Top Billing earned a shot at Saturday’s Fountain of Youth by impressively winning an allowance race. Coglianese Photography/Gulfstream Park
Today’s Gulfstream Park press notes — filed by the Gulfstream publicity department, leading with the news from Payson Park (at bottom are Sunday’s press notes, leading with Commissioner’s final Fountain of Youth work):
INDIANTOWN, FL – Top Billing tuned up for Saturday’s $400,000 Besilu Stables Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) with an easy half-mile move in :50 2/5 at Payson Park in Indiantown, Fla. Going out shortly after dawn, the son of Curlin went in company with stablemate Peter Island as trainer Shug McGaughey looked on. The Fountain of Youth will mark Top Billing’s first attempt in stakes company.
“He’s coming along – he’s getting more in tune with what we want him to do,” McGaughey said while the colt was cooling out. “He used to work on a long rein, but now he gets more into it. I think we’re right on schedule. Everyone seemed to be pleased.”
Campaigned by breeders William S. Farish and E. J. Hudson Jr., the chestnut colt made a bold move to win his debut at Laurel Park on December 6. He stretched out for the first time in an allowance at Gulfstream on January 3 and missed by neck to Commissioner after a troubled trip. Top Billing made amends on January 25, when he made a sweeping four-wide rally en route to a 2 3/4-length success in an 8 1/2-furlong allowance at Gulfstream.
McGaughey won last year’s Fountain of Youth with Orb, who would go on to add the Florida Derby (G1) and Kentucky Derby (G1) to his trophy case.
Commissioner, a Todd Pletcher-trained son of A.P. Indy, will also be making his stakes bow in the Fountain of Youth.
Conquest Titan To Wait For Florida Derby
Conquest Titan, late-running second to Cairo Prince in the $400,000 Miller Lite Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 25, will make his next start in the $1 million Besilu Stables Florida Derby (G1) on March 29.
Trainer Mark Casse, who will saddle Coastline in today’s Southwest Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park, said this morning that he decided to skip Saturday’s $400,000 Besilu Stables Fountain of Youth (G2) and train up to Gulfstream’s signature race.
“We’re going to pass on it,” Casse said. “His last race, he came out of it good but I thought he lost a few pounds. He worked really well last week and he trained great this morning, but we can’t make all the dances. We’re just going to wait for the Florida Derby.”
Owned by Ernie Semersky’s Conquest Stable, Conquest Titan breezed five furlongs in 1:00 on Feb. 8 at Palm Meadows. A five-time winner of the Sovereign Award as Canada’s top trainer, Casse said the Birdstone colt will work again later this week.
“He’s not a big horse, anyway,” Casse said. “He’s just kind of an average-sized horse, and the Fountain of Youth is going to come up tough. We’re always at a disadvantage with him going a mile and a sixteenth, especially with a speed-favoring track. I talked with Ernie and we just decided to wait and go straight to the Florida Derby.”
Winner of the Swynford Stakes over the Polytrack at Woodbine last August, Conquest Titan closed his 2-year-old year with a come-from-behind victory in a one-mile Churchill Downs allowance on Nov. 30. Casse schooled Conquest Titan in the Gulfstream paddock on Feb. 7.
“We shipped him all the way down to Gulfstream and schooled him, and he got a little nervous and hot, and I wanted him to relax a little bit,” Casse said. “That was probably the biggest factor. I just want him to relax a little bit more than what he’s doing.”
Gold Will Send Out Two In Fountain Of Youth
Jacks or Better Farm Florida homebreds C. Zee and Best Plan Yet will each run next in Saturday’s $400,0000 Besilu Stables Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream Park, trainer Stanley Gold said.
Gold said regular rider Edgard Zayas will be back aboard C. Zee in the Fountain of Youth, while Paco Lopez has the mount on Best Plan Yet for the first time, replacing Zayas.
“They’re both doing good,” Gold said. “We’re going to take a shot with both of them.”
C. Zee has finished second in his past two starts at Gulfstream, beaten by long shot Just Call Kenny in the $100,000 Spectacular Bid on Jan. 4 and by favored Wildcat Red in the $200,000 Hutcheson (G3) on Feb. 1. He breezed four furlongs in 48.80 seconds at Calder on Feb. 15.
“I think both were good races,” Gold said. “In the Spectacular Bid we fanned wide on the turn and gave the winner enough room to come through; the outcome could have been changed had he not been able to get through. I think he repeated a very good performance in the Hutcheson and just got beat by a better horse that day. Maybe we would have used a little different strategy and perhaps gone with the winner when we could have, but we chose not to. I thought it was a big race. He’s bred to go long, so I’m looking forward to big things from this horse.”
C. Zee will be stretching out from seven furlongs to 1 1/16 miles and coming back in just 21 days for the Fountain of Youth, the shortest turnaround of his young career.
“By choice, I’d like a little more time,” Gold said. “We were still unsure the quality he was coming into the Hutcheson. I was confident, but he had to prove it to me and he did. I would like to run not that close together, but I’m going to take a shot with him anyhow.”
Best Plan Yet has run eight times with three wins and two seconds, and is 0-for-2 at Gulfstream. He finished last of nine behind Fountain of Youth contender General a Rod in the Gulfstream Park Derby on Jan. 1, and was fifth to Cairo Prince in the $400,000 Miller Lite Holy Bull (G2) on Jan. 25.
On Feb. 14, Best Plan Yet went five furlongs in 1:00.80 at Calder.
“He only got beat a length and a half for second, which would have been fine,” Gold said of the Holy Bull. “We had to steady twice; once on the turn because he got caught behind [jockey John] Velazquez’s horse [Coup de Grace] who was stopping and we couldn’t get between him and the two horses on the outside, and we had to stop once in the lane. We kept running down on the rail and we ran strong.
“A length and a half for second is good against that kind of company. I was disappointed but encouraged. It was a good race. The race before we were boxed in nearly the entire race from the gate all the way to the stretch and we never did get a chance to run, so that was a throwout. He’s still got a bright future, I think. This one will tell us. It’s certainly not going to be an easy race. We’re going to take a shot with him and see if he’s going to move forward or look for easier company.”
Here are Sunday’s press notes:
BOYNTON BEACH, FL – Commissioner, who ran his win streak to two races with an impressive allowance victory at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 3, put in his final breeze for the $400,000 Besilu Stables Fountain of Youth (G2) on Sunday morning.
With Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez aboard, the 3-year-old A.P. Indy colt was clocked in 49.10 seconds for four furlongs on the main track at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County.
It was the fourth work for Commissioner since his last race, including a pair of five-furlong breezes in 1:00.60 on Feb. 2 and 1:00.90 on Feb. 16. He is trained by Todd Pletcher for owner WinStar Farm.
“He went well,” said Pletcher, Gulfstream’s 10-time defending meet training champion who won his record sixth Eclipse Award last month. “We had a couple of good five-eighths in him prior to this, so we were just looking for a maintenance half. He seemed to be moving well, and everything is on target for the Fountain of Youth.”
A major prep for Gulfstream’s signature race, the $1 million Besilu Stables Florida Derby on March 29, as well as a the May 3 Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs, the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth will be run for the 71st time on Feb. 22.
Commissioner ran twice at 2, finishing second in his debut at Monmouth Park last August before breaking his maiden in a professional effort at Saratoga Race Course 17 days later.
He was given time off after that race by design before rejoining Pletcher’s string in South Florida, returning to the races with a neck victory over another major Fountain of Youth contender in Top Billing at Gulfstream on Jan. 3 – his second straight win at nine furlongs.
“It’s kind of rare that you have one that’s already won twice at a mile and an eighth this time of year,” Pletcher said. “I think he’s gotten a little more handy as time has gone on. He’s going to be able to position himself in a race where it won’t be too big of a disadvantage backing up to a mile and a sixteenth. In his case, we’d actually prefer that the Fountain of Youth was a mile and an eighth like it was for a little while there. Physically, he’s doing well. He looks great.”
Among the many Pletcher-trained stars on Sunday’s work tab was Princess of Sylmar, the Eclipse Award finalist for top 3-year-old filly of 2013 off her six stakes wins, four of them in Grade 1 races.
Under exercise rider Isabelle Bourez, the Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Majestic Warrior was clocked in 38.25 seconds for three furlongs, her first recorded work since joining Pletcher’s South Florida string last month.
“She just went nice and easy,” Pletcher said. “It was her first little work back, and we’re just getting her back into a routine. Everything has gone according to plan. As you would expect, everything’s come pretty easily to her. She’s pretty push-button.”
Pletcher said he will keep Princess of Sylmar in a regular rhythm of breezes leading up to her still-to-be-determined 2014 debut.
“We’ll just go on a weekly work schedule from here,” he said. “We don’t have a specific race picked out for her yet. We’ll just kind of let it fall into place.”
Romans Thinking of Entering Medal Count in Fountain of Youth
Trainer Dale Romans is leaning towards running Medal Count in the $400,000 Besilu Stables Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park on February 22. Owned by Spendthrift Farm, the son of Dynaformer rebounded from an unplaced effort in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) on November 2 to share win honors in an allowance on the Gulfstream grass on January 12.
Medal Count has breezed four times since that effort, most recently covering five furlongs in 1:01.02 yesterday morning at Gulfstream.
“I think we’re going to run,” Romans said. “He worked great going five-eighths. He’s a good horse and does everything right.”
A $360,000 yearling purchase, Medal Count aired by 6 1/4 lengths in his off-the-turf debut at Ellis Park on September 1. He followed that with a close fifth in the Bourbon Stakes (G3) that was washed onto the Keeneland Polytrack a month later, and faded to finish 11th in the Breeders’ Cup after racing too close to a fast pace.
A large field is expected for the Fountain of Youth, which will offer Kentucky Derby qualifying points of 50-20-10-5.
