Falling Sky goes gate-to-wire in Sam F. Davis Stakes

Despite obviously tiring in the homestretch, Falling Sky succeeded in stretching his speed around two turns and won the $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes (gr. III) at Tampa Bay Downs by a neck.

With Jose Espinoza aboard, Falling Sky went straight to the front while setting a moderate pace of :23.49, :47.68, and 1:12.61 seconds. Divine Ambition was tracking him in second, followed by Balino, Dynamic Sky, Silver Day, and Speak Logistics. Lightning Stone, My Name Is Michael, and Midnite Poppa were the trailers.

Rounding the final turn, Dynamic Sky moved up to challenge Falling Sky for the lead, but the front-runner had plenty left in the tank and spurted clear to a two-length lead passing the eighth pole. Dynamic Sky refused to give in, closing fast in the final sixteenth of a mile to cut the margin to just a neck, but Falling Sky held on gamely to win the mile and a sixteenth race in 1:44.79 seconds, a respectable time over the generally slow Tampa Bay Downs main track.

My Name Is Michael rallied belatedly for third, three lengths behind Dynamic Sky. Speak Logistics, Midnite Poppa, Divine Ambition, Silver Day, Lightning Stone, and Balino completed the order of finish.

The winner, a son of Lion Heart out of the Sea Hero mare Sea Dragoness, is trained by John Terranova II and owned by Newton Anner Stud, James Covello, and Joseph Bulger.

-Keelerman

Sam F. Davis Stakes Entries: Dynamic Sky looks for an encore

Dynamic Sky, whose eye-catching Pasco Stakes victory stamped him as a serious Kentucky Derby contend, will look to continue on the road to Louisville when he faces nine rivals in the $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes (gr. III) at Tampa Bay Downs, the sight of his Pasco triumph.

Trained by Mark Casse, the son of Sky Mesa flashed a great deal of potential as a two-year-old, debuting with a third-place finish in the Vandal Stakes before winning the Simcoe Stakes at Woodbine and finishing second in the Breeders' Futurity (gr. I) at Keeneland. He concluded his campaign with a troubled sixth-place effort in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I), in which was beaten just 5 1/4 lengths despite trying to rally over a speed-favoring track. Regular rider Luis Contreras will be aboard in the Sam F. Davis.

Divine Ambition, Silver Day, and Lightning Stone -- the respective 3rd-, 6th-, and 7th-place finishers in the Pasco -- are back to challenge Dynamic Sky again. Display Stakes runner-up My Name is Michael; Florida Stallion In Reality Stakes winner Speak Logistics; allowance winners Falling Sky and Balino; and recent maiden winners Midnite Poppa and Northern Lion round out the field.

Post Positions:
1 Silver Day
2 Divine Ambition
3 My Name Is Michael
4 Speak Logistics
5 Lightning Stone
6 Northern Lion
7 Balino
8 Falling Sky
9 Dynamic Sky
10 Midnite Poppa

-Keelerman