Older turf horses are featured Jan. 31 at Tampa Bay Downs in a pair of $175,000 stakes over 1 1/16 miles that look like wide-open contests.
Finishing just a neck away from being a grade 1 winner in the Nov. 29 Hollywood Derby (G1T) at Del Mar, CJ Thoroughbreds and Mo Speed Racing's Tom's Magic seeks his first graded win in the Tampa Bay Stakes (G3T).
Winner of the 2025 Breeders' Stakes, the final jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, the son of Justify 's form was flattered when Hollywood Derby third-place finisher, Test Score, returned Jan. 24 to win the Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1T). Trained by Michael Stidham, the now 4-year-old Tom's Ready will aim for the same success in his first attempt against older horses.
The only contender entering with graded success is Live Oak Plantation's Win for the Money, winner of the 2024 Woodbine Mile (G1T). The Mohaymen gelding is winless in seven starts since.
After a three-month freshening in the fall, Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse brought Win for the Money back in allowance optional claiming company Dec. 27 at Gulfstream, where he had his best finish since that grade 1 victory, finishing second while beaten just a half-length. The now 7-year-old will look to improve on that performance with Sonny Leon in the saddle Saturday.
Another classy runner is Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider's homebred Simulate, whose last four defeats have come in stakes races won by Giocoso, Wimbledon Hawkeye, Troubleshooting, and Layabout.
Speed in the Tampa Bay Stakes is likely to come from St. George Stable's Quatrocento, who showed success on the lead over the summer. The Fausto Gutierrez-trained son of War Front has not made the lead in his last two starts, but could hold an advantage with post 3, two stalls inside of Blazing Meadows Farm and America's Thoroughbred Investors' Spellcast, the only other runner in the field to have exhibited early initiative with consistency.
Entries: Tampa Bay S. (G3T)
Tampa Bay Downs, Saturday, January 31, 2026, Race 7
- Grade IIIT
- 1 1/16m
- Turf
- $175,000
- 4 yo's & up
- 3:25 PM (local)
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Wgt | Trainer | M/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1Simulate (KY) | Daniel Centeno | 118 | William I. Mott | 6/1 |
| 2 | 2Innately Good (KY) | Jose C. Ferrer | 118 | Nik G. Goodwin | 30/1 |
| 3 | 3Quatrocento (KY) | Julien R. Leparoux | 118 | Fausto Gutierrez | 5/2 |
| 4 | 4Discreet Dancer (KY) | David Egan | 118 | Antonio Sano | 20/1 |
| 5 | 5Spellcast (OH) | Cipriano Gil | 118 | Timothy E. Hamm | 15/1 |
| 6 | 6Win for the Money (KY) | Sonny Leon | 118 | Mark E. Casse | 7/5 |
| 7 | 7Tom's Magic (ON) | Rafael Manuel Hernandez | 118 | Michael Stidham | 3/1 |
| 8 | 8Britain's Kitten (KY) | Israel O. Rodriguez | 118 | Kevin Rice | 20/1 |
Al Jafara Returns in Endeavour for Brown
Two races after the Tampa Bay Stakes, the Endeavour Stakes (G3T) will feature the return of Al Jafara.
A maiden winner at second asking in France, the daughter of Pinatubo made her American debut a winning one for owners Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, and Richard Schermerhorn against first-level allowance foes at Keeneland in April.
Off since that 1 3/4-length score, trainer Chad Brown brings the 4-year-old filly back against graded stakes foes in a bid for his fourth Endeavour win in the last six years. Brown has five overall wins in the race.
More recently, Bregman Family Racing's Love You Anyway was runner-up in the Nov. 23 Pebbles Stakes (G3T) at Aqueduct Racetrack, where she earned a career-best 98 Equibase Speed Figure. That was the first start in the 4-year-old Tapit filly's career in which she dictated the pace, but she could see some early competition this time from rivals such as Starship Impulsive or Aussie Girl.
Tampa Bay Downs, Saturday, January 31, 2026, Race 9Entries: Endeavour S. (G3T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Candy Quest (KY) Sonny Leon 119 Mark E. Casse 3/1 2 2Dreaming of Abba (FL) Antonio A. Gallardo 119 Kathleen O'Connell 20/1 3 3Scythian (NY) Daniel Centeno 119 William I. Mott 15/1 4 4Al Jafara (GB) Samy Camacho 119 Chad C. Brown 9/2 5 5Aussie Girl (IRE) Ben Curtis 119 William Walden 7/2 6 6Madame Mischief (KY) David Egan 119 Jorge Delgado 15/1 7 7Belle of Rights (KY) Samuel Marin 119 Claude R. McGaughey III 10/1 8 8Charlie's Wish (FL) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 119 David Fawkes 15/1 9 9Love You Anyway (KY) Rajiv Maragh 119 George R. Arnold II 8/1 10 10Starship Impulsive (KY) Jesus Lopez Castanon 119 M. Anthony Ferraro 20/1 11 11Public Defender (KY) Pablo Morales 119 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 5/1
