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The first Saturday in February offers a pair of excellent race cards at Tampa Bay Downs in Florida and Aqueduct in New York. Among the graded events on the card are a pair of Kentucky Derby preps with deep fields.
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The featured event this Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs, ahead of Super Bowl LV, is the Sam F. Davis Stakes. The 2021 Withers Stakes for possible Derby contenders highlight’s Aqueduct’s Saturday card.
2021 Sam F. Davis Stakes Predictions
Track: Tampa Bay Downs
The Sam F. Davis is the first big prep at this track leading up to the Tampa Bay Derby on March 6. This Grade 3 event is open to three-year old Thoroughbreds. It will be contested on the dirt over a total distance of 1 1/16 miles. This year’s prize purse is set at $250,000.
Horse Racing Nation has compiled a list of 12 contenders listed as probable for Saturday’s featured race. At the top of the list with a HRN rating of 5.94 is trainer Dale Romans’ Smiley Sobotka.
This Canadian-bred colt closed out his juvenile campaign with an impressive second-place finish in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs on Nov. 28. Saturday would be his three-year old debut.
Sports Handicapper Rankings 2021
My favorite to win this race is Known Agenda with the second-highest HRN rating in the projected field (5.91). Trained by Todd Pletcher, the son of Curlin will also be making his racing debut as a three-year old. Bred in Kentucky, he took third at Aqueduct in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes on Dec. 5 to close out his two-year old resume with a trio of finishes in the money.
A few more colts you can add to the watch list for this race are Ricochet and Broadway. Each one is coming off a win at this track in a Maiden Special Weight race.
2021 Withers Stakes Predictions
Track: Aqueduct
The final field for this extended 1 1/8-mile run on the dirt track at Aqueduct is still coming together. The Withers is a Grade 3 event open to three-tear old Thoroughbreds. The total prize purse for this year’s race is set at $250,000.
This will be a good test for the seven contenders on the board listed as probable. Trainer Harold Wyner’s Capo Kane caught bettors’ attention on New Year’s Day with a victory in the ungraded Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct. He covered the mile on dirt in 1:38.02 past Eagle Orb, who is also expected to run on Saturday.
Capo Kane finished first and second in a pair of MSW events as a two year old. The California- bred colt was sired by Street Sense.
Eagle Orb is also high on my list in the Withers with a HRN rating of 6.23. This three-year old New York-trained colt should feel right at home racing at Aqueduct. The son of Orb has finished first or second in five of six career races at New York tracks including Belmont and Saratoga.
Both trainer Chad Brown’s Risk Taking and Pletcher’s Overtook could factor in the mix if they run. Each colt won at Aqueduct in a December MSW event their last time out.
