Suncoast Stakes

Brad Cox always seems to be loaded when it comes to top 3-year-old fillies, and he's got another good one in Life of Joy (Gun Runner), who pulled off an impressive victory in the GII Fair Grounds Oaks. With the GII Fantasy Stakes and the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks on tap this week, the picture for the GI Kentucky Oaks should become all the more clear. So, here goes, your latest Top 10: 1) ZANY (American Pharoah--Mo' Green, by Uncle Mo) O-Repole Stable; B-D.J. Stable (KY); T-Todd Pletcher. Sales history:...

It's been three weeks since our last GI Kentucky Oaks Top 10, and a lot has happened. But no one stepped up with the type of explosive performance that would have shaken up the standings. We've dropped four horses from our original poll. Mythical (St. Patrick's Day) just wasn't good enough in the GIII Forward Gal Stakes. Tommy Jo (Into Mischief) has been injured and has been taken off the Oaks trail. Percy's Bar (Upstart) hasn't had a workout since Jan. 6, which doesn't bode well for her making the...

Repole Stable's Zany (American Pharoah) picked up where she left off in 2025, taking a somewhat oddly run renewal of the $125,000 Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs while making her seasonal return to action Saturday afternoon. Racing between fillies in the second flight of runners as her stablemate Kadabra (Good Magic) went through the opening stages in a tepid :24.89, the $350,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga grad was set alight at about midway by Irad Ortiz, Jr. and took the overland route into the far turn around Life of Joy (Gun...

Neither the Suncoast Stakes nor the Sam F. Davis Stakes, both run at Tampa Bay Downs, are graded stakes races, but that doesn't seem to bother trainer Todd Pletcher. He has made it no secret that he loves to put some of his best 3-year-old candidates on the Tampa route to Churchill Downs, and he will be doing so again on Saturday. Zany (American Pharoah), currently ranked No. 1 in the TDN's Top 10 poll for the GI Kentucky Oaks, will make her 3-year-old debut in the Suncoast, where she...

Reverting to front-running tactics for the first time since winning her maiden in impressive fashion at Saratoga last August, Tracy Farmer homebred La Cara made every pole a winning one in Saturday's Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, besting favored Her Laugh, who lost her race at the break but ran on courageously in the final stages. As opposed to Her Laugh, who was playing up in stall six and missed the kick by a good four lengths, La Cara hit the ground running and took the field into the...

It continues to be a strange year on the road to the GI Kentucky Oaks. It's been a division where no one seemed ready to step to the front and become a clear leader of the group. That, sort of, changed Sunday in the GIII Santa Ysabel S. Sunday at Santa Anita. Faiza (Girvin) stayed undefeated in four starts with a 2 1/4-length win and, under normal circumstances, would have gone to No. 1 on this list. But the filly, who is trained by Bob Baffert and owned by Michael...

As the field turned for home in Saturday's Suncoast S. at Tampa Bay Downs, Dreaming of Snow (Jess's Dream), trained by Gerald Bennett, had the lead, but it sure looked like she'd never hold on. It wasn't just that she was 38-1 and had been pressed most of the way, it was who was chasing her, monsters from the stables of super trainers Mark Casse and Todd Pletcher in Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief) and Julia Shining (Curlin). Could a horse from the barn of a 78-year-old claiming trainer who had...

Tampa Bay Downs is offering limited general admission for its upcoming Festival Preview Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Florida track will limit the number of spectators on the day to 2,500. Tickets are available online at www.tampabaydowns.com. To be held Feb. 6, the Festival Preview Day card will feature the GIII Sam F. Davis S. and the Suncoast S. Horsemen, box-seat holders and season-ticket holders do not need to purchase tickets, but will need to present their passes at the gate.