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Pick Pony | Feb. 1, 2025, 1:44 p.m.
As Northern Invader and Irish Aces staged a thrilling duel inside the 1/8-mile pole of the Grade III, $175,000 Tampa Bay Stakes for older horses late Saturday afternoon, it was the connections of the horse gaining on them, 6-year-old Running Bee, who were smiling inside.
Trainer Chad Brown and jockey Flavien Prat, the sport’s 2024 Eclipse Award winners (Brown’s fifth and Prat’s first), delivered a memorable show for Tampa Bay Downs fans, capped by Running Bee’s ¾-length victory from Northern Invader in a time of 1:38.85 for the mile-and-a-sixteenth. That bettered the previous turf course record of 1:39.25, set two years ago by Emmanuel in the same race.
“When I saw the half-mile fraction (of 45.76 seconds, by Northern Invader), I felt very confident that (Running Bee) would be able to close into that and give a good run,” trainer Brown said via telephone from his south Florida base. “I felt even better when they cut the corner and saw how they were moving. It was another brilliant ride by Flavien, and he is picking up right where he left off last year.”
Running Bee’s triumph in the 39th Tampa Bay Stakes, Brown’s first in the race, was one of four on the 10-race card from four starters for the trainer-jockey duo. Brown had a third and Prat an out-of-the-money finish in their other races.
Three races before the Tampa Bay Stakes, Brown and Prat combined to win the 26th edition of the Grade III, $175,000 Endeavour Stakes for older fillies and mares with 6-year-old mare Saffron Moon in stakes-record time of 1:39.92 for the mile-and-a-sixteenth, with Brown’s Venencia finishing third (more on that race below).
The Brown-Prat duo introduced themselves to a festive Saturday crowd of 3,316 by winning the fourth race, also on the turf, with 3-year-old colt Goncora.
The victory by Running Bee, who finished second to Never Explain in last year’s Tampa Bay Stakes, was his eighth from 16 starts. The Calumet Farm-owned horse, a son of English Channel out of Our Joy, by El Prado, earned $90,000, raising his career bankroll to $757,443. He paid $4 as the wagering favorite in the nine-horse field.
Northern Invader edged Irish Aces by a nose for second, with 30-1 shot Lorenz closing well for fourth.
“I appreciate the Calumet team letting me run him here, because he had shown an affinity for Tampa,” Brown said of Running Bee. “I thought this was a safe spot for him and hopefully there will be a Grade I race with his name on it this year. To set the course record just puts a cherry on top of everything.”
Another delicious topping to the Brown-Prat Saturdae was added a race later, when Prat scored in the 10th race on the turf, an allowance, for Brown and owner Peter M. Brant with 5-year-old mare Notinamillionyears.
While changing silks between the Tampa Bay Stakes and the 10th race, Prat took a couple of minutes to describe Running Bee’s performance.
“Before the race, I thought we’d be a little closer early, but the pace was hot so I found myself near the back,” Prat said. “When I gave him a chance, he came running and it felt like he picked it up nicely. It took a little bit to really get him going, but when he got into his rhythm he came on strong.”
The focus before the Endeavour Stakes was on Brown and Prat, rightfully so. They are at the very top of their professions, their Eclipse Awards further testament to their supremacy.
But after Saffron Moon gobbled up the Oldsmar oval’s green grass through the stretch to post a 2 ¼-length victory from See You Around in stakes-record time of 1:39.92 for the mile-and-a-sixteenth distance, a couple of the sport’s proverbial “little guys,” owners Phil and Christine Hatfield (who race under CHP Racing), might have deserved the most credit.
“She (Saffron Moon) has always had plenty of ability, but she’s had some interruptions in her career and we haven’t been able to race her as much as we would have liked,” Brown said. “The Hatfields have been very patient with her. They love their horses, and they want to give her every chance they can to reach her potential.”
The Endeavour triumph was the first stakes victory for Saffron Moon, who improved to 4-for-10 lifetime, and the first stakes victory for the Hatfields since they entered racing in 2021. They are from Sebring, Fla., about a 2-hour drive from Tampa Bay Downs.
Gratitude seemed to best express their emotions as Saffron Moon and Prat were celebrated in the winner’s circle.
“That’s really what it’s all about. I think there are more downs than ups in this business, but when you hit that up it’s phenomenal,” Phil Hatfield said. “We were ready to put her on the van for the (Grade III) Suwannee River Stakes (six weeks ago at Gulfstream), but she spiked a fever and couldn’t run. The next day, she was fine.
“This is something you dream about. It’s a special place and I know a lot of people have been there, but we hadn’t. Now we are, and we’re happy.”
For Prat, who rode 56 graded-stakes winners last year, including 16 Grade Is, it almost seemed like just another day at the office up to that point. But Brown knows better. Prat flew cross-country from Los Angeles to Tampa on Friday to ride for Brown, and they were rewarded with a performance for the ages, at least as far as Tampa Bay Downs is concerned.
“He worked out a good trip (with Saffron Moon), as usual. I am so appreciative of him to fly all the way from the West Coast to ride there today,” said Brown, who won the Endeavour for the fifth time. “We have formed a great partnership and I look forward to it continuing.”
See You Around was a solid second in the Endeavour after tracking pacesetter Ocean Club in the early going. Brown’s other entry in the race, Venencia, rallied for third, with Breath Away fourth in the nine-horse field.
Saffron Moon paid $5.60 to win as the betting favorite. The daughter of Malibu Moon out of Crocus Hill, by Medaglia d’Oro, earned $90,000 for the victory, raising her career earnings to $339,625.
Prat was delighted by her performance.
“She didn’t break super, but I felt the pace was pretty honest so I was pleased where she was (in sixth place down the backstretch),” he said. “Turning for home I had the option to go around, but I wanted to save more ground. When we left the far turn I tipped her outside, and she gave me a good run.”
Brown said he would lean toward bringing Saffron Moon back to Tampa Bay Downs for the Grade II, $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes at a mile-and-an-eighth on the turf on March 8. “It’s an easy ship (from his Payson Park Training Center base in Indiantown), and she seems to like Tampa,” he said. “She seems to be pretty sound and healthy, so hopefully this is the start of a productive campaign.”
Around the oval. In the eighth race, a mile-and-40-yard starter/optional claiming event on the main dirt track, 4-year-old colt Copperlite set a track record of 1:38.28 under jockey Edwin Gonzalez, bettering the previous mark of Downtowner by .40 seconds. Copperlite, a 6-1 shot, defeated Golden Juan by 2 ½ lengths. He is owned by Kenneth L. Ramsey and trained by his grandson, Nolan Ramsey.
Thoroughbred racing continues Sunday with a 10-race card beginning at 12:35 p.m. Tampa Bay Downs races each Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The track is open every day for simulcast wagering, no-limits action and tournament play in The Silks Poker Room and golf fun and instruction at The Downs Golf Practice Facility.