Terranova hopes to 'jump forward' with Tampa Bay Downs momentum
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Eclipse Sportswire
Entering last weekend’s action, John P. Terranova, II wasn’t on anyone’s list of Trainer of the Month candidates at Tampa Bay Downs.
But sometimes all it takes to turn your fortunes around is one good horse. And while Terranova needed three other victories last weekend to earn the award, the exploits of stable standout Killybegs Captain were the impetus to picking up another plaque for his trophy case.
“We’re looking to jump forward off this and go on to bigger and better things,” Terranova said after his 6-year-old’s successful defense in Saturday’s $100,000 Pelican Stakes, achieved in near-stakes-record time of 1:09.24 for six furlongs. “We’re happy we brought him down here again because this race helped push him to another level last year.”
The victory by Killybegs Captain was one of four on the weekend from five starters for Terranova, propelling him to the trainer honor. In Saturday’s fifth race, a maiden special weight contest for 3-year-old fillies on the turf, Terranova sent out the first two finishers, owner Ken Geren’s Mirabell Mei and That’s My Cue.
Terranova’s winning ways continued the next day, with victories in the sixth race on the turf with 4-year-old colt Corcoran and in the 10th on the turf with 4-year-old filly Tatterazzi, which he also owns. Trainer of the day had morphed into trainer of the weekend and, in a come-from-the-clouds display worthy of Silky Sullivan, selection as Rumba Island Bar & Grill Trainer of the Month.
“Those are the kind of moments you hope for,” said the 49-year-old Terranova, who has a string of 12 horses at Tampa Bay Downs and 24 in New York. “So many things can go wrong in a race, and it’s a great feeling when everything works out the way you hoped and planned for.”
The Terranova stable looks to keep the good times rolling at the Oldsmar oval in Saturday’s $100,000 Turf Dash Stakes with Gatsas Stables’ 4-year-old colt Backtohisroots, who won the Atlantic Beach Stakes at Aqueduct in November.
As for Killybegs Captain, owned by the Curragh Stables of Bob Devlin and Michael Devlin, he could return to action on March 7 in the $100,000 Challenger Stakes (G3), a mile-and-a-sixteenth race in which he finished second last year, or he could stick to sprinting. Either way, it’s a nice dilemma to have.
Killybegs Captain finished third in the John A. Nerud Stakes (G2) in July at Belmont and the Forego (G1) in August at Saratoga, the latter won by the eventual Eclipse Award Champion Sprinter, Mitole.
Killybegs Captain returned to the winner’s circle on Sept. 21 in the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) at Laurel Park. He concluded 2019 on Oct. 26 at Belmont with a sixth-place finish in the Bold Ruler (G3) won by Maximum Security.
Although he was not stabled here during the 2017-2018 and 2016-2017 meetings, Terranova has been a major player at Tampa Bay Downs since 2013, when he won the Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) with Falling Sky – who competed in that year’s Kentucky Derby – and the Tampa Bay Stakes (G3) on the turf with Swift Warrior.
“We love it here,” Terranova said recently while spending an afternoon on Madeira Beach with his wife and assistant, Tonja, and their 13-year-old daughter, Giana (older daughter Paulina is a college freshman). “It’s a fantastic place to winter, and the track is very good on horses. We’ve had a lot of good experiences here winning races and getting horses ready for what’s ahead.”
Terranova is also grateful to his Oldsmar crew, especially assistant Faith Wilson; her husband, exercise rider Carlos Cortes; and groom Abel Hernandez. “They’re a great crew, and next year I’d like to have a larger group of horses here,” Terranova said.
That crew is essential on weekends such as this, when Terranova is in New York to saddle Syndergaard in the Haynesfield Stakes at Aqueduct.
Introduced to racing by his father, owner John Terranova, Sr., the younger Terranova enjoyed his first taste of Grade 1 success with Laragh in the 2008 Hollywood Starlet Stakes. His other Grade 1 victories include the 2009 Darley Alcibiades with Negligee; the 2010 Prioress with Franny Freud; and the 2011 Central Bank Ashland with Lilacs and Lace.
Gander, who won the Meadowlands Cup (G2) in 2001, also has a warm spot in the conditioner’s heart, having taken him to two Breeders’ Cup Classics.
Gander was campaigned by the father-son duo of Mike and Matt Gatsas, now the owners of Turf Dash entrant Backtohisroots.
“We’ve been together more than 20 years, and I’m grateful to them and the Devlin family and the other owners who have put their trust in us to do right with their horses,” Terranova said. “We’re blessed to have owners who have been so loyal to us.”
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