John Oxley's Flameaway (Scat Daddy), a battling winner of the GIII Sam F. Davis S. Feb. 10, will return to Tampa to contest the $400,000 GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby Mar. 10, trainer Mark Casse confirmed Sunday.
“I had that conversation with Mr. Oxley this morning, and that is the plan,” Casse told the Tampa press office. Casse conditioned the Oxley-owned Prospective (Malibu Moon) to win the 2012 Tampa Bay Derby.
The $400,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga graduate was making his second start of the season Saturday and was returning to the main track off a hard-fought success in the grassy Kitten's Joy S. at Gulfstream Jan. 6. He stopped the timer in a stakes-record 1:42.44, bettering the time 'TDN Rising Star' McCraken (Ghostzapper) recorded last year by 0.01 seconds.
Flameaway was not an early Triple Crown nominee, but will be entered at the late closing stage in mid-March, Casse said.
Beaten Davis favorite Catholic Boy (More Than Ready) was shipped to Bridlewood Farm in Ocala following Saturday's race and is under consideration for a few different races, but trainer Jonathan Thomas suggested the colt will have just one more prep before the GI Kentucky Derby.
“Catholic Boy replicated his 91 Beyer [Speed Figure] from [winning] the Grade II Remsen [S. in December at Aqueduct] and he's healthy,” Thomas said. “In retrospect, I might have been a little light on him from a training perspective, but we're anticipating a long spring. We'll probably try to have one more prep and, if he's good enough, he will earn his way into [the Kentucky Derby].”
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
