With Florida-bred War Fighter and Musket Man in the same field, today’s $75,000 Super Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs has a combative feel to it, but only one of those runners has been tested recently.
The seven-furlong Super Stakes marks the return of Musket Man, whose steller sophomore campaign was cut short last year by a bruised bone in his left front foot. He had won the $75,000 Pasco Stakes and the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) at the Oldsmar oval before capturing the Illinois Derby (G2) and finishing third in the first two legs of the Triple Crown.
Musket Man, trained by Derek Ryan, has hit the board in all eight of his starts, with five victories and $893,600 in earnings. Though he hasn’t raced since the middle of May, he has been training sharply at Tampa Bay Downs in recent weeks, with three bullet workouts, including a five-furlong breeze in one minute flat on Jan. 21.
Daniel Centeno, who steered Musket Man to victory in the Tampa Bay Derby, will be aboard Musket Man today when they break from the outside post in a field of eight 4-year-olds and up.
War Fighter will be seeking his first stakes victory and likely will appreciate today’s seven-furlong distance. He was moving fastest of all at the end of his last race, the six-furlong, $60,000 Pelican Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Jan. 9, but had made his move too late and finished a length behind victorious Florida-bred Sneaking Uponyou.
“He’s not a sprinter, by no means,” said trainer Jamie Ness. “The longer he goes, the better horse he is. Seven furlongs isn’t his real cup of tea, but it’s a lot better than six. He’s coming into the race really well and couldn’t be doing any better.”
War Fighter, bred by Steve Tucker and owned by Jagger Inc., has won four of his 12 starts for $140,125 and has finished off the board just twice. His best effort was a second-place finish behind Gone Astray in the Ohio Derby (G2) at Thistledown in October. The 4-year-old son of Repent, out of the Whitney Tower mare Dreamy Dream, will have usual rider Huber Villa-Gomez aboard and break from the No. 5 post.
Ness said he thinks War Fighter, today’s 4-1 third choice on the morning line, has a good chance of knocking off 9-5 favorite Musket Man.
“He’s a stalking horse, and there’s a little bit of speed in the race, and if we get a good trip, we’ll be there,” Ness said of War Fighter. “Musket Man is a very good horse. That being said, though, he’s coming off a long layoff. He’s going to be the horse to beat, but he’s going to have to be good because War Fighter’s going to run his race.”
The field also includes Gaum Typhoon (3-1), who is 3-for-3 in seven-furlong races, including a win in an $80,000 optional claimer at Churchill Downs last out in November, and Conchacer (9-2), the runner-up in the Pelican. Conchacer has two wins and two runner-up finishes in four races at Tampa Bay Downs.
Rounding out the field are Florida-breds Weslinn (15-1) and Dinner in Odem (20-1) as well as Chief Talkeetna (8-1) and Grazettes Landing (15-1).
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Photo by Tom Cooley
