SUAREZ HITS IT OFF WITH MOTION-TRAINED FILLY; CAMACHO WINS THREE

By Mike Henry —-

OLDSMAR, FL. – Although jockey Angel Suarez was disappointed with his sixth-place finish on 3-year-old filly Grand Oak here on Jan. 18, his subsequent morning work with the Irish-bred daughter of Speightstown made him eager to give her another try in today’s fifth race sprinting 5 furlongs on the turf.

Grand Oak made a true believer of the rider, surging to the lead on the turn for home and rolling to a 3 ¾-length victory from Kerry in the $27,000 allowance/optional claiming event for sophomore distaffers.

“Getting on a horse in the mornings definitely helps, but when you ride a horse in the afternoon everything can change,” Suarez said. “Some horses will be nice and quiet in the morning, but they transform when they know it’s race day.”

Perhaps it was Grand Oak’s familiarity with the pilot that enabled her to put forth her best effort and focus on the competition. This was her ninth lifetime start, and Suarez is the first jockey to ride her twice in a race.

Her lone previous victory came on May 20 as a 2-year-old under Martin Garcia in a maiden special weight race at Churchill Downs, also at 5 furlongs on the turf.

“The last time I rode her was a two-turn (1-mile) turf race, and when I got to the 3/8-mile pole I didn’t have any horse left,” Suarez said. “Annie (Sinchak, the Tampa Bay Downs assistant to winning trainer H. Graham Motion) told me she lost a shoe in that race, and sometimes that can make a big difference. So I gave (Grand Oak) the benefit of the doubt, even though I wasn’t sure that (losing a shoe) was enough to have her quit the way she did.”

Ah, the mysteries of the Thoroughbred. Suarez didn’t have any questions to ponder after Grand Oak’s authoritative, off-the-pace victory in 56.46 seconds.

“I just had to be a passenger today,” he said. “I just waited for the right moment to make a move, and she did the rest.”

Grand Oak was against some tough company on Jan. 18. The winner of that race, Motion’s Mission of Joy, came back on March 11 to win the Grade III Florida Oaks.

The 2-5 wagering favorite in today’s fifth race, the Grade III-placed filly Redifined, was unable to recover from minor traffic trouble on the backstretch and finished fifth.

Camacho wins three. Leading jockey Samy Camacho rode three winners today, giving him 98 for the meet. His most impressive victory came in the sixth race, a $29,500 allowance/optional claiming race for older horses, on 7-year-old Iowa-bred gelding Topper T, who sped to a 4 ¼-length victory from No Que No in the 6-furlong dash in 1:08.91, .24 seconds off It’s Me Mom’s track record.

Topper T is owned by Danny Stafford and trained by Jon Arnett.

Camacho, who is a lock to win his third consecutive Tampa Bay Downs jockeys crown and fourth in five seasons, won the second race on Cox Canyon, a 3-year-old gelding owned by Winner Circle Stables and trained by Gregg Sacco. Cox Canyon was claimed from the victory for $16,000 by trainer Monica McGoey for new owner Paterpop Racing.

Camacho added the fourth race with Hit by a Wave, a 5-year-old gelding owned by Tage Boohit and trained by Karyn Philipp, before winning on Topper T.

Around the oval. Thoroughbred racing continues Friday with a nine-race card beginning at 12:20 p.m. Tampa Bay Downs is open every day except Easter Sunday, April 9 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.