{"id":183283,"date":"2026-03-08T15:49:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T15:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/183283\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T15:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T15:49:09","slug":"the-puma-pounces-in-tampa-bay-derby-the-racing-biz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/183283\/","title":{"rendered":"The Puma pounces in Tampa Bay Derby * The Racing Biz"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Triple Crown Trail: The Puma pounces in Tampa Bay Derby<\/p>\n

Colt\u2019s maiden score puts him in Derby picture<\/p>\n

\"user\"\/The Biz\"date\"\/March 8, 2026<\/p>\n

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The Puma surged onto the Kentucky Derby trail Saturday, stalking the pace before pouncing in the stretch to win the Grade 3, $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs.<\/p>\n

The victory delivered 50 qualifying points on the Kentucky Derby trail, vaulting the colt from the maiden ranks into second on the leaderboard after previously earning six points when third in the Sam F. Davis Stakes last month.<\/p>\n

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Breaking from the outside post under Javier Castellano, The Puma settled off the pace while longshot Redland Rebels set fractions of :23.07 and :46.48 for the opening half-mile of the 1 1\/16-mile race. Castellano kept his mount in striking range before launching a bid on the far turn.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Puma won the Tampa Bay Derby. Photo by SV Photos.<\/p>\n

The Puma reached the top of the stretch with a narrow lead and battled down the lane with Further Ado and the heavy favorite Canaletto. He edged clear late to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:43.23 before a crowd of 9,070. Further Ado finished second for trainer Brad Cox and rider Irad Ortiz Jr., while Canaletto, trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Flavien Prat, was another head back in third.<\/p>\n

The win was particularly meaningful for trainer Gustavo Delgado Sr. and his team, who took the bold step of entering a maiden in a major Derby prep.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a small barn,\u201d assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr. said, adding, \u201cIt\u2019s not an easy thing when you enter a maiden in a stakes race. People think what are they doing? It\u2019s a good thing when they respond on the track.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further Ado earned 25 Derby points for his runner-up finish, while Canaletto collected 15. Redland Rebels received 10 points, and Talkin added five.<\/p>\n

The Puma, a son of Essential Quality out of the Declaration of War mare Eve of War, was bred in Kentucky by Hidden Brook Farm and Brian Kahn. He races for OGMA Investments, JR Ranch, and High Strep Racing \u2014 the same ownership group that campaigned Mage.<\/p>\n

Sent off at 7.40-1, The Puma returned $16.80 for a $2 win ticket and earned $210,000 from the purse, boosting his bankroll to $244,280. With his breakthrough stakes victory, the colt now appears firmly on track for a run at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.<\/p>\n

SAN FELIPE STAKES<\/p>\n

At Santa Anita Park, So Happy pressed the Bob Baffert-trained 4-5 favorite Brant into defeat in Saturday\u2019s Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes \u2014 but all that accomplished was setting it up for the other pricey Baffert runner. Taking advantage of a contested early pace, Potente, a $2.4 million purchase as a yearling ridden yesterday by Juan Hernandez, rallied late to edge 67-1 bomb Robusta to win by a head and earn 50 Kentucky Derby points. Potente, by Into Mischief, is now 2-for-2 in his career.<\/p>\n

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KENTUCKY DERBY POINTS TOP 10<\/p>\n

RANKHORSEOWNERTRAINERPOINTS1PaladinMrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, Derrick Smith, Peter M. Brant, Brook T. Smith & Summer Wind Equine LLCChad Brown602The PumaOGMA Investments LLC, JR Ranch and High Step Racing LLCGustavo Delgado563Silent TacticJohn C. OxleyMark E. Casse504Class PresidentWinStar Farm LLC, First Go Racing and CHC, Inc.Todd A. Pletcher505CommandmentWathnan RacingBrad Cox506Iron HonorSt. Elias Stable, Lawrence, William H. and Glassman RacingChad Brown507PotenteSpeedway Stables LLCBob Baffert508Chip HonchoLeland Ackerley Racing LLCSteven M. Asmussen399Golden TempoPhipps Stable (Daisy Phipps Pulito) & St. Elias Stable (Vincent Viola)Cherie DeVaux3510Further AdoSpendthrift Farm LLCBrad Cox35<\/p>\n

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KENTUCKY DERBY POINTS RACES REPLAYS<\/p>\n

(Click on each line to see the replay)<\/p>\n

Smarty Jones S. \u2013 Strategic Risk<\/p>\n

Jerome S. \u2013 My World<\/p>\n

Lecomte S. \u2013 Golden Tempo<\/p>\n

Southwest S. \u2013 Silent Tactic<\/p>\n

Holy Bull S. \u2013 Nearly<\/p>\n

Robert B. Lewis S. \u2013 Plutarch<\/p>\n

Withers S. \u2013 Talk to Me Jimmy<\/p>\n

Sam F. Davis S. \u2013 Renegade<\/p>\n

UAE 2000 Guineas \u2013 Six Speed<\/p>\n

Risen Star S. \u2013 Paladin<\/p>\n

John Battaglia Memorial S. \u2013 Great White<\/p>\n

Sunland Derby \u2013 Pavlovian<\/p>\n

Rebel S. \u2013 Class President<\/p>\n

Fountain of Youth S. \u2013 Commandment<\/p>\n

Gotham S. \u2013 Iron Honor<\/p>\n

San Felipe S. \u2013 Potente<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay Derby \u2013 The Puma<\/p>\n

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LATEST NEWS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Triple Crown Trail: The Puma pounces in Tampa Bay Derby Colt\u2019s maiden score puts him in Derby picture…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":183284,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[86326,86327,86328,135,137,136,86329],"class_list":{"0":"post-183283","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-great-white","9":"tag-john-battaglia-memorial-s","10":"tag-mid-atlantic-horse-racing","11":"tag-tampa","12":"tag-tampa-headlines","13":"tag-tampa-news","14":"tag-turfway-park"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}