Florida Derby or Wood next for Code of Honor

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Code of Honor came out of his victory in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes on Saturday at Gulfstream Park well and will make his next start in either the Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream on March 30 or the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct one week later, trainer Shug McGaughey said Sunday morning at Gulfstream.

Should he go in the Florida Derby, his rivals could include Bourbon War, who finished second in the Fountain of Youth, three-quarters of a length behind Code of Honor, and Vekoma, who was third, beaten 2 3/4 lengths.

Hidden Scroll, the 6-5 favorite, set a fast pace and faded to fourth, a neck behind Vekoma.

Both the Florida Derby and the Wood Memorial are at 1 1/8 miles, a sixteenth of a mile farther than the Fountain of Youth. Both offer 100 points to the winner and 40 for second under the system used by Churchill Downs to determine the maximum 20-horse field for the Kentucky Derby on May 4.

Code of Honor received a Beyer Speed Figure of 95 for his victory, which was worth 50 points toward the Derby. That will be enough to make the Derby field, but McGaughey emphasized that Code of Honor needs to “take us there.”

Code of Honor returned to his base at the Payson Park training center Saturday after the race. McGaughey’s longtime assistant Robbie Medina reported all was well Sunday morning, McGaughey said.

“He seemed to get back up there fine,” McGaughey said Sunday while tending to matters at his Gulfstream barn. “We’ll give him a few days and see what direction we’re going.”

McGaughey said he’d prefer to run in the Florida Derby but is keeping the Wood open as an option in case he thinks Code of Honor would benefit by having five weeks until his next start rather than four.

“I’d rather run here because it’s just an hour and a half down the road as opposed to shipping here and there,” McGaughey said.

Of the Fountain of Youth, McGaughey said, “It was fun to see him run that way.”

“He’s a very efficient little horse,” he added.

Code of Honor showed agility to knife between rivals on the far turn, then cut to the rail before swinging out anew at the top of the lane.

“He can do that, and so can a good rider,” McGaughey said, praising the trip jockey John Velazquez worked out.

McGaughey’s barn at Gulfstream is adjacent to the one occupied by Mark Hennig, who was delighted with the runnerup performance by Bourbon War. Hennig on Sunday said Bourbon War would be pointed to the Florida Derby. He won an allowance race here in his race prior to the Fountain of Youth.

“It was nice to see him go forward, considering what lies ahead,” Hennig said.

Hennig said Bourbon War “looks great, came out it unscathed, cold and tight.”

“He ate pretty much everything, left a little bit, but it was a hot, humid day,” Hennig said.

Hennig said Bourbon War seemed to take the race well.

“The way he cooled out, the Florida Derby makes sense,” he said.

Hennig said that if Bourbon War doesn’t bounce back quite as quickly as he believes he will, the Wood Memorial would be the backup plan.

“He’s won at Aqueduct, so that’s comforting,” he said.

Vekoma has several options for his final prep for the Derby, but the Florida Derby is the preferred choice at the moment, his trainer, George Weaver, said Sunday morning.

Weaver said he would evaluate how Vekoma does exiting the Fountain of Youth to see if he would benefit from more time until his next start. He also said the prospective fields for races like the Florida Derby, Wood Memorial, Blue Grass, and Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 13 at Oaklawn will be a factor.

“The next race is the mostimportant race – a mile and an eighth, the most points,” Weaver said from the Palm Beach Downs training center, where he is based during the winter. “The Florida Derby is here, but he’s nominated everywhere – the Wood, Blue Grass, Arkansas Derby. It will depend on whether he needs an extra week or two coming out of this until his next race, or if he can get an extra week out of his last prep until the Kentucky Derby.

“We’ll evaluate the fields, too. We want to give him his best chance to get to the Derby.”

Vekoma won both his starts at age 2, including the Nashua Stakes. The Fountain of Youth was his first start at 3 and first around two turns.

“He came out of the race well. I’m happy with him,” Weaver said. “I’m not disappointed. First race in four months, going two turns, finishing third, it’s something we can build off of. I thought he earned the right to go on.”

One horse who won’t be going on is Global Campaign, who finished fifth in the Fountain of Youth and grabbed a quarter in the race, his trainer, Stan Hough, said Sunday.