TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Cosmonaut's Year Begins With Win

ADVERTISEMENT

By BART O'CONNELL, Tribune correspondent

Published: February 24, 2008

OLDSMAR - Dark clouds and morning rain threatened Saturday's race card at Tampa Bay Downs and caused a stir among the connections of Tampa Bay Breeders' Cup race favorite Cosmonaut.

The 6-year-old's owner, Carl Lizza of Flying Zee Stable, and trainer Philip Serpe didn't want the race to come off the turf course and onto the sloppy main track. When it was determined that the featured race would remain on the soft turf, everyone was expecting the best.

And that's what the 4-5 favorite delivered. With past Eclipse Award-winning jockey Edgar Prado aboard, Cosmonaut overcame a three-month layoff and handled a talented field and a 1 1/16 -mile distance to win his first start of 2008, paying $3.60, $3 and $2.40 before an announced crowd of 4,513.

"We were just worried; we didn't want the race to come off the grass," Lizza said. "He had a little more class than most of these horses, it was just a question of whether he was fit enough. Phil did a good job of getting him ready."

Though the usual front-runner was denied the early lead by Archers Alyancer, Prado settled in, took over the lead at the three-quarter pole and responded to the challenge down the stretch set forth by 34-1 long shot Ballonenostrikes, the second-place finisher ridden by Rosemary Homeister Jr. The winning time was 1 minute, 44.14 seconds.

"I sat back and bided my time," Prado said. "And he's a very nice horse, you can place him wherever you want, I think he was ready to run today. He's been training real well for this race. ... When Ballonenostrikes came to me, he caught another gear."

Sunshine Millions Turf runner-up Soldier's Dancer was third, gaining ground in the stretch. Classic Campaign, the runner-up in last year's Tampa Bay Stakes, finished fourth. Three horses - Ascertain, Pleasant Strike and Yate's Black Cat - scratched from the race, dropping the field to 10 entries.

Cosmonaut, a son of Lemon Drop Kid, earned $90,000 for the victory, pushing his career earnings to more than $1.2 million. The third-place finisher in last year's Breeders' Cup mile likely will race six or seven more times this year, Lizza said.

A Grade I victory is one of the few accomplishments that has eluded Cosmonaut, and he'll likely race in two or three Grade I stakes this year. The Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland is next on the agenda.

"We'll have him a little more fit for the next race," Lizza said. "He's a very consistent horse. We're looking for a big year from him. This was a good spot to get started."

Saturday's scheduled TBD feature, the Wayward Lass Stakes, is named for the filly Lizza owned that won an Eclipse Award in 1981.

Jockey Pablo Morales had three wins on Saturday's card, moving into fourth place on the current meet with 36 wins.

Correspondent Bart O'Connell can be reached at boconnell@

Einstein Wins Breeders' Cup At Gulfstream

HALLANDALE BEACH - Einstein held off long shot Dancing Forever by a neck Saturday in the $350,000 Gulfstream Breeders' Cup Turf Handicap.

It was the third straight year Einstein has run the stakes. He won it in 2006 and finished third last year, beaten by less than a length.

Ridden for the first time by Jose Lazcano, Einstein ran 1 3/8 miles on the turf in 2:12 4/5 and paid $8, $5, $3.60. The 6-year-old Brazilian-bred son of Spend a Buck has won seven of 16 starts and earned $714,782.

Dancing Forever returned $21.40 and $9.60, and Stream of Gold paid $2.80 to show.

AQUEDUCT: Runway Rosie won her third straight race Saturday with a head victory against Wild Hoots in the $81,075 Rare Treat Handicap at Aqueduct.

The Associated Press

pop.tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT