 Burning Roma winner of the 2001 Tampa Bay Derby |
Tampa Bay Derby
Dateline: 03/18/01
Heavy favorite Burning Roma, sent off at odds of 0.90-1, did not disappoint fans as he made a move four wide to draw off and win by 2 3/4 lengths in the Tampa Bay Derby. He stalked the early pace set by 71-1 longshot Tour of the Cat in 5th, then took the lead after 6 furlongs and just kept increasing the margin. American Prince raced in 2nd for nearly the entire race and held that position safe over the late rally of 56-1 outsider Paging while early leader Tour of the Cat hung on for 4th place, leading to a huge superfecta payoff of $13,551.40. Final time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:44.30.
Burning Roma's jockey Richard Migliore said: "The one thing I knew about this horse was he didn't like to run out front, but I let him take me there too soon. He showed his class by drawing off from the field from there."
His owner Harold Queen said: "This is by far the best horse that I have owned in 40 years in the business, nothing else even comes close," said Queen shortly after the victory. "We are going to run him back in the Wood Memorial or the Toyota Bluegrass in his next start - it just depends on how he comes back."
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show 1A Burning Roma Migliore 3.80 2.80 2.40 2 American Prince Woolsey 6.40 4.60 11 Paging Jurado 10.40 Winning Time: 1:44.30 $2 Exacta 1-2 21.60 $2 Quinella 1-2 16.40 $2 Trifecta 1-2-11 539.40 $2 Superfecta 1-2-11-6 13,551.40Results Chart from Equibase
Other prep race results:
Photo by Terence Dulay.
