Heading into the $175,000 Florida Oaks (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday, trainer David Vivian hopes his talented, Florida-bred filly, Diva Delite, and She Be Wild, last year’s top juvenile filly, are going in different directions.

Diva Delite, bred by CloverLeaf Farms II in Reddick before the operation was moved to Kentucky in 2007, couldn’t enter the race any hotter, having won four straight. She Be Wild, meanwhile, comes into the Florida Oaks off the worst effort of her career, a fifth-place finish behind Bickersons in the Forward Gal Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream on Jan. 31.

Vivian said he’s not sure whether Diva Delite can beat a filly as talented as She Be Wild, who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Santa Anita in November, but he figures now is the time to take a shot. Diva Delite is the 4-1 third choice in the Florida Oaks’ field of 10 3-year-old fillies, while She Be Wild is the 2-1 morning-line favorite and Cuff Me the 7-2 second choice.

“Handicapping the race, I’m looking for a third-place finish, but if I didn’t think she had some kind of a chance, I wouldn’t go,” Vivian said. “This is a different bunch of horses than she’s been running with, and she’ll be going up against an Eclipse Award winner. But my filly is at the top of her game, and now’s the time to try against these horses. We know that she’ll go that long and she likes the racetrack, so we’ve got that going for us.”

Diva Delite proved she could handle the Florida Oaks’ distance of 1 1/16 miles with a win in the $70,000 Suncoast Stakes, which covered one mile and 40 yards at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 13. The daughter of Repent used her late-running style to rally from eighth place and win by 1 ¾ lengths.

Diva Delite also won by 1 ¾ lengths in the $67,500 Gasparilla Stakes at the Oldsmar oval in January, her stakes debut. Prior to that, she won a pair of allowances at Calder by a combined 10 ¼ lengths. For her career, Diva Delite has won seven of 14 starts, finishing off the board just once. She’s earned $180,067 for Vivian’s wife, Barbara, and Dominic Vittese.

Vivian said Diva Delite will look to pick up the pieces late after breaking from the No. 6 post under Rosemary Homeister Jr., who was aboard for both of her stakes victories.
“That’s the only way she has a chance – to lay back and make one run,” Vivian said. “If they get weak on the front, she’ll come flying. She tries hard every time. Granted, she hasn’t beaten much, but she gives it everything she’s got.”

Starting from the No. 5 post will be She Be Wild, with Jose Lezcano aboard for the first time. The daughter of Offlee Wild has made four consecutive starts in graded events, including a win in the Arlington-Washington Lassie (G3) at Arlington Park last September. She’s won four of her six starts and earned $1.32 million for trainer Wayne Catalano.
“You’ve got to respect her,” Vivian said. “I’m hoping she’s going the other way.”

Cuff Me will be making her first start since a fourth-place finish behind Florida-bred Richiegirlgonewild in the Old Hat Stakes (G3) in the slop at Gulfstream on Jan. 9. Prior to that, she had started her career with three straight wins, including a two-length score in the $65,000 Silent Turn Stakes at Aqueduct in December.

The field also includes Florida-bred C C’s Pal (15-1), bred by Ocala consignor Beth Bayer. The daughter of Alex’s Pal won two starts last year at Retama Park and most recently was seventh behind Diva Delite in the Suncoast Stakes. The filly is owned by Eric Fein and was a $7,500 purchase as a weaning at OBS in October 2007. She’s earned $26,986 through seven starts.

# In addition to the Florida Oaks, there will be three other stakes races Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs as part of the track’s annual Festival Day program. The highlight of the day is the $300,000 Tampa Bay Derby (G3), but the graded stakes action begins with the $150,000 Hillsborough Stakes (G3).

The Hillsborough covers nine furlongs on turf and drew a field of a dozen fillies and mares. The 5-2 morning-line favorite is Mushka, who won the Glens Falls Handicap (G3) at Saratoga in September and most recently was fifth behind St Trinians in the Santa Maria Handicap (G2) at Santa Anita last month.

The field also includes Lady Shakespeare (3-1), who finished in a dead heat for second place behind Quiet Harbor in the $100,000 Marshua’s River Stakes at Gulfstream in January, and Tottie (5-1), who won the Suwannee River Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream last month.

–E-mail Nick Fortuna at nick@wiretowire.net.

Photo by Cooley