the pace but got no closer than fifth at the wire.
Since then, La Cara has been preparing for this season debut at the Palm Meadows Training Center here in Florida. She’s had a solid foundation of workouts and should be ready to roll with Dylan Davis aboard for the first time.
One word of advice to the connections, if we may. Deep closing moves usually don’t play well on Tampa’s main track. An effort on or close to the pace, similar to her Saratoga victory, is the way to draw it up on the chalkboard.
Her Laugh is an intriguing new face in the crowd. She is unbeaten in two races including the Untappable Stakes most recently at the Fair Grounds, her winter base for trainer Whit Beckman.
Her camp obviously feels this is the preferred spot. They made this journey rather than wait for the Rachel Alexandra (G2) next weekend in New Orleans, a presumably more challenging test
Trainer Eoin Harty will be looking for a sweep of Tampa’s Saturday 3-year-old stakes. He has the well-regarded Poster in the $250,000 Sam F. Davis for the boys and will try for the parlay with Deloraine in this spot.
It is an interesting test for the Godolphin homebred as Deloraine switches back to dirt after doing her best work so far on turf and synthetic surfaces.
For those who bet horse racing …
1 Deloraine (Jesus Castanon, Eoin Harty), 12-1
2 Dancing Magic (Junior Alvarado, Michael Campbell), 8-1
3 Italian Soiree (Flavien Prat, John Terranova II), 7-2
4 Her Laugh (Irad Ortiz, Jr., Whit Beckman), 5-2
5 Junta (Willie Martinez, Anthony Granitz), 12-1
6 La Cara (Dylan Davis, Mark Casse), 2-1
7 Queen in the Deck (Sammy Marin, Carlos Munoz), 30-1
8 Cloe (Samy Camacho, Victor Barboza Jr.). 8-1