Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Good Magic begins march to Derby in Fountain of Youth
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Good Magic came a long way in a short time last fall, going from an unstarted maiden to a Breeders’ Cup winner and an Eclipse Award champ in starts that were as easy as one-twothree.
Chad Brown, the Eclipse Award-winning trainer of Good Magic, has mapped out a similar schedule leading to the Kentucky Derby on May 5, and that begins on Saturday, when Good Magic makes his first start as a 3-year-old in the Grade 2, $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
The Fountain of Youth is a means to an end. After this, the plan is for Good Magic to head to Keeneland for the Blue Grass Stakes on April 7, though the Wood Memorial that day at Aqueduct and the Florida Derby at Gulfstream on March 31 are under consideration. Regardless, Good Magic will have two races prior to the Kentucky Derby, and he comes into this race off a steady series of workouts in which he appeared eager and fully capable of doing a whole lot more.
“The horse is training super,” Brown said Thursday at the Palm Meadows training center as Good Magic was put through a morning of preparation that included a gallop and a schooling session in the starting gate. “He’s been strong in his works, great appetite, all the things you want to see this time of year.”
Brown believes Good Magic has the proper foundation to win off the layoff, but said he believes there will be more to offer down the line.
“We’re running to win,” Brown said. “We want him to run a really good race, want him to get something out of it, but don’t want a really hard race. Hopefully, he can bounce out of it ready to move forward. We want to build off this race. He’s doing really, really well, but we haven’t tightened the screws.”
The Fountain of Youth drew a field of 10, with Good Magic landing post 6. The race is at 1 1/16 miles, which means it starts near the regular finish line but finishes at the sixteenth pole, the necessary concessions at Gulfstream’s 1 1/8-mile track. It is worth 85 points overall, with 50 to the winner, under the system used by Churchill Downs to determine the field for the Kentucky Derby.
Good Magic figures to get a good trip. He can stalk and pounce, and there is plenty of speed for him to sit off, what with Machismo, Promises Fulfilled, and Strike Power all possessing plenty of early lick.
Promises Fulfilled is one of three horses trainer Dale Romans has entered, along with Free Drop Billy and Storm Runner. Promises Fulfilled is making his first start since finishing third last fall in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides him for the first time, and they must overcome the outside draw.
“I’m worried about him getting in a speed duel, but he’s fast,” Romans said.
Free Drop Billy, the Breeders’ Futurity winner last year, was second four weeks ago in the Holy Bull to Audible, who is sitting this one out to await the Florida Derby.
“He’s a machine,” Romans said. “He never has a bad day. You’d never know he’s in the barn. He’s just a cool horse.”
Free Drop Billy showed more tactical speed in the Holy Bull than he had in most of his starts at 2. “He was fresh, but he can do that,” Romans said.
Storm Runner, a $5,000 yearling purchase, gamely prevailed in a first-level allowance Feb. 4.
“He’s the little engine that could,” Romans said. “He always seemed decent, but maybe we initially overlooked him because he was an inexpensive yearling. But his first breeze down here showed me he had really changed, showed me he’s a good horse, and I think he can improve off his last race.”
Strike Power, a winner of two sprints at Gulfstream to begin his career, could be the one to catch as he tries two turns for the first time. This race was chosen for him as opposed to next week’s Gotham, a one-turn mile at Aqueduct.
“You’ve got to find out at some point if he can handle two turns,” trainer Mark Hennig said this week at Gulfstream Park. “Here it’s a mile and sixteenth to the short wire. You can’t be far back on this track. And he likes it here.”
Marconi, third in the Withers in his last start, makes his first start away from Aqueduct and will be motoring late if the pace is too hot.
“He’s still a work in progress,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “He’s still putting it together. There’s more to come. There should be some pace for him.”
Gotta Go, He Takes Charge, and Peppered round out the field.
The Fountain of Youth is scheduled for 6:09pm, the final race on a marathon 14-race card that begins at 11:30 a.m. Eastern. It is the final leg of a late pick four that has a guaranteed pool of $750,000 and a late pick five that has a guaranteed pool of $500,000. In addition, the Rainbow 6 will be guaranteed at $3 million provided no one takes down that pool Thursday or Friday.
There are eight stakes preceding the Fountain of Youth, seven of them graded.