Could there be another Animal Kingdom residing on the backstretch at Tampa Bay Downs?
Saturday morning, State of Play, a horse with several similarities to
the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner, breezed a leisurely five furlongs over
the Tampa Bay main track in 1:03.
Like Animal Kingdom, who made just two starts as a juvenile in 2010,
State of Play was lightly raced at 2 last year, making just three
starts. He won at first asking while sprinting over the turf at
Saratoga, then jumped right in against graded stakes company for the
Grade 2 With Anticipation Stakes to lead that 1 1/16-mile race from
start to finish. Off from September to early November, State of Play
drew the tough 13 post in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. He held a
striking position into the stretch, before fading to 12th in the race
won by Wrote.
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