Give It a Go switches on the lights at Tampa

There’s that age-old term coined by an unknown sharp follower of racing, pertaining to a horse who hasn’t shown much in its first X number of starts, and suddenly turns it all around. “The light bulb switched on” – or something close to that.

Never has that adage been more apparent than demonstrated by Give It a Go in the third race at Tampa Bay Downs yesterday. The 3-year-old gelding by Gone Astray had raced four times at two with just a pair of non-threatening thirds to show for his efforts. After a layoff of 4 1/2 months, he returned in Oldsmar on Jan. 14 and went backwards in the stretch, losing by 18 1/2 lengths, to make it a perfect oh-for-5. Yesterday, however, just 14 days later, Give It a Go looked like a different horse – ‘the light went on.’

Miguel Arroyo was aboard the gelding bred by Shade Tree Thoroughbreds, Geoff Roy and Tom Fitzgerald, in a race at a mile and one-sixteenth that was originally scheduled for the turf. Give It a Go was away quickly and found a contending spot in third on the inside heading down the backstretch. Arroyo sent him after the two leaders three wide coming to the final turn, and Give It a Go cruised by to take the lead entering the stretch, coasting to the wire nearly 16 lengths in front.

Give It a Go’s maiden-breaker was worth $9,100 to his owner and $15.80 to his backers.