Takeaways from 2023 Tampa Bay Derby

Mar 14, 2023 James Scully/TwinSpires.com

A Road to the Kentucky Derby series qualifier, the Tampa Bay
Derby (G3) on March 11 awarded points on a 50-20-15-10-5 basis to the top five
finishers, and a new face emerged on the Kentucky Derby
leaderboard with the win.

1. Tapit
Trice last to first

Tapit Trice saved his best for late in
the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Derby, getting away slowly from the starting gate
and lagging far back early in the 12-horse field. The gray colt began to edge
closer on the far turn and closed rapidly through the stretch to prevail,
scoring by two lengths.

He was able to keep contact with a short field when
recording a sharp eight-length allowance win over a one-turn
mile at Gulfstream Park in early February, generating 99 Brisnet Speed and
107 Late Pace ratings, but the Tampa Bay Derby wasn’t as smooth. Tapit Trice
had to be coaxed along by Luis Saez to avoid falling too far behind on the
backstretch, and his numbers dropped while stretching to two turns (95 Speed
and 101 Late Pace).

Two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Todd Pletcher remains high on
Tapit Trice’s ceiling, and the long-striding colt is visually impressive when
he gets rolling, but Tapit Trice probably doesn’t want to lose early focus in a
20-horse field at Churchill Downs.

2. Blue
Grass will tell more

Tapit Trice made only his fourth career start, and Pletcher acknowledged
the inexperienced colt would benefit from another prep race before the Kentucky
Derby on May 6. The Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland on April 8 is the probable
target.

His exciting turn of foot offers appeal, and we’ll see if
Tapit Trice can deliver a more professional showing next time.

3. Questionable
depth

After finishing third and fourth in the Feb. 11 Sam F. Davis
(G3) at Tampa, Classic Car Wash and Classic Legacy wound up one spot better
in the Tampa Bay Derby. Both are presently within the 20-horse Kentucky Derby
bubble, with Classic Car Wash (26 points) ranking 10th and Classic Legacy (19
points) 19th, but they’ll probably need more points to make this year’s field.

Neither Classic Car Wash nor Classic Legacy has earned a Speed
rating higher than 93 from 10 combined starts, and the Tampa Bay Derby appeared
to lack depth. The only stakes winners entered, Zydeceaux and Champions
Dream, finished up the track at long odds, and it’s fair to question whether
any of the also-rans can make an impact in the final round of Kentucky Derby
prep races.