Welcome to another edition of HorseCenter, everyone. I am Brian Zipse, and as always, I have the great pleasure of being joined by my co-host to the East Coast. That’s Matt Shifman!

Brian: It has been too long since I have been able to open our show with those familiar words, but until we can come back on air, Matt and I thought this weekly blog would be the next best thing. As most of you know, I have been unable to do HorseCenter since late last year because of my severe hearing loss. An ongoing issue for a decade, it took a turn for the worse just before the holidays. I am hopeful that modern medicine can reverse the issue, and I would like nothing better than to be able to return soon. I sincerely thank you for watching all these years! 

Matt: It is great to be back in this version of HorseCenter, so that you and I can continue sharing our thoughts about the sport that we enjoy so much and to provide a forum for the HorseCenter fans to post their comments. Brian and I will discuss the three Kentucky Derby prep winners from Saturday and the upcoming races of the week from Tampa Bay Downs.

Brian: There were three Kentucky Derby qualifying points races on Saturday, and I believe all three winners deserve respect moving forward. Clearly Citizen Bull should get first mention as a returning champion. Much like his important victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, the son of Into Mischief got out on the lead in the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis and cruised comfortably from there. I’m not sure how much this tells us for the really difficult races ahead, but at the very least the champion looked physically strong in his return to the races. His trainer Bob Baffert will be back in force at this year’s Kentucky Derby, and this is one of his top contenders.

Matt: Regardless of what your personal opinion is about Baffert and the controversy that led to his ban from the Kentucky Derby, his presence in America’s most famous race will make it more interesting as he seeks his seventh victory on the first Saturday in May.

Citizen Bull is back to where he ended 2024 in the No. 1 spot in the poll of the top 3-year-olds on the road to the Kentucky Derby. His victory in the Robert B. Lewis, which wase Baffert’s 13th win in that race, gives the son of Into Mischief 60 qualifying points and pretty much guarantees him a spot in the Derby.

Brian: In Florida, trainer Ian Wilkes might have his best horse since Fort Larned with the emergence of Burnham Square. It’s early yet, but after a pair of promising losses in Kentucky to begin his career, the son of Liam’s Map has flourished with the addition of blinkers. After an eye-catching maiden romp at Gulfstream Park, I really liked what I saw in his Holy Bull (G3) performance. He made multiple moves and finished full of run. He looks like added distance will not be a problem. He moved way up my list this week.

Matt: Interesting that you mentioned Fort Larned, who earned $4.1 million in his career. Burnham Square is owned by Whitham Thoroughbreds, which also owned Fort Larned. The gelding backed up that striking maiden victory when in the Holy Bull, where he clearly beat Tappan Street from the Brad Cox barn. Tappan Street in turn was almost 10 lengths clear of the rest of the field. Burnham Square showed improved maturity on the track and also improved in the speed figure department.

Brian: Finally, the Withers at Aqueduct might have lost its graded status, but the race continues to produce good winners, and I expect this year to be no different. Moved to the barn of Rick Dutrow after a troubled debut and a dispersal sale purchase, Captain Cook has looked the part of a very talented runner in two wins in New York. A good-looking son of Practical Joke, he will need to prove himself against tougher competition, but he appears to have the talent to move seamlessly into graded-stakes competition after winning comfortably in the nine-furlong Withers.

Matt: The wintery weather at Aqueduct is not going to be the chosen path to the Kentucky Derby for most 3-year-olds, but Captain Cook with his roots in the Whitney Stable has the feel of a serious Derby contender. It is not easy to look good running nine furlongs at the Big A, where the track is usually deep and tiring, but the Dutrow trainee did just that. After the race, Dutrow said Captain Cook will be back in the Wood Memorial (G2) to try to get enough points to run in the Derby. Dutrow won on the first Saturday in May in 2008 with Big Brown, the first of his two horses in the run for the roses.

