As Northern Invader and Irish Aces staged a thrilling duel
inside the eighth pole of the Grade 3, $175,000 Tampa Bay Stakes for older
horses Saturday afternoon, it was the connections of the horse gaining on them,
6-year-old Running Bee, who were smiling inside.

Trainer Chad Brown and jockey Flavien Prat, the sport’s 2024
Eclipse Award winners, delivered a memorable show for Tampa Bay Downs fans
capped by Running Bee’s three-quarter-length victory from Northern Invader at a
time of 1:38.85 for the 1 1/16 miles. That bettered the previous turf course
record of 1:39.25 set two years ago by Emmanuel in the same race.

Click here for Tampa Bay Downs entries and results.

“When I saw the half-mile fraction (of 45.76 seconds, by
Northern Invader), I felt very confident that (Running Bee) would be able to
close into that and give a good run,” Brown said via telephone from his winter base
in South Florida. “I felt even better when they cut the corner and saw how they
were moving. It was another brilliant ride by Flavien, and he is picking up
right where he left off last year.”

Running Bee’s triumph in the 39th Tampa Bay Stakes,
Brown’s first in the race, was one of four on the 10-race card from four
starters for the trainer-jockey duo, including Saffron Moon’s triumph in the
Endeavour (G3). Brown had a third and Prat an out-of-the-money finish in their
other races.

The victory by Running Bee, who finished second to Never
Explain in last year’s Tampa Bay Stakes, was his eighth from 16 starts. The
Calumet Farm-owned horse, a son of English Channel out of El Prado mare Our
Joy, earned $90,000. That raised his career bankroll to $757,443. He paid $4.00
as the wagering favorite in the nine-horse field.

Northern Invader edged Irish Aces by a nose for second with
30-1 shot Lorenz closing well for fourth.

“I appreciate the Calumet team letting me run him here,
because he had shown an affinity for Tampa,” Brown said of Running Bee. “I
thought this was a safe spot for him, and hopefully there will be a Grade 1
race with his name on it this year. To set the course record just puts a cherry
on top of everything.”

“Before the race, I thought we’d be a little closer early,
but the pace was hot, so I found myself near the back,” Prat said. “When I gave
him a chance, he came running, and it felt like he picked it up nicely. It took
a little bit to really get him going, but when he got into his rhythm, he came
on strong.”

Saffron Moon sets record in Endeavour

Three races before the Tampa Bay Stakes, Brown and Prat
combined to win the 26th edition of the $175,000 Endeavour for older fillies
and mares. Six-year-old mare Saffron Moon established a stakes-record time of
1:39.92 for the 1 1/16 miles. Brown’s Venencia finished third.

After Saffron Moon gobbled up the Oldsmar, Fla., oval’s
green grass through the stretch to post a 2 1/4-length victory from See You
Around, a couple of the sport’s proverbial little guys, CHP Racing owners Phil
and Christine Hatfield, might have deserved the most credit.

“(Saffron Moon) has always had plenty of ability, but she’s
had some interruptions in her career, and we haven’t been able to race her as
much as we would have liked,” Brown said. “The Hatfields have been very patient
with her. They love their horses, and they want to give her every chance they
can to reach her potential.”

The Endeavour triumph was the first stakes victory for
Saffron Moon, who improved to 4-for-10 lifetime, and the first stakes victory
for the Hatfields since they entered racing in 2021. They are from Sebring,
Fla., about a two-hour drive from Tampa Bay Downs.

Gratitude seemed to best express their emotions as Saffron
Moon and Prat were celebrated in the winner’s circle.

“That’s really what it’s all about. I think there are more
downs than ups in this business, but when you hit that up, it’s phenomenal,”
Phil Hatfield said. “We were ready to put her on the van for the Suwannee River
Stakes (G3, six weeks ago at Gulfstream), but she spiked a fever and couldn’t
run. The next day, she was fine.

“This is something you dream about. It’s a special place,
and I know a lot of people have been there, but we hadn’t. Now we are, and
we’re happy.”

For Prat, who rode 56 graded-stakes winners last year,
including 16 Grade 1s, it almost seemed like just another day at the office up
to that point. But Brown knows better. Prat flew cross-country from Los Angeles
to Tampa on Friday to ride for Brown, and they were rewarded with a performance
for the ages, at least as far as Tampa Bay Downs is concerned.

“He worked out a good trip (with Saffron Moon), as usual. I
am so appreciative of him to fly all the way from the West Coast to ride there
today,” said Brown, who won the Endeavour for the fifth time. “We have formed a
great partnership, and I look forward to it continuing.”

See You Around was a solid second in the Endeavour after
tracking pacesetter Ocean Club in the early going. Brown’s other entry in the
race, Venencia, rallied for third, with Breath Away fourth in the nine-horse
field.

Saffron Moon paid $5.60 to win as the betting favorite. The
daughter of Malibu Moon out of Crocus Hill, by Medaglia d’Oro, earned $90,000
for the victory, raising her career earnings to $339,625.

Prat was delighted by her performance.

“She didn’t break super, but I felt the pace was pretty
honest so I was pleased where she was (in sixth place down the backstretch),”
he said. “Turning for home I had the option to go around, but I wanted to save
more ground. When we left the far turn I tipped her outside, and she gave me a
good run.”

Brown said he would lean toward bringing Saffron Moon back
to Tampa Bay Downs for the Grade II, $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes at a
mile-and-an-eighth on the turf on March 8. “It’s an easy ship (from his Payson
Park Training Center base in Indiantown), and she seems to like Tampa,” he
said. “She seems to be pretty sound and healthy, so hopefully this is the start
of a productive campaign.”