Chris Fountoukis was about 90 minutes from Tampa Bay Downs this morning when his new truck broke down, forcing him to call a tow truck and summon an Uber driver to take him back home to Miami.
It wasn’t long before his day turned into seashells, balloons and rainbows.
Fountoukis, a retired contractor, watched on his cell phone as his 2-year-old colt Solitude Dude demolished five opponents in the 40th running of the $125,000 Inaugural Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, contested as the second race. Under jockey Edgard Zayas, Solitude Dude defeated runner-up Max Capacity by 8 lengths in a time of 1:09.07 for 6 furlongs, breaking the stakes record of 1:09.13 set last year by Donut God.
The Tampa Bay Downs track record is 1:08.67, set by It’s Me Mom in 2012. Solitude Dude paid $2.20 to win.
The Inaugural was one of two stakes races on a 10-race card consisting of nine races for 2-year-olds. In the co-feature, the 48th edition of the $125,000 Sandpiper Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, Sneaky Good rallied from off the pace under jockey Antonio Gallardo, collaring Evolution at the sixteenth pole and withstanding a late charge from Blazing Brat to win by 2 ¾ lengths.
Evolution held on for third, a head in front of My Miss Mo. Sneaky Good paid $4.80 to win as the betting favorite.
As impressive as Sneaky Good looked, the day’s headlines were reserved for Solitude Dude.
“He’s awesome. I’m all excited,” said Fountoukis, who purchased Solitude Dude through trainer Saffie A. Joseph, Jr., for $300,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s June Sale. “Saffie loves this horse. He thinks he has a good future.”
Joseph isn’t the only one holding that opinion after the son of Yaupon-After the Party, by Into Mischief, improved to 2-for-2 in his career.
Both Joseph, who watched the race from back home in south Florida, and Zayas began the day with guarded optimism that was realized about as well as could be hoped for.
“He had a very encouraging workout (Nov. 28, 4 furlongs in 46.75 seconds at Palm Meadows Training Center), but he was facing winners for the first time today,” said Joseph, who also trains the third-place finisher Langvad. “He moved a little early into a fast pace, but he still quickened away when (Zayas) asked him. I think he has a lot of ability and hopefully he will continue to build on it.”
Joseph said he will consider the Jan. 10 Pasco Stakes at 7 furlongs at Tampa Bay Downs for Solitude Dude’s next start (and first as a 3-year-old), so there is sufficient time for the connections to savor this race (and get Fountoukis up and running again).
Solitude Dude’s flirtation with the track record “tells a lot about what kind of horse he is,” Joseph said. “He has a lot of gears. That he can go into a fast pace and quicken like he did, we’re grateful to have him. He relaxes very well. His mind is probably his best attribute.”
Indeed, Solitude Dude appeared to be unfazed as Super Kick broke to a 2-length lead, running the opening quarter-mile in 21.68 seconds. The half went in 44.31, but it didn’t seem to tax Solitude Dude.
“He’s an amazing horse, a very nice horse,” said Zayas, who was aboard him for the first time. “I’m very excited to see how he runs in the future. It looks like he has a lot of ability. He broke good and I could tell he was a classy horse. He sat second and was on cruise control the whole time until I asked him about the 3/8 pole.
“Once he got momentum, he opened up a couple of lengths and I let him go all the way to the wire. (The time) was without even using the whip on him. He probably would have broken the track record, but we’re not looking at that. We’re just saving it for the bigger races.”
A brief rainstorm began about five minutes before post time for the Sandpiper, but had let up by the time the race went off. Sneaky Good, who is owned by NK Racing and LNJ Foxwoods and trained by Brad Cox, asserted her superiority late to improve to 2-for-2.
Less than an hour earlier, Cox won the Grade II Cigar Mile at Aqueduct with 5-year-old horse Bishops Bay.
Sneaky Good’s time of 1:10.70 was 1.35 seconds off Dorth Vader’s 2022 stakes record.
“I had a lot of confidence in her, and the race set up perfect,” Gallardo said of the daughter of Into Mischief-Gale, by Tonalist. “There was a lot of speed, and I think the outside (No. 9) post position helped because she had enough speed to be close but she didn’t have to go to the lead.
“I pushed the button a little early because the track has been playing fast, but not as much for this race because of the rain. I asked her with my mouth,” he said, making a smooching noise, “and she gave me a little kick, so I knew I had a lot of horse left.”
Around the oval. Leading Oldsmar jockey Samuel Marin rode three winners for the second consecutive day. He captured the first race on Teddy Bear, a 2-year-old Florida-bred gelding owned by Robert Cotran and trained by Joseph Orseno. Marin and Orseno doubled up in the fifth race with Hades, a 4-year-old Florida-bred gelding owned by D. J. Stable and Robert Cotran.
Marin then won the seventh with Lightscape, a 2-year-old filly owned by Glen Hill Farm and trained by Tom Proctor.
Thoroughbred racing continues Wednesday with a nine-race card beginning at 12:20 p.m. Five-time riding champion Samy Camacho, who has been serving a suspension that dates back to last season, is named on seven horses.
Tampa Bay Downs races each Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, with Sundays added to the mix on Dec. 21. The track is closed in its entirety on Christmas, Dec. 25. Otherwise, Tampa Bay Downs is open every day for simulcast wagering, no-limits action and tournament play in The Silks Poker Room and golf fun and instruction at The Downs Golf Practice Facility.
Officials and staff of Tampa Bay Downs invite Thoroughbred lovers and newcomers alike to share in the excitement of the Oldsmar oval’s meet-long centennial celebration, commemorating the track’s opening on Feb. 18, 1926.
