John Hancock makes a name for Sam F. Davis Stakes

John Hancock proved to be a player winner with half a long length over the experienced winner of the Owen Stakes, Owen, in the $ 200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes on February 9 at Tampa Bay Downs.

Last week the President and CEO of Winstar Farm, Elliott Walden, playfully went to X, and asked the public whether the Winstar Farm has the chance to win its third Kentucky Derby from Woodford Reserve in 2025 and then mention horses that The farm has or co -owner such as Tappan Straße, river of this Thames, Patch Adams and Rapture. If not one of them, he asked who?

More than 53% answered affirmative – a number that would probably be higher according to the results of Sam F. Davis Stakes, which Winstar Farm and John Hancock won by CHC Inc.

The victory improved John Hancock after a debut Maiden victory last month in Tampa, where he covered six Furlongs in 1: 09.45. Sam F. Davis also brought him 20 qualification points for the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve on May 3 in Churchill Downs by street to the Kentucky Derby Points series.

The 1/1/16 miles race on Saturday, distributed on Saturday on 20-10-6-4-2, to the first five finishers. Churchill Downs uses as a preference system if the derby attracts more than its capacity field size of 20 horses.

Previously, Sam F. Davis was a third grade race and was downgraded by the American Graded Stakes Committee to the specified status for 2025.

With one or maybe two more starts, John Hancock could probably be ready before the run for the roses. With 20 points, he is bound for the third most common points accumulated in the series, although he took seventh place in the Kentucky derby ranking because he had lower income with 20 points with non-limited missions.

On Saturday he ran like a potential derby candidate and aggressively went to the lead under Flavien Prat, but the Colt received after an opening district in: 22.75. Owen of all-mights continued to turn the heat under Irad Ortiz Jr., and the two ran as a team through brisk follow-up breaks of: 46.23 and 1: 10.49, while they distanced themselves from the pack. Despite the strenuous pace, none of the other eight 3-year-olds ever threatened the top duo in the race.

The Almighty of Owen, who added blinker, added a head between the calls on the route and pushed John Hancock on the inside, but he fought back and hit the wire in a stakes record time of 1: 42.27 on a brisk route .

“He (Owen Allmächter) came to me on my eighth pole,” said Prat. “I tried to give him a chance because he was quite aggressive to go into the first round and go faster than I wanted, but he turned off well on the back. We both made a very good run home, He, he, he took the lead on the eighth pole, but my horse was very a game and came back.

John Hancock, the uncomplicated favorite about Owen Allmächter, paid $ 7 to win.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izmgippmdw

The Godolphins 2024 Remsen Stakes-Sprein-Poster, trained by Eoin Harty, gathered in third place, 2 1/4 lengths behind the second-placed Owen, the Almighty. The poster, which lost in four starts for the first time, displaced the first Hale camp to fourth place. Very brave, another Harty trainee, was fifth.

The poster and the Almighty of Owen are the 11th and 13th place in the ranking of Kentucky Derby with 16 or 15 total qualification points.

Prat, the driver of the last year with the Eclipse Award, had driven the poster in the Remsen, but his mount in Sam F. Davis was on the slightly driven but talented John Hancock.

“It was his first time when he was a winner, it was the second start of his life, it was the first time that he was running for a long time, it was a lot to ask a youthful horse, said coach Brad Cox. And stayed well.

Cox added that after the race for the training in Payson Park, where he added a number of horses in Florida this winter, and the connections would “occur with a plan for the future”.