Two noteworthy Derby preps were run over the weekend: Saturday’s Grade 1, $200,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park, with Booklet and Harlan’s Holiday staging round 2 of their budding rivalry, and Sunday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Risen Star at the Fair Grounds, dominated by Repent in his seasonal bow.
The Fountain of Youth was a carbon copy of the Jan. 19 Holy Bull, in which front-running Booklet narrowly turned back Harlan’s Holiday’s surge.
Once again Booklet, with Jorge Chavez replacing Eibar Coa in the saddle, was loose on the lead, setting solid fractions of :22.4 and :46.4 over the wet-fast track. Harlan’s Holiday, Tony D’Amico up, rallied on the far turn, quickly cut into Booklet’s lead and looked like he’d run him down in the final sixteenth. But Booklet dug in and held on to win by a nose.
“If we keep giving [Booklet] an easy lead, we’re not going to beat him at a mile and a sixteenth,” Ken McPeek, trainer of Harlan’s Holiday, said.
“We had a perfect trip,” D’Amico said. “He just couldn’t get by that horse. He tried, but he wasn’t good enough.”
Privately purchased over the winter after winning four of five starts at 2,, including the Florida Stallion Stakes, Booklet is now 6-for-7 lifetime and hasn’t lost in four starts since finishing third last August in the Saratoga Special.
“I call him the ‘walk-on player’ on the team,” said his trainer, John Ward. “He doesn’t get much attention, but once he walks on the floor he plays hard. He’s a small horse, but he doesn’t know he’s small.”
Booklet has the same jockey, trainer and owner (John Oxley) as last year’s Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby winner, Monarchos, but he most resembles a pair of other free-running colts who dominated Gulfstream’s Triple Crown preps in recent years: Vicar in 1999 and Hal’s Hope in 2000.
Both won stakes going a mile and a sixteenth (Vicar in the Fountain of Youth, Hal’s Hope in the Holy Bull), but it was assumed they’d be vulnerable stretching out. Yet Vicar and Hal’s Hope held on to win the Florida Derby in photo-finishes.
Of the other six Youth starters, Blue Burner, unbeaten in his first three starts, has license to move forward after rallying to finish third.
The highly touted Stephentown, sent off the 5-2 second choice, finished sixth and Maybry’s Boy dropped off the “Derby Dozen” after a miserable last-place effort.
Repent, also trained by McPeek and ridden by D’Amico, is a powerful stretch-runner whose 5-3-1-1 record last year included victories in the Kentucky Cup Juvenile and Kentucky Jockey Club and a close second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He shipped in from Gulfstream for the Risen Star off a series of solid works.
Far back early behind a quick pace (:23, :46), Repent launched his bid very wide around the far turn. But after straightening for home, he kicked in with machine-like strides and drew clear under a hand ride to win by 2 ½ lengths.
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ED FOUNTAINE’S DERBY DOZEN
1. Saarland
Feb. 23 Gulfstream allw.
John Velazquez
Shug McGaughey
11-1
Scheduled to work at Gulf this a.m. and could go in 7f allowance Sat. before shipping to N.Y. for Gotham and Wood. McGaughey: “This horse is big and bred to go long.”
2. Repent
March 10 Louisiana Derby
Tony D’Amico
Ken McPeek
8-1
Son of Preakness winner Louis Quatorze, second in Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last year, made 3-year-old debut yesterday in Risen Star and won impressively as 3-5 choice.
3. Nokoma
Feb. 23 Gulfstream allw.
John Velazquez
Todd Pletcher
43-1
Worked 5f last Tues. at Gulfstream in bullet :59.3 but skipped Fountain of Youth; Pulpit colt will use mile and 70-yard allowance at Gulf this Sat. as prep for Fla. Derby.
4. Johannesburg
Undecided
Mick Kinane
Aidan O’Brien
7-1
Unbeaten BC Juvenile winner to be named 2-year-old champ tonight at Eclipse dinner in Miami. No clue as to when, where Irish-based colt will make 3-year-old debut.
5. Siphonic
March 17 San Felipe
Jerry Bailey
David Hofmans
8-1
Work scheduled for Sat. at Hollywood postponed. Hofmans: “He’s got a little temperature, and we’ll give him a couple days off. We’ve got plenty of time before the San Felipe.”
6. Harlan’s Holiday
March 16 Florida Derby
Tony D’Amico
Ken McPeek
17-1
McPeek, after 2nd in Fountain of Youth: “My horse would have gotten there if the race was a little longer, but the winner made an easy lead and was tough to catch.”
7. High Star
March 16 Florida Derby
Jorge Chavez
Nick Zito
29-1
Zito: “I still think he won [after losing Sat. allowance at Gulf by nose]. But, no matter, it was a good tightener and he’s right on schedule for the Florida Derby.”
8. Saratoga Blues
March 17 Gotham
Mario Pino
Tony Dutrow
26-1
Unbeaten colt is 3-for-3 around two turns, has distance pedigree: strong dosage profile (9-2-12-2-5) and dosage index (1.31), from family of Ky. Derby winner Gato Del Sol.
9. Came Home
March 2 San Rafael
Chris McCarron
Paco Gonzalez
14-1
McCarron: “He’s not given me the indication he’s cut out to be a classic distance horse. It’s the way he behaves after a race, not bounding back with tremendous energy.”
10. Danthebluegrassman
March 17 San Felipe
David Flores
Bob Baffert
30-1
Worked 4f Tues. at Santa Anita in :48.4. Baffert: “I almost brought him to Florida, but I didn’t want to ship and run over a track he’s never been on before.’
11. Booklet
March 16 Florida Derby
Jorge Chavez
John Ward
24-1
Chavez: “He’s got a lot of natural speed. I tried to slow him down a little [in Fountain of Youth]. He was tired but he likes to fight. He didn’t want to get beat.”
12. Mayakovsky
March 17 Gotham
Undecided
Patrick Biancone
5-2 (field)
Set track record winning first-out at Spa last summer, then ran strong second in Hopeful before sidelined with injury; hasn’t raced since; worked 5f Fri. at Santa Anita in 1:00.3.
* Future wager pool 1 closing odds
