$360,000 Tampa Bay Derby, March 11, 2023 [50 qualifying points for first, 20 for second, 15 for third, 10 for fourth, and 5 for fifth] Winner: Tapit Trice, by Tapit Trainer: Todd Pletcher Jockey: Luis Saez Owner: Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable Distance / time: 1 1/16 miles / 1:43.37 Win margin: 2 lengths Beyer: 88  Let me tell you, Luis Saez earned his money in the Tampa Bay Derby. It was exhausting just watching Saez ride the hair off TAPIT TRICE from the seven-sixteenths pole to mid-stretch. All that effort paid off as the odds-on favorite won going away while making his stakes debut and first start around two turns. But Tapit Trice has lessons to learn if he’s going to be competitive at the highest level. The competition will get stronger going forward (no one is confusing runner-up CLASSIC CAR WASH nor third-place CLASSIC CATCH with divisional elite) and Tapit Trice still lacks polish.  As has been the case in all his races, Tapit Trice broke poorly; the doors of the starting gate swung open and the colt kind of stood there for a beat, gathering his thoughts. So, he was last of 12 going into the first turn, though Tapit Trice made some progress around the bend and onto the backstretch. In fact, with five furlongs remaining, Saez and trainer Todd Pletcher probably felt pretty good about things. Tapit Trice was improving his position, with four horses behind him and seven in front of them, seemingly ready to get into an even better spot before the far turn.  Instead, the colt came totally off the bridle and lost all his momentum. Saez cropped him right-handed before the half-mile pole trying to motivate Tapit Trice, but that had no effect. Taking the turn, Saez began pumping furiously, Tapit Trice still not picking up, but by the five-sixteenths pole, racing wide, Tapit Trice finally was on the move. Straightening for home, the colt came eight or nine paths off the fence, racing widest, and after changing leads, he finally started taking Saez places. Saez ceased his strong encouragement and hand rode at the eighth pole as Tapit Trice engulfed the leaders, went right past Classic Car Wash, and won going away.   So, yes, Tapit Trice is a talent and a physical specimen. He’s a big, rugged fellow who goes with long, bounding strides and looks like he’ll run all day. The gate habits might not improve much, which isn’t the end of the world, but he really needs to figure out how to get into the race sooner and be handier if he’s going to be a serious horse for the Derby and Preakness. The Belmont – that could really suit this guy.  Classic Car Wash, third in the Sam Davis Stakes, was bumped at the start, went into the first turn along the rail with just a few behind him, then was guided off the fence early on the bend, eventually winding up about seven paths wide at the head of the backstretch. Kept wide and out of the kickback, the gelding was niggled along down the backside to improve his position. Classic Car Wash got into fifth as he hit the far turn but still raced five paths wide, and while continuing to make progress, he only got into the No. 4 path before the quarter pole. Classic Car Wash, failing to change leads, lugged in while coming alongside the leaders at the eighth pole, finally switched leads and got a tiny burst, but could not come close to matching the winner’s late stride. This was easily the best race of his career, and he’s not far from qualifying for the Derby, though whether he belongs in that race is a different question.  Classic Catch was ridden for pace out of the gate but was outrun by three into the turn, settling between horses in the second flight racing from fifth. He hit a flat spot approaching the half-mile pole and went into the turn on his heels, coming under a heavy ride at the three-furlong marker while a couple paths off the fence. The jockey steered out at the quarter pole, Classic Catch finding a little momentum, and followed Classic Car Wash’s move. Classic Catch wound up just inside Tapit Trice, and while unable to match that foe’s closing run, he did stretch out decently through the final furlong to gain the show.  :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2023: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more PRAIRIE HAWK, who’d been dismal in the Sam Davis, broke just okay from post 12 but had good speed while angling sharply inward to gain a stalking position in third going around the bend. There he stayed down the backstretch and partway around the turn, the jockey asking for more run past the three-furlong marker and getting some response. Three wide outside the two pacesetters at the quarter pole, Prairie Hawk fought on and might have stuck his nose in front ever so slightly before Classic Car Wash forged to the lead. He was running on empty the last 30 yards, and his fourth-place performance, as much as anything, demonstrated the softness of this field.  LORD MILES, a distant sixth in the Holy Bull, broke from the rail out into Classic Car Wash, stuck to the fence while stalking the pacesetters around the turn and onto the backstretch, ceded some ground at the five-furlong marker, and was under a ride while shuffled back approaching the five-sixteenths pole. He appeared to be floundering coming into the homestretch but stayed on surprisingly well to tag a couple tiring pace players and finish fifth.  DREAMING OF KONA was hustled to the front, set the pace from the rail, held gamely into the homestretch, and was still there at the eighth pole, but subsequently tired to the wire and was sixth.  SHESTERKIN, Tapit Trice’s stablemate who actually was favored over Tapit Trice in a Gulfstream allowance race, broke all right and stalked the pace wide. He went evenly around the turn, the rider putting him to pressure before the five-sixteenths pole, then angling for room along the rail. Shesterkin appeared to have a bit of run, but also seemed unwilling to squeeze through a narrow gap between Dreaming of Kona and the fence; had he been more willing to hit the hole, Shesterkin could have earned a placing higher than seventh.   Eighth-place GROVELAND had been second in the Sam Davis but regressed. Racing from eighth in the early stages, he was last turning for home and had only the mildest of rallies.  ZYDECEAUX broke hard from post 11 to contest the pace but, as he’d done making his route debut in the Sam Davis, gave way and failed to stay.   MIKEY BANANAS tried to make a wide run on the far turn with Tapit Trice but then went the wrong direction. CHAMPIONS DREAM retreated from the half-mile pole to the wire and FREEDOM ROAD always was outrun. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? 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