Gouverneur Morris Set for 2020 Debut at Tampa Bay Downs

It looks as though Triple Crown hopeful Gouverneur Morris will be returning to the races a little sooner than expected.

It seemed the grade 1-placed Constitution  colt was on track to begin his 3-year-old campaign in the Feb. 17 Southwest Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park, but he will instead run for trainer Todd Pletcher Feb. 14 in a five-horse, $27,500 allowance optional claiming race at Tampa Bay Downs. The race also features Untitled and Letmeno, who also have stakes experience.

"We want to have a nice, non-killer race to get him started," said Team Valor International founder and CEO Barry Irwin, who owns Gouverneur Morris along with WinStar Farm. 

Irwin said the plan is to run Gouverneur Morris in the mile-and-40-yard test Friday and then target a yet-to-be-determined race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby with a top prize of 100 points. How the colt performs in that start will determine whether he will have enough qualifying points and a valid reason to run in the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).

"(WinStar Farm president/CEO and racing manager Elliott Walden), Todd, and I talked," Irwin said. "We've all won the Derby, and just getting a horse in the Derby is not our goal. It's not the be-all, end-all to us that it is to some people. We only want to run if we have a chance, and you need a fit, fresh horse to do that. If this works out right, he'll come up to the Derby the way we want, and we'll feel good about going.

"He will have one normal, average race, and then we'll go for the gold in a race like the Florida Derby (G1) or somewhere else, and if we run well, we'll go to the Derby."

Irwin said all options are on the table for Gouverneur Morris' final Kentucky Derby prep.

When Gulfstream Park was unable to card an allowance race for Gouverneur Morris and the others, Irwin said calls were made to Tampa Bay, and the race was included on Friday's card.

"He needs to run. He's getting too strong," Irwin said.

Palm Beach Downs-based Gouverneur Morris, who will be ridden by John Velazquez, began his career Sept. 2 with a nine-length maiden special weight win at Saratoga Race Course and finished second to Maxfield in the Oct. 5 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland in his final race at 2. He has four points on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard from the Breeders' Futurity, ranking him 22nd heading into the weekend.

Bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, Carrie Brogden, Craig Brogden, and James Miller out of the Unbridled's Song mare Addison Run, Gouverneur Morris was purchased last year by Team Valor for $600,000 from Eddie Woods' consignment to The Gulfstream Sale, Fasig-Tipton's Florida select 2-year-olds in training sale. Phoenix Thoroughbreds originally purchased him for $200,000 from Select Sales' consignment to the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Gary Barber and Michael Sebastian's Untitled was entered in the race after finishing fourth in the seven-furlong Swale Stakes (G3) Feb. 1 at Gulfstream in his first start for trainer Mark Casse. In his only other start, the son of Khozan  was an 11-length winner when he made his Dec. 14 debut at the same track for trainer Ralph Nicks.

Randall Bloch and Six Column Stables' Letmeno, a son of Twirling Candy , will be making his 3-year-old debut for trainer Ian Wilkes after finishing fourth in the Sept. 14 Iroquois Stakes (G3) and second in the TwinSpires Ellis Park Juvenile Stakes in his final starts at 2.

Pletcher also entered Siena Farm's Dudley Square, who won his debut Jan. 18 at Tampa Bay.

Town and Country Racing's Sounion, who was third in a Jan. 11 allowance optional claimer for trainer Brian Lynch at Gulfstream, rounds out the field.