Candy Man Rocket set for Tampa Bay Derby
At 1h13, on March 3, 2021 • By TAMPA BAY DOWNS
Candy Man Rocket, who burst onto the scene as a legitimate Triple Crown candidate by winning the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay on Feb. 6 is expected to head a large field in Saturday’s $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2).
Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott sent Candy Man Rocket out for a four furlongs breeze Sunday at his Payson Park Training Center base in Indiantown, Fla., where the Frank Fletcher Racing Operations-owned colt turned in a time of 48.60, the best of 36 workouts at the half-mile distance. Junior Alvarado will again come up from Gulfstream Park to ride Candy Man Rocket.
Mott said the owner, Frank Fletcher, is excited about Candy Man Rocket’s chances to be the first horse to complete the Sam F. Davis-Tampa Bay Derby double since Destin in 2016. “He is someone who is enthusiastic about his horses, loves the game and is happy just to have a horse in a race like this,” Mott said.
Because it is a Kentucky Derby points qualifier, there is no Lasix usage permitted for the Tampa Derby, the only such ban for upcoming races at Tampa.
