Tepin Seeks Tampa Double

Robert E. Masterson's Tepin (Bernstein), champion turf female of 2015, kicked her 2016 season off in style with a much-the-best score in the GIII Endeavour S. at Tampa Bay Downs Feb. 13, and looks to keep her winning streak alive with a follow-up win in Saturday's GII Hillsborough S. Tabbed as the prohibitive morning line favorite at even money, the 5-year-old will attempt to notch her first victory beyond 1 1/16 miles in the nine-furlong test.

Tepin blossomed into a top-notch turf miler last spring, reeling off determined victories in the GII Distaff Turf Mile at Churchill and the GI Just a Game S. at Belmont. A hard-luck second in Saratoga's GI Diana S. and GII Ballston Spa S., the bay relished the soft turf at Keeneland in the fall and ran away with both the GI First Lady S. Oct. 3 and the GI Breeders' Cup Mile on Halloween. The latter triumph, in which the Mark Casse trainee defeated a number of highly regarded male contemporaries, firmly established her credentials to earn year-end championship honors.

If Tepin's tactical speed is one of her greatest assets, she will likely have a number of potential targets to follow, namely Siena Farms' Isabella Sings (Eskendereya). The chestnut draws the rail for her seasonal debut, having closed out her sophomore year on a strong note with a wire-to-wire tally in the GII Mrs. Revere S. at Churchill Nov. 14. Conditioned by Todd Pletcher, Isabella Sings has posted a steady diet of works at Palm Beach Downs over the last month and a half.

Like Isabella Sings, Button Down (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) enters the Hillsborough off a win at Churchill to close out the 2015 season. The bay earned her first graded score in the Nov. 21 GIII Cardinal H. and goes out for trainer Josie Carroll, who sent out Karibu Gardens (Flower Alley) to a third-place finish in last month's GIII Tampa Bay S.

Trainer Chad Brown has two shots to upset Tepin with European imports Ball Dancing (Exchange Rate) and Danza Cavallo (Fr) (Sunday Break {Jpn}). The former annexed the GI Jenny Wiley S. at Keeneland last April and was shelved for the remainder of the year following a dull eighth-place run in the Just a Game. Meanwhile, Danza Cavallo finished a strong second behind stablemate Stephanie's Kitten (Kitten's Joy) in the GI Flower Bowl Invitational at Belmont Oct. 3 prior to posting another runner-up finish in Aqueduct's GIII Long Island H. Nov. 7. The two fillies finalized their preparations for the Hillsborough with a five-furlong breeze in company over the Palm Meadows turf Mar. 5.

Three Chimneys Farm's Rainha Da Bateria (Broken Vow) seeks her third career win after a series of tough beats. Second, beaten a half-length, by Isabella Sings in the Mrs. Revere last autumn, the Graham Motion trainee recently returned to action in the GIII Suwannee River S. in Hallandale, closing well to complete the exacta behind Tammy the Torpedo (More Than Ready).