TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Lookinforthesecret Sprints To Win

ADVERTISEMENT

By BART O'CONNELL, Tribune correspondent

Published: January 13, 2008

OLDSMAR - Whether on the dirt or on the turf, running six furlongs or five, Lookinforthesecret is without question the reigning king of the sprinters at Tampa Bay Downs.

In yet another example of just how savvy trainer Jamie Ness was when he claimed the chestnut horse for a mere $12,500 last season, jockey Daniel Centeno guided the 5-2 second choice to a wire-to-wire win by 2 1/2 lengths in the $65,000 Pelican Stakes, the horse's fourth stakes win in the past 10 months.

The final time of 1 minute, 19.30 seconds was a stakes record and three-tenths of a second off the 34-year-old track record at six furlongs.

Nonetheless, there were plenty of doubters in the crowd of 3,857 at TBD on Saturday, betting on the fact that Lookinforthesecret had raced just once since October, and had most of its past success on the turf and at five furlongs, as opposed to the six-furlong Pelican contested on dirt.

"Of course I was concerned, very concerned. It was a very quality field of horses," said Ness, vying for a second straight training title at TBD. "But this horse, I gave him a little break and he's been really doing good, almost better than ever. And I felt going into the race that it was going to take a heck of a horse to beat him today, and that horse wasn't there."

Last year's Super Stakes winner D'artagnans'spirit, trained by Kirk Ziadie, went off as a 7-5 favorite, expected to chase down the front-runners in the final stretch. But the normally strong closer failed to contend after making up little ground during the turn, finishing fourth.

The real threat for Lookinforthesecret turned out to be ship-in He's So Chic, nearly pulling even around the turn. Centeno, however, saved Lookinforthesecret just enough to finish strong. He's So Chic weakened down the stretch but still placed. The Ron Allen-trained It's His Time was third throughout the trip.

"We got a little scared by He's So Chic for a minute, but Lookinforthesecret loves this track," Centeno said. "I looked at the horse and knew that he could beat the field and that he was still running strong. He was feeling very, very good."

Ness put up the $12,500 himself to claim Lookinforthesecret last year, and sold the horse 30 days after the TBD meet ended to first-time owner Balkrisna Sukharan for an undisclosed amount. It has now won more than $270,000 in its career.

There are no plans to run Lookinforthesecret at more than six furlongs due to a breathing problem; the main reason why Ness was able to claim him so cheaply. But with a different training regimen and equipment, the horse has flourished in shorter races. The next stakes race at TBD fitting those conditions is the $75,000 Turf Dash in March, and Ness is undecided about his plans before then.

Apprentice jockey Jorge Monserrate Jr. picked up his first career win in the fifth race, guiding Smart Partner to a two-length victory. To celebrate, his fellow jockeys dumped water, shaving cream, baby powder and eggs on his head as he returned to the paddock, a tradition for first-time winners.

Bart O'Connell can be reached at boconnell@pop.tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT