Wire Bound used an explosive move approaching the quarter pole to blast around the far turn five wide then power down the Tampa Bay Downs stretch to an authoritative 2 1/2-length victory over favorite Remind in the $100,000 Tampa Bay Breeders' Cup on the turf Saturday.Trained by Manuel Criollo for owners Jay Wertheim and Harvey Lowenstein's Silver Diamond Thoroughbreds, Wire Bound coasted under a hand ride from Eduardo Nunez to victory in a time of 1:39 3/5, just a little more than two ticks off the turf course record.The early leaders, Above the Wind and Native Hawk, led the field through early fractions of :23.23; 46.37 and 1:10.21, much to the liking of Wire Bound, who was content to stalk from ninth position through the first half-mile.Wire Bound was in overdrive as the field approached the quarter-pole and Nunez swung his mount out five-wide around the turn and prepared his assault on the leaders, who were still Above the Wind and Native Hawk as they approached the furlong pole.With just 100 yards to go, Wire Bound burst past that pair to take control.Remind, second in last year's renewal of the race, duplicated the feat after being blocked around the turn and into mid stretch. Above the Wind, already a two-time stakes winner this meeting on the main track, was third, one length behind Remind.Sent off as the 4-1 third wagering choice in the 12-horse field, Wire Bound returned a $10.20 mutuel. The win was his fourth in stakes company and seventh overall from 17 starts. The $60,000 winner's share of the purse gives the 4-year-old gelded son of Hesabull $288,200 in career earnings.
(Chart, Equibase)
