Racing Roundtable: John Hancock's Sam F. Davis triumph and other stakes action

This week, the Racing Roundtable invites special guest Jason Beem, track announcer at Tampa Bay Downs and host of the Jason Beem Horse Racing Podcast, to join in the discussion of John Hancock's win in the Sam F. Davis, plus other notable performances from the weekend.

What were your thoughts on the Sam F. Davis?

Vance Hanson: Given the Sam F. Davis's historically limited influence on the Kentucky Derby (G1), there was a low bar in my personal expectations going into the race. And I'd say it turned out an average renewal. 

With progressively slower fractions set, John Hancock and Owen Almighty ran one-two all the way around the racetrack. John Hancock ran to what you might expect from a horse with only one previous race under his belt. He proved game turning back a more experienced rival, but I wouldn't put him among the top tier of Derby contenders yet after winning a race WinStar runners have generally dominated. 

I'm not sure Owen Almighty or third-place finisher Poster have made notable advancement yet off their two-year-old form but I cut Poster some slack, given the race flow and the fact he was cutting back from nine furlongs.

Ashley Anderson: Speed dominated in both major stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday, as John Hancock and La Cara went gate to wire in their respective Road to the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Oaks (G1) prep races. I was particularly impressed with John Hancock's stretch run, where he turned on another gear after Owen Almighty briefly poked his head in front midstretch, but John Hancock quickly fought back to draw away with a half-length victory. The Brad Cox pupil crossed the finish line in a final time of 1:42.27 for 1 1/16 miles, besting the previous stakes record time of 1:42.44 set by Flameaway in 2018. The Constitution colt is now 2-for-2 and entered Saturday's stakes effort having won on debut in a six-furlong maiden special weight in similar gate-to-wire fashion at Tampa Bay Downs. His first effort at two turns was a success, and he recorded a career-best 97 Brisnet Speed figure, improving upon the 88 he posted on debut. He's one to watch for Cox, who said after the Sam F. Davis that John Hancock is unlikely to appear in the March 8 Tampa Bay Derby (G3), for which the Sam F. Davis is a local prep. Cox said he would prefer not to run the three-year-old back in four weeks off a hard effort. Instead, the Louisiana Derby (G2) on March 22 at Fair Grounds, or the Arkansas Derby (G1) or Florida Derby (G1) on March 29, could be the target.

Other takeaways from the weekend stakes?

VH: La Cara's bounce-back win in the Suncoast S. at Tampa wasn't a surprise, but the manner of her victory kind of was. Although she had shown speed earlier in her career, including in her dominating maiden win at Saratoga, she hadn't shown much in either the Pocahontas (G3), which she won, or the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), in which she was not competitive when finishing midpack.

It was smart tactics for La Cara to outrun second-time starter Cloe to the lead, and favorite Her Laugh blowing the break helped, too. La Cara eventually strolled home an easy 6 1/4 length winner and looks like a filly on the rise for Mark Casse. The Suncoast has yielded recent winners like Nest and Power Squeeze, so I wouldn't be shocked if the form of this edition was also flattered over time.

AA: Among the three-year-old performances, the Complexity filly Hollygrove returned to the winner's circle in her fourth career start and earned her first stakes victory in the 6 1/2-furlong Valdale S. at Turfway Park on Saturday. The Whit Beckman trainee was a debut winner in a five-furlong maiden special weight at Churchill Downs back in May of last year, then finished a 19-length seventh to Kentucky Oaks contender Muhimma in her second start, a seven-furlong optional claimer, which came off a long layoff for Hollygrove due to a lung infection. Hollygrove made her second start off the layoff in the Sandpiper S. and was a half-length second at 7.60-1 in her stakes debut. She improved upon that effort on Saturday while stretching back out slightly and trying all-weather for the first time. The Legion Racing color bearer may be one to watch along the Oaks trail as a daughter of Moon And Stars, out of Kentucky Derby winner Orb.

As for three-year-old male performances, Sand Devil remained unbeaten in his third career start when he won the seven-furlong Damon Runyon S. by a quarter-length, beating four New York-bred rivals at Aqueduct on Saturday. The Violence colt out of a Mineshaft mare earned a career-best 97 BRIS figure, tied for the sixth-highest Speed figure among three-year-olds this season, and will likely target the Gotham S. next.

What else caught your eye?

VH: The racing world lost of one its notable and most successful patrons last week when the fourth Aga Khan passed away in Portugal at the age of 87. A third generation owner-breeder, the Aga Khan was one of the dominant forces in European racing for more than half a century.

Although his famed green silks with red epaulets were not often seen in the U.S., he did win the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1) three times, most recently in 2020 at Keeneland with the filly Tarnawa. He also captured the inaugural edition at Hollywood Park in 1984 with 53-1 outsider Lashkari, and the 2000 renewal with Kalanisi.

The Aga Khan won the Epsom Derby (G1) five times, most famously with the ill-fated Shergar, who won cantering by a record margin of 10 lengths. He also won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) four times, including with his brilliant undefeated filly Zarkava. But my all-time favorite of the Aga Khan's was Sinndar. 

While 1 1/4-mile specialist and "iron horse" Giant's Causeway was the darling of racing media in Europe and America in 2000, Sinndar, to me, was truly the outstanding three-year-old of the European flat season that season. Sinndar remains the only horse ever to win the Epsom Derby, Irish Derby, and Arc. At Epsom, he defeated future Arc winner and Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) runner-up Sakhee, as well as the favorite Beat Hollow, who went on to score three Grade 1 wins in America the following year. And in the Arc, Sinndar dominated over the 1999 winner Montjeu.

The Aga Khan's stable is expected to continue, but he personally will be missed in the world's winner's circles.

AA: Vekoma three-year-old Colloquial broke his maiden in noteworthy fashion at Aqueduct on Friday, when he romped to a seven-length victory in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight and recorded a 109 Brisnet Speed figure, the highest of any three-year-old to start the year. The win over seven rivals came nearly eight months after Colloquial finished a nose second to Mentee — a full-brother to Fierceness — who set a new track record for five furlongs in :56.97 back in June at Belmont at the Big A. Colloquial, who is trained by George Weaver, posted a sharp 95 BRIS figure on debut. He's out of a Bernardini mare, but connections divulged that Colloquial will likely be kept at one-turn races through the first half of the year. Weaver mentioned the seven-furlong Woody Stephens (G1) as a potential mid-year target, and Colloquial could next appear in stakes like the Lafayette at Keeneland in April or the Bay Shore S. at Aqueduct.