Brian: Tampa Bay Downs will host qualifying points races for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks (G1) on Saturday, and each offers well-matched fields. On the male side, the $250,000 Sam F. Davis drew a field of 10 headlined by Poster, the undefeated winner of the Remsen Stakes (G2). The Eoin Harty-trained son of Munnings is a legitimate favorite off that last win, which was his dirt debut. Unbeaten in three starts and proven at the distance, he will take some beating.

Chief among his competition here will be the stakes-experienced Owen Almighty, who was disqualified from the win last time in the local Pasco Stakes, as well as the Chad Brown-trained Treaty of Rome, who just missed last out in Gulfstream Park’s Mucho Macho Man Stakes. John Hancock, who ran fast winning his debut at Tampa for trainer Brad Cox, is another one likely to draw plenty of support.

Matt: Three horses from the Pasco are in the field for the Sam F. Davis. Owen Almighty, who was DQ’d from first to fifth, was much the best in the seven furlong prep race. The foul affected only one horse, and he was unable to regain his stride and finished in the back of the field. That caused Owen Almighty to be placed in fifth. Poster confirmed his ability to handle tw -turns and looked very good winning the Remsen. Trainer Eoin Harty pointed Poster to run last Saturday in the Withers but bad weather in Kentucky altered his training plans and he shows up now at Tampa.

Brian: In the female counterpart to the Sam F. Davis, it looks to be an interesting field of eight lining up in the Suncoast for the opportunity to collect Kentucky Oaks qualifying points. The Mark Casse-trained La Cara is a graded-stakes winner who will be making her first start since finishing a well-beaten fifth behind Immersive in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) four months ago. She has the class, but the unbeaten stakes winner Her Laugh should vie for favoritism.

Her Laugh could be the speed of the speed here, but other quick fillies in the field could make her work for it early. Cloe, on the outside, was an impressive debut winner, and I am giving a long look at Italian Soiree, who finished her 2-year-old season by running competitively in tough turf races. All in all, this is an interesting race with fillies coming from all sorts of races.

Matt: Only two horses in the Suncoast field made previous appearances on the road to the Kentucky Oaks. La Cara has 13 points from her win in the Pocahontas (G3) in September and the fifth in the Breeders’ Cup. Her Laugh won the Untapable at Fair Grounds at the end of December for former Chad Brown assistant Whit Beckman. Dancing Magic won the Gasparilla, the Tampa prep race for the Suncoast, by two lengths. Cloe was an impressive debut winner last month on the Tapeta at Gulfstream.

Brian: In a race that appears to have plenty of early speed, I am going with a horse who I think will come from off the pace. My top pick is Treaty of Rome from the red-hot barn of Chad Brown. The Uncle Mo colt has improved with each start and has the pedigree to enjoy the increasing distances on the road to the Kentucky Derby. If the pace is as strong as I expect, I look for him to be finishing fastest of all down the Tampa Bay Downs’ lane.

Matt: My top pick in the Sam F. Davis is Owen Almighty. He crossed the line first in three of four starts and has done nothing wrong in those races except get disqualified. I very much like the seven-furlong prep race that the Pasco provided. Poster will take plenty of betting action, but his altered training concerns me for his 3-year-old debut. Treaty of Rome will also get bet as a Chad Brown runner. I am interested in the maiden Camp Hale as a live long-shot. He finished second three times and each time faced very talented horses, such as Patch Adams, Guns Loaded and most recently Grande from the barn of Todd Pletcher.

Brian: Not likely to be lower than the third choice, Italian Soiree will be my top pick in the Suncoast. The daughter of Uncle Mo handled dirt just fine in her first two tries and earned very solid experience against strong turf fillies after that. She has been working well over the track for trainer John Terranova, and the distance will be no problem. Getting Flavien Prat in the saddle also should be a big plus on Saturday.

Matt: The top horses in the Suncoast are making their first starts of the year. That leads me to the experience edge of La Cara, and she will be my top pick. Trainer Mark Casse is having a great winter at both Florida tracks taking advantage of Palm Meadows and his family farm in Ocala to prepare his horses. La Cara has shown versatility with a front-end maiden win, and in the Pocahontas she came from seventh.

Good luck in your wagers this weekend and thanks for your continued interest in HorseCenter.