What Saturday’s $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby (G3) lacked in betting it made up for, to a degree, in excitement.
Delayed for the better part of an hour after a tote outage affected Tampa Bay Downs and several other tracks around the country, the Tampa Bay Derby eventually was held without wagering. Fans that stuck around on track, and those that stayed tuned in simulcast land, witnessed a thriller.
Not helped at all by a pedestrian early pace set by fellow Chad Brown trainee Good Money, Domestic Product nonetheless rallied in the final strides to prevail in a blanket finish over Sam F. Davis (G3) winner No More Time, Grand Mo the First, and Good Money.
A homebred racing for Seth Klarman and ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, Domestic Product won by a neck and ran the 1 1/16 miles over a fast track in 1:45.47 after Good Money set a pace of :25.25, :51.14, and 1:16.21 while closely tracked by No More Time.
“He got good seasoning today,” Brown said. “He had to rate and he was pulling a little bit off a slow pace, and I was really impressed with his heart and the fact he got his nose down on the wire.”
Grand Mo the First finished third, a head behind No More Time, with Good Money a half-length farther back in fourth. The order of finish was rounded out by Heartened, Sturdy, Crazy Mason, Everdoit, Catire Vizcaya, and Give Me Liberty.
Domestic Product, most recently second in the Holy Bull (G3), is the fourth Kentucky Derby (G1) prep winner to have emerged from the Remsen (G2) at Aqueduct in December. Dornoch, who won the Remsen, recently captured the Fountain of Youth (G2), while Remsen runner-up Sierra Leone landed the Risen Star (G2) last month. Remsen third Drum Roll Please captured the Jerome S. at the beginning of the season before injury knocked him off the Derby trail.
Domestic Product ran below expectations in the Remsen finishing seventh, but has emerged as a leading classic candidate for Brown, who has won the Preakness (G1) twice but has never won the Derby.
Brown said Domestic Product, who has now won two of five starts, is likely to have one more prep before the Kentucky Derby. Logical options would include the Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland or Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct, both over 1 1/8 miles.
“I don’t know that training a horse this far away from the Kentucky Derby gives you the best chance to win the race, and that’s what we want to do,” Brown said. “He’s got enough points to run in the race, but we really want to get him in with a chance to win.”
Domestic Product earned 50 qualifying points toward the Derby, increasing his total to 60. No More Time earned 25 points and now has 45, while Grand Mo the First secured his first 15 points. Good Money accrued 10 points, while fifth-place finisher Heartened earned five points.
Trainer Jose D’Angelo said No More Time is likely to train up to the Kentucky Derby.
“We have eight weeks before the Kentucky Derby, and I’d probably like to bring him into it fresh and arrive (at Churchill Downs) early,” he said. “He’s not a big horse, so we have to be smart how we handle him.”
Bred in Kentucky, Domestic Product is by Practical Joke and out of Goods and Services, a daughter of Paynter.
