Kentucky Derby: Who To Watch in ‘Youth, San Felipe, Gotham

Three significant three-year-old stakes races in the south, west and east have Kentucky Derby hopefuls seeking victories.

Burnham Square is currently the top three-year-old in Florida. He tries for the Fountain of Youth on March 1. (Gulfstream Park photo)

By: Jennifer Morrison | February 27, 2025

Listen to this Article

0:00

-:--

Playback Speed

you're listening to an article from canadian thoroughbred.com. kentucky derby: who to watch in ‘youth, san felipe, gotham by: jennifer morrison |. you might already have your favourite kentucky derby horse or, like many of us, you are continuing to watch the lead-up races (i don’t call them ‘preps’ since they are rich graded stakes races on their own). have your remote ready, because on march 1 there are a trio of such races at the major circuits with the fountain of youth (g2), race 13 at gulfstream at 5:44 p.m. as the most notable. on the west coast at santa anita, the grade 2 san felipe has six entrants, three trained by bob baffert, and in new york the one-turn, one-mile gotham stakes is a stepping-stone to the more-prominent wood memorial (g2). fountain of youth – 1 1/16 miles. the $415,000 dirt race leads up to the florida derby (g1) which, at nine furlongs, is a better gauge to picking out a potential kentucky derby winner. advertisement scroll to continue with content but burnham square is the toast of florida currently with two straight wins including a convincing run in the holy bull stakes (g3) on feb. 1. in that 1 1/16 mile race, burnham square, a son of liam’s map, rallied from off the pace to beat the up-and-coming tappen street. it was more than nine lengths back to the third-place finisher. burnham square has moved up from a 59 beyer speed figure to an 86 and 90 in his last two outings. edgard zayas rides for whitham thoroughbreds and trainer ian wilkes. while burnham square looks very strong, there are a few interesting rivals who might be contenders. undefeated river thames is a speedy son of maclean’s music and he won his maiden and then a one mile allowance/optional race. his two beyers were 92 and 94. the new york-bred is trained by todd pletcher and john velazquez rides. sovereignty won the grade 3 street sense stakes at churchill downs in october and makes his three-year-old debut for godolphin and trainer bill mott. this son of into mischief won the street sense by five lengths and had the highly-regarded sandman behind him. san felipe – 1 1/16 miles. with three of the six starters in santa anita’s san felipe trained by baffert it is likely the winner comes from that barn. will it be barnes? the unbeaten son of into mischief won the san vicente (g2) in his second career race and he posted a 93 beyer for his 7 furlongs in 1:22. this is his first two-turn test. his stablemate rodgriguez looks like a nice one, as this son of authentic was second to stablemate/champion citizen bull in the robert b lewis stakes (g3). third in the latest races was madaket road who was a good second in the rebel stakes (g2) last weekend. gotham – 1 mile. this race is unlikely to spawn a major derby contender, but it has interest for canadians as king’s plate hopeful scorching is in the field making his first start on the dirt. the son of mo town is trained by veteran woodbine conditioner john charalambous. the gotham awards the top-five finishers 50-25-15-10-5 qualifying points towards the may 3 derby. the horse to beat in the gotham would be sacrosanct, trained by dual eclipse award-winner brad cox. the honest mischief bay won his three stakes around one turn here, including the eligible-sired nyss great white way last out on december 14, as well as versus state-breds in the bertram f. bongard and sleepy hollow. in the great white way, sacrosanct [post 4, manny franco] attended the pace sprinting the seven furlongs, taking over approaching the top of the lane while gamely defending a narrow advantage from the oncoming national identity to win the $500,000 event by a head.

You might already have your favourite Kentucky Derby horse or, like many of us, you are continuing to watch the lead-up races (I don’t call them ‘preps’ since they are rich graded stakes races on their own).

Have your remote ready, because on March 1 there are a trio of such races at the major circuits with the FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH (G2), race 13 at Gulfstream at 5:44 p.m. as the most notable. On the west coast at Santa Anita, the Grade 2 San Felipe has six entrants, three trained by Bob Baffert, and in New York the one-turn, one-mile Gotham Stakes is a stepping-stone to the more-prominent Wood Memorial (G2).

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH – 1 1/16 miles

The $415,000 dirt race leads up to the Florida Derby (G1) which, at nine furlongs, is a better gauge to picking out a potential Kentucky Derby winner.

Scroll to continue with content

But BURNHAM SQUARE is the toast of Florida currently with two straight wins including a convincing run in the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) on Feb. 1. In that 1 1/16 mile race, Burnham Square, a son of Liam’s Map, rallied from off the pace to beat the up-and-coming Tappen Street. It was more than nine lengths back to the third-place finisher.

Burnham Square has moved up from a 59 Beyer Speed Figure to an 86 and 90 in his last two outings. Edgard Zayas rides for Whitham Thoroughbreds and trainer Ian Wilkes.

While Burnham Square looks very strong, there are a few interesting rivals who might be contenders. Undefeated RIVER THAMES is a speedy son of Maclean’s Music and he won his maiden and then a one mile allowance/optional race. His two Beyers were 92 and 94. The New York-bred is trained by Todd Pletcher and John Velazquez rides.

SOVEREIGNTY won the Grade 3 Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs in October and makes his three-year-old debut for Godolphin and trainer Bill Mott. This son of Into Mischief won the Street Sense by five lengths and had the highly-regarded Sandman behind him.

SAN FELIPE – 1 1/16 miles

With three of the six starters in Santa Anita’s San Felipe trained by Baffert it is likely the winner comes from that barn. Will it be BARNES? The unbeaten son of Into Mischief won the San Vicente (G2) in his second career race and he posted a 93 Beyer for his 7 furlongs in 1:22. This is his first two-turn test.

His stablemate RODGRIGUEZ looks like a nice one, as this son of Authentic was second to stablemate/champion Citizen Bull in the Robert B Lewis Stakes (G3). Third in the latest races was Madaket Road who was a good second in the Rebel Stakes (G2) last weekend.

GOTHAM – 1 mile

This race is unlikely to spawn a major Derby contender, but it has interest for Canadians as King’s Plate hopeful SCORCHING is in the field making his first start on the dirt. The son of Mo Town is trained by veteran Woodbine conditioner John Charalambous.

The Gotham awards the top-five finishers 50-25-15-10-5 qualifying points towards the May 3 Derby.

The horse to beat in the Gotham would be SACROSANCT, trained by dual Eclipse Award-winner Brad Cox. The Honest Mischief bay won his three stakes around one turn here, including the eligible-sired NYSS Great White Way last out on December 14, as well as versus state-breds in the Bertram F. Bongard and Sleepy Hollow.

In the Great White Way, Sacrosanct [post 4, Manny Franco] attended the pace sprinting the seven furlongs, taking over approaching the top of the lane while gamely defending a narrow advantage from the oncoming National Identity to win the $500,000 event by a head.