Sole Volante upsets favorite in Sam Davis to emerge as Kentucky Derby contender

Sole Volante surged to the lead in the stretch and scored an upset victory in the Grade 3, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday, earning 10 qualifying points in the chase for a spot in this year’s Kentucky Derby.

Trained by Patrick Biancone, Sole Volante chased down previously unbeaten and heavily favored Independence Hall for a 2 1/2-length victory. The son of Karakontie improved on his third-place finish in the Jan. 4 Mucho Macho Man Stakes, which was his dirt-track debut.

On Saturday, Sole Volante ran the 1 1/16 miles Sam Davis in 1:42.60 under jockey Luca Panici. Independence Hall ran second, while Ajaaweed rallied from last to round out the trifecta. Tiz Rye Time ran fourth in a race where Derby qualifying points paid out on a 10-4-2-1 scale.

After the win, Biancone is cautiously optimistic about Sole Volante’s chances of qualifying for the Kentucky Derby field.

“We’re not going to buy the hat,” he told Jonathan Linter of Horse Racing Nation, “but we’re going to look for it.”

Venetian Breeze

Heavily-favored Venetian Harbor cruised to victory in the Grade 2, $200,000 Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita in California on Saturday, jumping into a tie for fifth-place on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard.

Trained by Richard Baltas, the 3-year-old filly was installed as the 2-5 favorite in the Las Virgenes after breaking her maiden with a win of more than 10 lengths on Dec. 29.

This story was originally published February 8, 2020 at 6:45 PM.