The betting suggested that Saturday’s Pasco S. was a one-horse race, and so it proved as 1-10 favorite Book’em Danno demolished his foes by 12 1/2 lengths at Tampa Bay Downs. The Derek Ryan sophomore advanced his record to 5-4-1-0, $260,625, along with his options for owners Atlantic Six Racing to ponder.
Book’em Danno was rebounding from his only loss in the Nov. 5 Nashua S. at Aqueduct, where he uncharacteristically set a pressured pace and settled for a grudging second. Cutting back from a mile was a key angle in the seven-furlong Pasco, but more patient tactics also helped.
Reuniting with original pilot Samuel Marin for the first time since Monmouth Park last summer, Book’em Danno was content to relax in fifth early. Up front, a pace battle ensued between Banded Rocket and 99-1 El Principito. Banded Rocket held a slim advantage through fractions of :22.53 and :45.75, but by that point, Book’em Danno was cruising closer on the outside, and the 9-2 West Saratoga was improving on the rail.
As Book’em Danno circumnavigated the field rounding the far turn, the horses to his inside got tightened up. Their degree of inconvenience or trouble couldn’t compare to the absolute dominance by the favorite. Book’em Danno drew away from them all rapidly, widening his margin in a final time of 1:23.26.
West Saratoga, among those affected on the far turn, kept on to collar Rathmore by a neck for runner-up honors. El Principito, who checked the most in the incident, checked in fourth. Next came Bati King and Banded Rocket. Crazy Mason was scratched.
West Saratoga’s jockey, Samy Camacho, and Gabriel Maldonado aboard El Principito lodged objections against Book’em Danno. The stewards allowed the order of finish to stand, given the clear-cut winner and the less-than-clear replay views of the far turn.
Book’em Danno was earning his third stakes win, after the Sept. 9 Smoke Glacken S. at Monmouth and the Oct. 8 Futurity S. that was rained off the turf at Aqueduct. The dark bay opened his career with a 9 1/2-length conquest of New Jersey-breds, but his horizons have expanded far beyond the Garden State.
The Feb. 24 Saudi Derby (G3) on Saudi Cup Day is reportedly on his itinerary, unless his Pasco performance leads connections to rethink the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail. As a $1.5 million prize around a one-turn mile, the Saudi Derby is a logical spot for a smart three-year-old without Triple Crown pretensions – especially for a gelding.
Book’em Danno’s immediate pedigree hints that he’s a one-turn artist. By multiple Grade 2-winning turf sprinter Bucchero and out of the Ghostzapper mare Adorabella, he’s a half-brother to multiple sprint stakes vixen Girl Trouble.
As if his Pasco display needed any other boosting, fillies in the companion Gasparilla S. earlier on the card clocked a significantly slower time. Mystic Lake, the 4-5 Gasparilla favorite, went wire-to-wire in 1:24.69. Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. and ridden by Edgard Zayas, the C2 Racing Stable and Stefania Farms runner also recorded softer splits in :22.98, :46.23, and 1:11.39. She held by three-quarters of a length from the closing Gorgeous Girl.
Mystic Lake’s first stakes laurel enhanced her resume to 5-2-1-1, $117,446. The Mo Town filly had been knocking on the door at Woodbine last fall, placing second in the seven-furlong Glorious Song S. before fading to third in the 1 1/16-mile Mazarine (G3).
Saturday’s stakes action at Tampa began with the $50,000 Wayward Lass S., where Opus Forty Two rallied in deep stretch to overhaul 8-5 favorite Dream Concert. Magical Lute rounded out the musically-themed trifecta.
Opus Forty Two negotiated 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.90 beneath Daniel Centeno to notch her second stakes win. The Arnaud Delacour filly had scored her first a year ago right here, in the 2023 Gasparilla. The well-named daughter of Mendelssohn went on to place in the Delaware Oaks (G3) and Thirty Eight Go Go S. last out at Laurel.
