Ocean Knight Continues to Impress with Sam F. Davis Win

 

The $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs may have been stripped of its Kentucky Derby qualifying points, but it sure kept its status as an important Derby prep race, when the highly regarded Ocean Knight made a strong stretch run to stay unbeaten. Ocean Knight came to Florida after an impressive maiden win at Aqueduct in December that earned this son of Curlin high ranking on many experts’ Kentucky Derby lists.

After breaking from the 11 post position Ocean Knight was hung a bit wide going into the first turn. His regular New York rider Irad Ortiz patiently positioned the Stonestreet Stables runner to the far outside a group of three horses that sat a few lengths behind the two pacesetters Catalina Red and Divining Rod. The early fractions of :24.29 and :48.75 were moderate and steady.

Around the final turn, pacesetter Divining Rod was joined by My Johnny Be Good and then by Ocean Knight. At the top of the stretch, the three of them were set down by their riders. My Johnny Be Good would fade out of contention and the other two would battle head to head to the wire.

Divining Rod was a valiant competitor after setting the pace, but he could not hold off Ocean Knight, who would prevail by a neck at the finish. The winner went the final quarter mile in :24.59, running the second fastest final time in the history of the Sam F. Davis. The 1:43.74 winning time was a mere 1/5 of a second behind the stakes record that was set by General Quarters in 2009.

Ocean Knight was purchased for $320,000 at the March 2014 Ocala two-year-old sale for Stonestreet and owner Barbara Banke. After the race Banke said, “We knew he was fast. He had been hauling everything else around the training center all year long. (On the turn for home), we thought he had it. He was clear, but he was wide and it’s tough to run down speed.”

 

Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin was represented at Tampa Bay Downs by his brother and assistant trainer, Neal, who provided the post-race comments, ”Irad rode him great, but he was wide and he had to make a couple of moves to get position. He gutted it out down the stretch. For a lightly raced young horse, it’s very exciting. We hope to bring him back here March 7 for the Tampa Bay Derby. We will talk to the owners and are not afraid to go anywhere with him, but if we like the surface here and can have a good experience, why not come back?”

 

 

 

Even though Ocean Knight has yet to earn any Kentucky Derby qualifying points, a good showing in the Tampa Bay Derby could secure enough points to get into the field for the Run for the Roses. The Tampa Bay Derby is part of the second tier qualifying races that carry 50-20-10-5 points to the top four finishers.