The Cliff's Edge, who won two races in 2003 at Churchill Downs, is the favorite in today's Sam F. Davis Stakes.
By LAWRENCE HOLLYFIELD
Published February 21, 2004
The Edge could be on the cusp of something big.
The Cliff's Edge, ranked among the top Kentucky Derby contenders, makes his 3-year-old debut in today's $100,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.
Trainer Nick Zito and jockey Shane Sellers bring in Edge, who has won back-to-back stakes races and set a record in one of them. They will start in the outside post position.
The colt won the Nov. 1 Iroquois Stakes by a record 73/4 lengths and came back at the end of the month with a three-quarter-length win in the $222,200 Kentucky Jockey Club. Both races were at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.
"I didn't think it would be as easy a race (as the Iroquois), and (the Jockey Club) was a pretty tough race for him," Zito said, according to the Churchill Downs Web site. "He got the worst of everything. Even Shane said he took the worst of it, but he was able to overcome it and good horses overcome those things."
Edge arrives for the 1 1/16-mile race on the main track as the ninth-ranked Kentucky Derby contender by Thoroughbred Times. He was ranked in a group between 11 and 15 by the Associated Press.
In the Iroquois, Edge went off as the favorite and covered the mile in 1 minute, 35.57 seconds. He took the lead in the upper stretch and pulled away on a fast track for the romp in the Grade III race.
Afterward, Zito said his entry was "a big horse and a horse with a future."
In the Grade II Jockey Club, the son of Gulch was last heading into the first turn. The slow pace set (48.44 for the half-mile) by Satire and Trust Me left plenty in the tank, and Sellers pushed Edge up on the backside. They took the lead at the head of the lane, opened a 11/2-length lead in midstretch and held off a late challenge from Gran Prospect.
Sellers said one of Edge's quirks led to his poor start in that race.
"He does that on occasion. He wants to sit in the gate," Sellers said. "He's not a bad horse, but he wants to sit on his tail in the gate and sometimes if they kick it (the gate) when he's sitting down, then he lunges in the air."
Edge has three wins and a place in five career starts, earning $255,258 for owner Robert LaPenta. The next step for Edge after the Sam Davis could be the March 20 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark.
Those who believe in Edge don't have much history on their side. The Iroquois winner never has captured the Kentucky Derby; the last time a Jockey Club winner won the Derby was in 1974 (Cannonade).
"He's a good horse and he's maturing into his own. He's got the pedigree and he has Nick on his side."
Edge's top competition today could come from Zakocity. The colt is the most experienced in the field, with two wins, two seconds and two thirds in 11 starts. Tap Day is third in the morning line and was assigned a race-high 122 pounds (6 more than Edge), but the colt also is entered in the Palm Beach Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach if the race is shifted off the turf.
On Jan. 18 in the Dave Feldman Stakes at Gulfstream, Tap Day won by a head over Zakocity on a sloppy main track. Another stakes race, the $60,000 Suncoast Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, is on the card at Tampa Bay Downs. Post time is about 3:31 p.m.
