Blockbuster Stakes Race Weekend Includes Fountain of Youth

Have the television remote in hand Saturday as there are more than two dozen graded stakes races at tracks throughout the U.S. on March 5. Three Kentucky Derby (GI) stepping-stone races – the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park, the Grade 3 Gotham at Aqueduct and the Grade 2 San Felipe at Santa Anita – are among the big events.

Santa Anita’s card also includes the Santa Anita Handicap (G1), not quite the race it was decades ago, and the Grade 1 Kilroe Mile and Beholder Stakes.

The focus will be on the 3-year-old stakes races, however, and the 12 colts in the $400,000 Fountain of Youth at 1 1/16 miles on dirt is the most intriguing of the trio of races.

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With the scratch of early favourite MO DONEGAL, WinStar Farm LLC and Siena Farm LLC’s EMMANUEL (More Than Ready) could be favoured in the ‘Youth’, his first stakes race appearance.

Emmanuel has been quite impressive in romping to victory in his first two starts, but the nagging question facing bettors will be: does the 3-year-old son of More Than Ready have the stuff to prevail over his more seasoned competition in the 1 1/16-mile prep for the April 2 $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1)?

Emmanuel’s lack of race experience will hardly discourage handicappers familiar with Pletcher’s past performances with lightly raced horses at Gulfstream. The Hall of Famer saddled Itsaknockout for a 2015 Fountain of Youth victory in his third career start following a pair of victories at Gulfstream.

Emmanuel’s sire captured his first five career starts, including two graded stakes, before tasting defeat for the first time.

“Emmanuel has a bit of a larger physical presence than a lot of the More Than Readys we’ve had. He’s a good-sized, strong colt with a really good More Than Ready disposition,” Pletcher said. “He’s a very straightforward, very professional, smart colt.”

Emmanuel’s young dam Hard Cloth (Hard Spun) is a half-sister to $4 million earner and Group 1 winner Hawkbill and graded stakes winner Free Drop Billy.

Emmanuel, 9-2 in the morning-line, made an auspicious debut Dec. 11 at Gulfstream, scoring a front-running 6 ¾-length triumph in a mile maiden special weight event. In his two-turn debut in a 1 1/16-mile allowance at Tampa Bay Downs Jan. 30, he scored a gate-to-wire victory by 4 ½ lengths. While Emmanuel has been successful at both Gulfstream and Tampa, Pletcher opted for the Hallandale Beach track for his colt’s stakes debut.

“He broke his maiden here. We know he likes the track,” said Pletcher, who also won the Fountain of Youth with Eskendereya in 2010 and Scat Daddy in 2007. “We like the timing of the Fountain of Youth. It puts him in a good position, if he runs well enough, to take a look at the Florida Derby.”

Lucky Seven Stable’s RATTLE N ROLL (Connect) brings Grade 1 credentials into the Fountain of Youth, in which he is scheduled to make his 2022 debut after closing out his juvenile campaign with an off-the-pace 4 ½-length victory in the Oct. 9 Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland. The colt has been powering along in workouts, albeit while getting quite sweaty, getting ready.

“He’s a beautiful horse to be around. He’s a bit of a set-up horse,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “He needs pace in front of him. That’s out of our control, but we’re looking to get two races into him before Kentucky and go from there.”

Brian Hernandez Jr. will travel from New Orleans to accept the return mount aboard the son of Connect.

Tami Bobo’s Simplification (Not This Time) enters the Fountain of Youth off a gritty second-place finish behind White Abarrio in the 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull, in which he had a troubled start and experienced a wide trip.

“The bad news in his last race, he didn’t win. The good news, we know he can run from behind and run in the front,” trainer Antonio Sano said.

Simplification had previously scored a front-running victory in the Mucho Macho Man over a one-turn mile.

“Each day, he is a more serious horse. Maybe before he was a little green, but right now, he has more concentration,” Sano said. “He’s a different horse of all the horses I have.”

Jose Ortiz is scheduled to ride Simplification for the first time Saturday.

In New York, trainer Pletcher has more big guns in the Gotham. A competitive field of 10 sophomores will assemble for the $300,000 Gotham going a one-turn mile at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Gotham, which offers 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers, closes out the lucrative 10-race card which also includes the $250,000 Busher Invitational, a one-turn mile for sophomore fillies offering 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points in Race 9. The Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap for older horses going six furlongs will kick off the stakes action in Race 3.

The Gotham has been won by racing legends Jaipur [1962], Dr. Fager [1967], Secretariat [1973] and Easy Goer – whose Aqueduct track record for one mile in 1:32.40 from the 1989 Gotham remains intact.

Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher will seek a third Gotham coup when sending out Dean’s List and Golden Code for their respective stakes debuts.

By champion-producing sire Speightstown, Dean’s List will see some added ground for Saturday’s engagement, arriving off two six-furlong victories at Gulfstream Park.

Following a decisive 5 1/2-length win on December 11, Dean’s List had to earn his next-out triumph against winners four weeks later, battling gamely to the inside of subsequent graded stakes-placed Dean Delivers to win by a neck. The third-place finisher in that event, In Due Time, garnered a 92 Beyer Speed Figure in winning an optional-claimer next up at Gulfstream and is entered in Saturday’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth.

“It came up a key race and he fought off a tough challenge there and showed some gameness. He outran them the first time but showed some fight in the second one,” said Pletcher, who previously won the Gotham with Cowtown Cat [2007] and Stay Thirsty [2011]. “I like the way he’s been training and he’s put in some gallop outs that suggest he is going to be able to handle a stretch out in distance – that’s what we’re trying to find out here and I feel the one-turn mile is a good way to do it and gradually stretch him out a little bit.”

Bred by co-owner WinStar Farm, who owns Dean’s List in partnership with Siena Farm, Dean’s List is out of the multiple stakes-winning Distorted Humor mare Mildly Offensive.

Manny Franco will pick up the mount aboard Dean’s List from post 5.

Calumet Farm’s Golden Code will try to solidify a last out runaway maiden triumph going seven furlongs against fellow New York-breds. Bred by Barry R. Ostrager, the son of Honor Code was never in doubt at second asking, gliding home to a 10 3/4-length victory on February 5 at the Big A. This winning effort came after a distant second to fellow Gotham aspirant Bold Journey on December 18 over the same surface.

“Visually, it was an impressive performance,” Pletcher said of Golden Code’s maiden triumph. “He had trained well for his debut and thought he would improve with added distance in his second start, which he did. We’re interested to see how he handles the step up in class. Hopefully, he continues to improve. We’re pleased with the way he’s coming up to it.”

Kendrick Carmouche, who piloted Mischevious Alex to a Gotham score in 2020, will return to the irons from post 3.

“We’ll let them both run their own style, but Dean’s List coming out of the six-furlong race I think would be a significant pace factor in the race,” Pletcher said.

In the San Felipe at Santa Anita (5:30 p.m. EST post time), a small field of seven is led by San Vincente (G2) winner FORBIDDEN KINGDOM (American Pharoah), trained by Richard Mandella.