Chance It Breezes Ahead of Fountain of Youth

Shooting Star Thoroughbreds' Chance It breezed five furlongs Feb. 17 in :58.33 at Gulfstream Park in preparation for a planned start in the Feb. 29 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G3) at the south Florida track.

The workout, which produced the second fastest clocking of 37 recorded at the distance, was Chance It's fourth since his triumph in the Jan. 4 Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream.

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione was aboard the son of Currency Swap in his next-to-last breeze before the 1 1/16-mile major prep for the March 28 Curlin Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream.

"He worked well. He sat off two horses from our barn—he sat between seven and nine lengths off them. He went by them well and finished up good," trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. "Overall, we're really happy with it."

Chance It was the hero of the 2019 Florida Sire Stakes series, in which he won the Dr. Fager and the In Reality. The Florida-bred colt made an impressive 3-year-old debut in the Mucho Macho Man, in which he rated off the pace before taking the lead in the stretch and fighting back to win by a head over As Seen On Tv.

Sole Volante, who finished third, went on to win the Sam F. Davis (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs. Smash Factor, who defeated Chance It in their respective debuts in June but finished far back in the Mucho Macho Man, won a stakes-quality allowance at Gulfstream last time out and is scheduled to run in Saturday's Hutcheson Stakes.

Chance It continues to mature, Joseph said.

"Mentally, he's a very strong horse—strong, in that nothing fazes him," he said. "He handles his job well. He still has time to play, but he knows when it's business. He's relaxing great in his works, sitting off horses, like he did today, and finishes up and does his job."