'Something special,' Got Stormy begins with Tampa Bay Downs' Endeavour
Eclipse Awards finalist Got Stormy is squarely the one to beat Saturday when making her 5-year-old debut in Tampa Bay Downs' Grade 3, $175,000 Endeavour Stakes.
Set to face seven rivals going 1 1/16 miles on turf, the Mark Casse trainee has missed the exacta just once in her last eight starts, counting victories in the Fourstardave (G1) and Matriarch (G1) along the way in addition to a runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Mile.
"She's something special," Casse recently said of the Gary Barber-owned daughter of Get Stormy.
Got Stormy has prepared for the Endeavour with four breezes at the Casse Training Center in Ocala, Fla. She most recently drilled a half mile last Wednesday in 50.60 seconds.
Casse won the Endeavour in 2016 with Tepin, to whom Got Stormy has drawn comparisons within the last year.
Got Stormy's toughest challenger may be Andina Del Sur, third in Gulfstream's Marshua's River (G3) most recently with two wins from her last four starts. Jose Ortiz will be aboard the 5-year-old Giant's Causeway mare who's trained by Tom Albertrani.
Meanwhile, expect Jehozacat to set the early pace for trainer and Arnaud Delacour and local jockey Daniel Ceteno from post No. 3, while No. 2 Altea is a consistent board hitter also starting her 5-year-old season with trainer Chad Brown. Joel Rosario is in to ride.
Dynatail, an eight-time winner from 34 career starts, is a multiple stakes heroine looking for her graded breakthrough as another pace factor.
Post time for the Endeavour is 3:59 p.m. ET on a card headlined by the Sam F. Davis (G3), a Kentucky Derby prep featuring top 3-year-old colt Independence Hall.