Litigate bolsters Pletcher's Derby prospects, wins Sam F. Davis

Just when a race seems more wide-open than you can imagine, and any one of eight or nine horses seems to have a chance to land in the winner’s circle, along comes this Pletcher fellow to snap you back to reality.

Hall of Famer and reigning Eclipse Award champion conditioner Todd Pletcher won his record seventh Sam F. Davis Stakes in the rain at Tampa Bay Downs, as his 3-year-old Litigate turned in a sustained rally under jockey Luis Saez and held off long-shot Groveland by a length-and-a-quarter to win the Grade 3, $250,000 event.

Litigate picked up 20 “Road to the Kentucky Derby” qualifying points after completing the mile-and-a-sixteenth distance in 1:44.83. Another long shot, Classic Car Wash, finished third in the 11-horse field, with betting favorite Dubyuhnell never getting untracked and finishing eighth.

Litigate paid $7.60 to win as the second wagering choice. “I’m very pleased with Litigate,” Pletcher said from his south Florida base after winning the Sam F. Davis for the first time since 2016 with Destin. “He got a good position early and finished well. We thought he would appreciate two turns.”

Saez was able to secure good position in fifth place early, keeping Litigate out of trouble and saving his best for the stretch run. “That was magnificent,” Saez said. “The game plan was trying to break from the start and pick up some spots. He ran from there pretty well and when he came to the top of the stretch, I felt like I had a lot of horse and let him run free and keep going. I had plenty of horse and he was running pretty nice.”

The victory, Litigate’s second from only three starts, was worth $120,000 to owner Centennial Farms, raising Litigate’s bankroll to $182,590.

“It’s exciting to be on the Kentucky Derby trail,” said Donald Little Jr., Centennial Farms president and co-owner. “He just really improved mentally from his last race (a second-place finish on Jan. 8 at Gulfstream) and put it all together today. Luis gave him a really tactical ride. He broke him early, got in there and saved some ground in the first turn and then he moved him to the outside and let him rock.”

Jose Ortiz, the jockey on favored Dubyuhnell, said early traffic trouble took the 2-1 shot out of the race.

“The first turn was very rough and I had to check really hard,” Ortiz said. “After that, he never got back on rhythm. That took him out of the race. It was very hard to get back to where I wanted to be.”

Groveland, ridden by Daniel Centeno, also had to check nearing the 3/8-mile pole after pace-setter Zydeceaux came in, but managed to launch an impressive late rally to gain the place spot.

Trainer Eoin Harty was pleased with Groveland’s performance.“I’m very happy. I said (Friday) I loved him, and he proved my point,” Harty said. “He got a good education out of it. He doesn’t quit. He digs in and I don’t think distance will be a problem moving forward.”