HEZA WILD GUY WINS TURF TEST; PAYS $42.20
OLDSMAR, Fla (January 16, 2007) The feature race on today’s Tampa Bay Downs card was The Turf Test, the first leg of a series of starter handicaps on the grass for four-year-olds and upward. The succession of races ranges in distance from about 1 mile to 1 1/3 mile, each under handicap conditions. There will be a second leg of the Turf Test run for fillies and mares four years old and upwards on Tuesday, January 23rd.
Today’s Turf Test was won by Heza Wild Guy, a six-year-old bay gelding ridden by Jesse Jimenez Garcia. Heza Wild Guy, who is owned by Will Carson and Jerry Pint and trained by Bernell Rhone, battled through a five-horse stretch drive, pulling ahead to win by half a length at odds of 20-1.
The Sunday, January 14th press release erroneously reported that Roman Candles set a new stakes record in The Pelican; the actual stakes record of 1:09.1 was set in 1989 by Intown for the Day.
Racing resumes tomorrow, January 18 with a ten race card. Tampa Bay Downs’ gates will open at 11:00 AM, and post time for the first race will be at approximately 12:25 PM. The Silks Card Room will offer live poker action from noon through midnight.
Grandstand admission will be complimentary tomorrow, and on Saturday, January 20, Tampa Bay Downs will give away free logo baseball caps with the first 7,500 paid admissions.
NOTE:
Jockey Dale Hemsley, who rode Sweet Lil Punky in the ninth race on Sunday’s card, is recovering from injuries sustained when his horse flipped over in the gate. Hemsley’s collar bone was broken in two places, and he is expected to recover completely in six to eight weeks. Jockey Elis Roque, who rode Samuel the Prophet in the fifth race on Sunday, is also expected to recover fully after he broke his T-12 vertebrae when his mount fell turning into the stretch. Roque was reported 100% stable after surgery this morning, and will wear a brace while he recuperates for three months.