All 23-1 Mike Is Ready needed was Santos in the saddle

After a less-than-spectacular 10th-place finish at odds of 42-1 in his April 1 debut at Tampa Bay Downs, probably the only reason one could find to bet on Mike is Ready in yesterdays’ fifth race was the presence of Ademar Santos, easily the track’s leader in the ‘return on investment’ department. Santos has consistently scored with long-priced winners at the meeting, and he proved his mettle again aboard Mike is Ready, a 3-year-old son of Handsome Mike.

Sent off at 23-1 in the one-mile turf race, Mike Is Ready got off well from the No. 10 post, tracking the leaders in fifth place down the backstretch. When Santos asked him to run, the gelding looped the field on the turn and powered down the lane to prevail by 1 1/4 lengths, clocked in 1:36.68. He earned a check for $6,785 and a breeder’s award for Just For Fun Stable, while becoming the 19th winner of 2020 for red-hot Handsome Mike.