Jockey Ben Curtis would have preferred a quicker early-pace scenario in the $125,000, mile-and-a-sixteenth Wayward Lass Stakes from which to launch 4-year-old filly Drexel Hill’s trademark closing kick.
But when pace-setter Andrea and Runaway Diva dawdled through the first quarter-mile in 24.57 seconds and the half-mile in 49.01, Curtis knew he had to keep Drexel Hill a bit closer than she is comfortable with to get the job done.
Taking dead-aim at Runaway Diva around the turn for home, Curtis got the response he’s come to expect from Drexel Hill, who powered home to a 1 ¾-length victory from Runaway Diva in a strong time of 1:43.96. Ultimate Authority was another 6 ¼ lengths back in third in the field of six older fillies and mares.
“I just had to adapt,” said Curtis, a native of Ireland who was riding at Tampa Bay Downs for the first time. “I was confident she would win the race – she has the ability – but when things change you have to adapt, and I put her a lot more forward and kind of attacked (Runaway Diva) at the quarter pole.
“I had actually won on Runaway Diva before, and I know she has a quickening gear in her so I just wanted to make sure I had that covered. Once I got to the front I was confident (Drexel Hill) would stay there, but she doesn’t do a lot when she gets to the lead.
“She’s a professional who does just enough and then pricks her ears and has a look around,” Curtis said. “She’s a trier who enjoys what she does, and it gives them confidence when they get their head over in front.
“I could see after the lane that she wanted to keep going, so I think confidence-wise she will get a lot out of this race,” Curtis said.
The victory was the third from 10 starts for Drexel Hill, who had finished second in her two previous starts – the Grade I Longines Kentucky Oaks last May at Churchill Downs and the Grade II Mother Goose in November at Aqueduct.
Drexel Hill paid $3.20 to win as the heavy betting favorite. First-place money of $60,000 boosted her career bankroll to $576,520.
Drexel Hill is owned by Legion Racing and trained by Whit Beckman.
In today’s other stakes on the Skyway Festival Day card, the $125,000, 7-furlong Gasparilla Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, Florida-bred Tessellate rolled past the early leaders under jockey Edgard Zayas and continued in fine fashion to post a 2 ¾-length victory from Lady Valor. That one and Ridgie both closed strongly, with Lady Valor prevailing by a neck for the place spot and Ridgie third.
Tessellate improved to 3-for-5 for trainer Saffie A. Joseph, Jr., and owners Magic Cap Stables, Paul Braverman, Timothy Pinch, Castle Gate Farm, BAG Racing Stables, John Reinhardt and Turf Express Racing. Her time was 1:23.58. She earned $77,500 as a Florida-bred, upping her earnings to $171,010.
Co-owner Paul Braverman said the race unfolded in a similar way to the Juvenile Fillies Sprint Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Nov. 15, when Tessellate won by 13 lengths under Zayas.
“We thought she would settle off the pace and let the others do the hard work up front and that’s what happened, so it really worked out well for us,” Braverman said. An opening quarter-mile in 21.86 seconds and a half in 44.64 were unsustainable for Gerrards Cross and Love Like Lucy and just about perfect for Tessellate, who accelerated on the turn for home and was never threatened through the stretch. She paid $3.80 to win as the betting favorite.
“I was just waiting for the time to let her roll,” said Zayas, who also won the eighth race on the turf on trainer Joseph Orseno’s 4-year-old filly Phoenix of Wit and the 10th on the turf on William Walden’s 4-year-old filly The Palace Girl. “I tried to get into her at the 3/8 pole and she responded beautifully. I think she had more class than the rest of the field.”
There is no such thing as a sure thing, and Braverman said he and the other partners were unsure how the daughter of McKinzie-Shotdowninflames, by Trappe Shot, would handle the Oldsmar surface. But in this case, they had no reason to worry.
“She likes to be in the middle of the track, and Edgard let her float out there and close down the middle, so we thought he rode her perfectly. She definitely took to the track today,” Braverman said.
A majority of the crowd came to see Drexel Hill, a daughter of Bolt d’Oro out of Ascot Walk, by Daaher, whose races in the Longines Kentucky Oaks and the Mother Goose stamped her as a filly with a bright future. Curtis went to work on her on the turn for home, but given that it was her first start since November, he and the Legion Racing partners in attendance were highly satisfied by her performance.
“Ben knew going into the race there wouldn’t be much pace and said he was going to have to put her into it a little more in the early part,” said Kristian Villante, one of six partners comprising Legion Racing. “She was kind of out of her comfort zone today – she tends to drop back a little farther and make one big run – but I think her class got it done.
“Once Ben got her engaged, she kind of took off,” Villante said. “This was very much a starting point (to 2026) for her. Even in the mornings she can be kind of lazy and make you work for it, but she always delivers for us.”
Around the oval. Thoroughbred racing continues Sunday with a nine-race card beginning at 12:29 p.m. Tampa Bay Downs currently races on a Wednesday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday schedule and is open every day for simulcast wagering, no-limits action and tournament play in The Silks Poker Room and golf instruction and pleasure at The Downs Golf Practice Facility.
