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TAMPA BAY: QUALITY STEP SHARP; EYE ON THE FINISH PULLS UPSET
Posted On 24 Jan 2021
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By Mike Henry —-
QUALITY STEP SHARP; EYE ON THE FINISH PULLS UPSET; $41K PICK-5 CARRYOVER
OLDSMAR, FL. – Heading up the backstretch of the Males Division of the Tampa Turf Test, 5-year-old gelding Quality Step was sitting off a lively pace and poised to strike.
The manner in which he delivered was a surprise to even his owner-trainer, Keith Nations.
“It was probably better than I expected,” Nations said after Quality Step rolled to a 5-length victory from Shendam in 1:40.56 for the mile-and-a-sixteenth distance, .91 seconds off the Tampa Bay Downs course record. “He’s a horse that has just been getting better since the summer, and he’s kind of hitting his prime. We hope he continues to move forward.”
On today’s card, no bettor hit the late Pick-5, creating a carryover pool of $41,221.47 into Sunday’s late Pick-5.
Nations campaigns Quality Step under his and wife Cheryl’s Nations Racing Stable banner. The gelded son of Elusive Quality-My Lucky Shoes, by Unbridled’s Song, is 2-for-2 in the starter handicap series, having won the first leg at a mile on Jan. 2. Raul Mena rode Quality Step, now 6-for-29 lifetime. He paid $7.40 as the lukewarm betting favorite. Kitten’s Spa finished third.
The race was the fourth on today’s card.
“He had a rough trip last time and overcame it, and he had a perfect trip today,” Nations said. “I’m happy for Raul. It’s always good to win races for good people, and he is one.”
“He (Quality Step) impressed me a lot today,” Mena said. “He’s a very confident horse to ride and very classy, and when I asked him for a little bit on the turn after the 3/8s pole, he responded really well. I think with more distance, he’s going to be even better.”
The Fillies and Mares Division of the Tampa Turf Test, contested as the sixth race, produced an upset winner in 9-1 Eye On the Finish, who took the lead in late stretch and held off 24-1 shot Colonels Daughter by a neck, with Classy of Course a head back in third in a blanket finish.
Eye On the Finish paid $20 to win and keyed a $1 trifecta payoff of $1,473.10. She is a daughter of Congrats-Running Creek, by Cape Town.
Eye On the Finish is owned by Ted Barlas, Jean Barlas and Chris Barlas, and is trained by Alnaz Ali. Tomas Mejia was the jockey.
Ali credited Mejia with following instructions to the letter, allowing Eye On the Finish – who broke from the No. 1 post position – to settle behind the leaders up the backstretch while keeping position on the inside in mid-pack. In deep stretch, she had enough “surge” to suggest the others weren’t getting past, no matter the distance.
“I told (Mejia) to break sharp, stay close and save all the ground, and he did a tremendous job. He’s a good little jockey with a big heart,” Ali said. “The pace set up well for us and the extra distance helped (Eye On the Finish was a rallying fifth in the first leg of the series). She was training really well, and we liked her a lot going into the race.”
“She’s a nice filly to ride,” Mejia said, describing her as sort of a push-button competitor. “When I wanted her to keep good position, she did what I asked. I saw (Classy of Course) coming late, but I knew I had horse and that’s always a good feeling.”
Mejia and Ali also teamed to win the ninth race with Striking Heir, a 6-year-old Florida-bred gelding owned by Marcelo Pioquinto.
The third legs of the Tampa Turf Test will be on Feb. 27 at a distance of a mile-and-an-eighth, with the series concluding on March 27 with two mile-and-three-eighths races.
Around the oval. Thoroughbred racing continues Sunday with a nine-race card beginning at 12:42 p.m. Tampa Bay Downs currently races on a Wednesday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday schedule. The track 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.
Tickets for Festival Preview Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South on sale. Additional information on tickets for the Festival Preview Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South card on Feb. 6:
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Tampa Bay Downs is limiting general-admission attendance for Festival Preview Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South on Saturday, Feb. 6 to 2,500 spectators. Tickets, which are $10 each plus a service fee, are being sold online through Eventbrite.com and at the program stands.
Horsemen, box-seat holders and season-ticket holders do not need to purchase tickets, but will need to present their passes at the gate to gain admittance.
Seating will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis unless patrons have prior arrangements in the Skye Terrace Dining Room, Sports Gallery, Clubhouse Carrels or Legends Bar, but the purchase of a general-admission ticket is still required to gain admittance.
The track is also selling a limited number of tables in the Backyard Picnic Area for $50 each plus a service fee; that price includes admission for six people.
Here is the link for Festival Preview Day 41 tickets and picnic-area seating:
Four stakes races, including three graded events, are on tap, headlined by the Grade III, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes for 3-year-old Triple Crown candidates at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the main track. Also scheduled are the Grade III, $175,000 Tampa Bay Stakes for horses 4-years-old-and-upward at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf; the Grade III, $175,000 Lambholm South Endeavour Stakes for fillies and mares 4-and-upward at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf; and the $150,000 Suncoast Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at a mile-and-40-yards on the main track.
Everyone will be required to wear masks or face coverings and maintain appropriate social distancing.
Mike Henry
