Top Derby prospect leads field at Gulfstream Park
The top Kentucky Derby prospect in the East and some high-potential colts with questions to answer are among the 10 horses entered in the Fountain of Youth on Saturday at Gulfstream Park
The final major local prep for the Florida Derby and Triple Crown races offers a $300,000 purse as well as 85 Kentucky Derby qualifying points (50-20-10-5).
Although it isn’t billed as such, the Fountain of Youth is essentially a “win and you’re in” for the Kentucky Derby, as no horse with as many as 50 points has failed to qualify for the Run for the Roses. For the first time since the Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 23, there will be limited public admission. With admission capped at about 2,000, Saturday is already sold out. Tickets for future dates, starting Sunday, are available at gulfstreampark.com.
Greatest Honour established himself as the leading 3-year-old in South Florida with a dazzling 5 ¾-length romp in the Holy Bull at the Hallandale Beach track four weeks ago.
It wasn’t just the margin of victory that underlined his brilliance, but the manner in which he did it. He loitered early at the back of the pack, then looped the field with arrogant ease around the turn before coasting home. This suggests he could be even more devastating as the distances get longer in the big spring stakes.
Greatest Honour’s career arc is reminiscent of Orb, also trained by Greatest Honour’s conditioner Shug McGaughey.
Orb came to Gulfstream in 2013 with only a maiden win in four starts. He won an allowance in his Florida debut, his first try around two turns, then took the Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby as preludes to a triumph in the Kentucky Derby.
Greatest Honour came to Gulfstream winless after three tries in New York. He broke his maiden
around two turns at Gulfstream before his tour de force in the Holy Bull. After that race, McGaughey was noncommittal about whether to go in the Fountain of Youth or train into the Florida Derby.
He said he would let his colt tell him where to go. A couple of impressive works screamed, “Put me in, Coach. I’m ready to play.”
Greatest Honour figures to be tested. Fire at Will is a budding star on grass. Already a stakes winner in New York, he closed 2020 with a win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
He did win his only main course race, but it was on a sloppy track against only three foes in a race originally scheduled for the infield. His connections are using the Fountain of Youth as a gauge whether to jump onto the Triple Crown trail or return to the turf.
Drain the Clock is the wild card. He is 4-for-5, his only blemish coming when he lost his rider in a stakes at Delta Downs. Moreover, he loves Gulfstream, with three wins by about 20 lengths. However, he has never raced as far as the Fountain of Youth’s 1 1⁄16 miles.
Tarantino and Prime Factor, second and third, respectively, in the Holy Bull, are taking another shot at Greatest Honour.
There is reason for optimism surrounding both. The Holy Bull was Tarantino’s first race on the main track after some sharp grass races. Prime Factor’s only previous race was a maiden win so eye-catching that he was made the 11-10 favorite in the Holy Bull, his first route try.
Sososubtle, Jirafales, King Orphan, Tic Tact Toe and Papetu have done little to indicate they could grab more than a minor share of the purse.
The Fountain of Youth is the finale of a 14-race card packed with eight other stakes. Vequist, the 2020 Juvenile Filly champion, makes her 3-year-old debut in the Davona Dale. First post time is 11:30 a.m.