The Puma upset favorites Further Ado and Canaletto to win by three-quarters of a length in the $350,000 Grade 3 ESMARK Tampa Bay Derby March 7 at Tampa Bay Downs and earned sufficient qualifying points to earn a spot in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve May 2 at Churchill Downs.

The Puma is represented by many of the same connections involved with 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage including co-owners OGMA Investments, trainer Gustavo Delgado, and Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano, who have all punched their tickets for a return Derby appearance.

Despite a wide trip that left him parked four-to-five wide throughout in the Tampa Bay Derby, The Puma was able to rally from last in the field of nine, outkicking his rivals in the best performance of his three-race career. He raced 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.23 over a track rated fast but dampened by a short pre-race rainstorm.

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The Tampa Bay Derby marked The Puma's first career victory, but he came into the as a well-regarded maiden. He had already finished second to eventual Grade 2 Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes runner-up Chief Wallabee when sprinting seven furlongs in his debut Jan. 10 at Gulfstream Park and then running third behind Renegade and Wayne's Law in the 1 1/16-mile Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs Feb. 7. Those experiences set him up for success in the Tampa Bay Derby. He paid $16.80 to win.

The Puma was a deserving winner over runner-up Further Ado and third-place finisher Canaletto, who were separated by a head at the finish. Further Ado sat a sweet three-wide stalking trip and was game for the place in his first start of the year, while Canaletto, coming off a blowout maiden win at Gulfstream, raced as wide as The Puma. Neither could fend off the stretch bid of the winner, who, after drifting in and making slight contact with Canaletto, straightened out and out-finished them with a final sixteenth clocked in :06.76.

Pacesetter Redland Rebels weakened to fourth. Talkin ran fifth.

The top five finishers earned Kentucky Derby qualifying points, distributed on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale. Coupled with what he earned in the Sam F. Davis, The Puma now has 56 points, second behind Paladin on the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard.

"Even before the first time he ran, I remember (saying) 'This is a Derby horse,' I kept telling everyone," said assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr. in an interview on Fox Sports.

Two Tampa Bay Derby participants have gone on to win the Run for the Roses: Street Sense in 2007) and Super Saver in 2010. They each made one more start between the Tampa Bay Derby and the start of the Triple Crown.