3 minute read
While Gulfstream's Fountain of Youth and Holy Bull are top-class targets in their own right, they also act as stepping stones to the $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream on 30th March.
In turn, the Florida Derby is itself a defining contest on the official Road to the Kentucky Derby. In total, 21 winners of the Florida Derby have gone on to win one of the jewels of the Triple Crown. The last horse to do so was Tiz the Law who won in Gulfstream back in 2020 who then went on to finish runner-up in the Kentucky Derby before taking the final jewel, the Belmont Stakes.
Todd Pletcher has won this race more than any other trainer in history and will inevitably be looking to extend his record. His strongest contender, the aforementioned Fierceness, may well renew rivalries with his Holy Bull conqueror, Hades, but Pletcher isn't showing any concerns about a rematch.
"I think in terms of where he starts next, everything is in play including staying on course for the Florida Derby. He's shown he can bounce back from a poor performance." Pletcher is, of course, referring to Fierceness winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile by seven lengths only four weeks after he finished seventh when odds-on in the Grade 1 Champagne at Aqueduct.
