The action and the interest in the Kentucky Derby is really heating up! There are so many news stories and blog posts on the upcoming Fountain of Youth stakes race it is hard to find the time to take it all in. At Thoroughbred U, I could not be happier to find that there is a wealth of information pouring in. If you are short on time, this should be a helpful source for the need to know material.
The Fountain of Youth (FOY) was inaugurated in 1945. This is only the second race on the 2018 Road to the Kentucky Derby that has offered as many as 50 points to the winner (the Risen Star was the first to do so this year, that race kicked off the 16 race KY Derby Championship Series). That means the KY Derby experts weigh this race fairly heavily despite the fact that no FOY winners have ever gone on to win the Triple Crown and past FOY winners rarely go on to win the Kentucky Derby. That feat has not happened since 2013 when Orb won. This makes one pose the question, will the Fountain of Youth determine who is KY Derby Proof? There is enough talent in this years field of contenders for me to think the answer may be, YES!
The Grade 2 Xpressbet Fountain of Youth Stakes is the next KY Derby Prep race. The 76th running will take place tomorrow, Saturday, 3/3/18, at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, FL. With a purse of $400,000 and carrying 50-20-10-15 KY Derby points, to the first four finishers of the race, it is a very important stakes. It is also the last important prep race for the ever so popular Florida Derby. The FOY race is 1 and 1/16 miles (8.5 furlongs) on dirt for 3 year-old Thoroughbreds. It will post at 6:09 P.M. EST. Breakfast at Gulfstream begins at 8 A.M. EST, gates open at 10 A.M. and race 1 posts early at 11:30 A.M with the FOY as the final race on a card of 14. 8 graded stakes will be held FOY day at Gulfstream with a total purse of $1.5 million dollars.
Look no further for the FOY contenders, each KY bred. They are listed here by post position/horse/jockey/trainer/owner/and morning-line odds:
- He Takes Charge/Tyler Gaffalione/Mark E. Casse/William C. Schettine and John C. Oxley/20-1
- Free Drop Billy/Robby Albarado/Dale L. Romans/Albaugh Family Stables, LLC./9-2
- Peppered/Nik Juarez/Reade Baker/Paul Braveman and Timothy Pinch/30-1
- Strike Power/Luis Saez/Mark A. Hennig/Courtland Farms/4-1
- Storm Runner/Joel Rosario/Dale L. Romans/Team Valor International and Gemstone Stables/15-1
- Good Magic/Jose L. Ortiz/Chad C. Brown/e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Stonestreet Stables LLC./7-5
- Gotta Go/Chris Landeros/Ian R. Wilkes/Lothenbach Stables, Inc./10-2
- Marconi/Javier Castellano/Todd A. Pletcher/Michael B. Tabor/Bridlewood Farm, Mrs. John Magnier, Derrick Smith and Michael B. Tabor/8-1
- Machismo/Albin Jimenez/Anthony T. Quartarolo/Looch Racing Stables, Inc. and Ashley Quartarolo/15-1
- Promises Fulfilled/Irad Ortiz, Jr./Dale L. Romans/Robert J. Baron/20-1
He Takes Charge is one of the Tapit sired colts and gray like his father. He broke his maiden his last time out. It was his fifth race but he finished strong and fast. He has had nice work-outs since. His win was at Gulfstream where he raced three times, at second, third and first.
Free Drop Billy broke his maiden in his first start. His other 5 career races have all been graded stakes. He has finished first or second in 4 of 5 stakes, including a Grade 1 win at Keeneland. His last race was at Gulfstream when he finished second in the Holy Bull. Free Drop Billy’s sire, Union Rags, won the FOY in 2012!
Peppered is sired by Tapizar, from the Tapit line. He broke his maiden in his second start and then raced in two graded stakes finishing second then twelfth. He is un-raced at Gulfstream. He is quite the long shot.
Strike Power has two time FOY winner Saez for his jockey. Strike Power is undefeated and all of his wins have been at Gulfstream including his win in the Grade 3 Swale Stakes. However, he has only raced twice in his career. In both races he led from gate to finish line and he finished fast. He is tied for the fastest speed in this race.
Storm Runner had four starts on his way to breaking his maiden. Since then he ran in 2 allowance races, finishing first his last time out. Both allowances were at Gulfstream. Despite the unimpressive entries he is fast, as he is tied for the fastest entry and has the experience of this distance and this track.
Good Magic has attracted plenty of KY Derby attention. He only has 3 career starts but his history is impressive. He broke his maiden with his first race and then finished second and first in his next two races, both Grade 1. He is the 2017 Sentient Jet Breeders Cup Juvenile winner. He finished first with over a four length win. I am a length over speed fan personally but Good Magic has the third best speed of the entries in this FOY race as well. He has not raced at Gulfstream.
Gotta Go has 2 wins in 5 starts. His last race was the G3 Swale at Gulfstream where he was second to Strike Power. Gotta Go was fast in that race. His other starts were at Ellis Park and Churchill Downs. He may prefer Florida over Kentucky and that may set him up for a strong finish.
Marconi has last year’s FOY winning jockey, Castellano. His trainer, Pletcher, has won the FOY too. Marconi, is a lovely gray son of Tapit too. He has finished in the money in all 3 of his starts including his last race, the G3 Withers when he was third. He is un-raced in FL.
Machismo has raced twice at Saratoga and twice at Gulfstream. He finally won his last start thus he has started only in maiden races. However he won that race by 11 lengths!
Promises Fulfilled is lightly raced. He has won 2 of 3 starts. He has only raced in KY. He finished third in his last start, the G3 KY Jockey Club Stakes. His two wins are stilll impressive as he won from gate to finish line. His jockey, Ortiz has had a lot of recent success racing at Gulfstream.
Good luck to all the contenders and their connections in this year’s Fountain of Youth stakes. I imagine there will be several surprises in this race given such a versatile field of entries. As the weekend begins at my home in the Bluegrass we are one month from the start of Keeneland and I am 2 days from my next tour there. While many of you will be on site to enjoy this weekends Florida racing I can not wait until the racing comes back to my hometown! I’ll let you know all about it.
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