Derby Hopefuls Face Dennis' Moment in Fountain of Youth
Image:
Description:
Photo: Coady Photography
Dennis' Moment wins the Iroquois Stakes in stakes-record time at Churchill Downs
Though Dennis' Moment is one of the early favorites for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), you might not know it judging by the large lineup of 3-year-olds entered to oppose him in the $400,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) Feb. 29 at Gulfstream Park.
He faces 11 rivals, including Holy Bull Stakes (G3) runner-up Ete Indien and the 1-2 finishers from the Mucho Macho Man Stakes: Chance It and As Seen On Tv. Most of the others are Gulfstream outsiders to a degree, though some—such as Candy Tycoon and Country Grammer—flashed promise in clear-cut maiden victories.
Considering that Albaugh Family Stables' Dennis' Moment is making his first start of the year—he hasn't raced since finishing last of eight in the Nov. 1 TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) after stumbling at the start—Saturday just might be the time to test him. He has trained every week—and quickly—leading up to his return, though he was outworked by his 4-year-old stablemate Admire in a fast combo drill Feb. 15 on the Gulfstream strip.
Dennis' Moment (red cap) & Admire (black cap) worked 5F at @GulfstreamPark on February 15th for trainer @Romansracing. Catch more works from coast-to-coast on-demand at https://t.co/vCZgVVRYIS pic.twitter.com/70U3dkZ7Gh
— XBTV (@WatchXBTV) February 15, 2020
"I'm not usually in this situation where I feel pressure. I usually like being the underdog because there's not much pressure," said Dale Romans, whose trainee drew post 5. "With this horse, there's so much hype with him—well deserved, he's very talented. I put the pressure on myself because of what I think of him. I think he's ready to roll."
A 3-year-old Tiznow colt who won the 1 1/16-mile Iroquois Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs in a stakes-record 1:43.58 in September, Dennis' Moment is the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the 1 1/16-mile race. Flavien Prat will replace Irad Ortiz Jr., who is riding Mucho Gusto in the $20 million Saudi Cup in Saudi Arabia Saturday.
The Fountain of Youth, a Kentucky Derby qualifier that offers points on a 50-20-10-5 scale to its top four finishers, is the last of 14 races at Gulfstream and has a post time of 6:04 p.m. ET. It is part of a 10-stakes card that includes the $200,000 Davona Dale Stakes (G2) for 3-year-old fillies and the $200,000 Mac Diarmida Stakes (G2T) for older turf horses, a race that drew Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes Presented by Runhappy (G1T) winner Zulu Alpha.
Shooting Star Thoroughbreds' Chance It got the worst draw for the Fountain of Youth, landing the outside post alongside Ete Indien in post 11. Wide draws can be problematic in dirt routes at Gulfstream because of a relatively short run to the first turn.
Determined in victory in the one-mile Mucho Macho Man, in which he battled back in the stretch to nip As Seen On Tv, Chance It won at the Fountain of Youth distance Sept. 28 in the In Reality Division of the 2019 Florida Sire Stakes by 7 1/4 lengths.
Video: Mucho Macho Man S. (BT)
"That showed he had a lot of guts that day," trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said of the Mucho Macho Man. "I thought he was beat 100%, especially coming off the layoff."
Tyler Gaffalione, who rode Chance It in both the In Reality and Mucho Macho Man, has the return mount on the morning-line second choice at odds of 7-2.
Chance It with Saffie Joseph Jr. at Gulfstream Park
Ete Indien, owned by the partnership of Linda Shanahan, Sanford Bacon, Dream With Me Stable, Horse France America, D P Racing, and Patrick L. Biancone Racing, received a rider change to Florent Geroux after his regular jockey, Luca Panici, was injured last week. The pacesetter in the Holy Bull, he is drawn outside a couple of other speedy runners in stakes winners Liam's Lucky Charm and Shotski.
After beginning his career with two grass starts, the son of Summer Front has adapted to dirt racing at Gulfstream, winning a Dec. 20 allowance-level race before his three-length defeat behind Tiz the Law in the Holy Bull.
"We are in America. Dirt is the tradition this time of year. There are no good turf races anyway until July," trainer Patrick Biancone said of the surface switch. "We tried him (on dirt), and he won brilliantly but was a bit green. He was much better the second time. He's a big baby. He's a very talented big horse who needs to learn and improve."
Shotski will enter the Fountain of Youth with grade 2 success around two turns, having captured the 1 1/8-mile Remsen Stakes (G2) Dec. 7 at Aqueduct Racetrack. The son of Blame owned by Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable, Pantofel Stable, and Howling Pigeon Farms was subsequently second in the Withers Stakes (G3) at the same distance in his only race this year.
Hall of Famer John Velazquez will ride Shotski for the first time, subbing for Luis Saez, who is riding Maximum Security in the Saudi Cup.
Gulfstream Park, Saturday, February 29, 2020, Race 14Entries: Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. (G2)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
Candy Tycoon (KY)
Manuel Franco
118
Todd A. Pletcher
-
2
Makabim (KY)
Miguel Angel Vasquez
118
Daniel C. Hurtak
-
3
Masterday (KY)
Cristian A. Torres
118
Gilberto Zerpa
-
4
The Falcon (KY)
Marcos Meneses
118
Anthony T. Quartarolo
-
5
Dennis' Moment (KY)
Flavien Prat
124
Dale L. Romans
-
6
As Seen On Tv (FL)
Paco Lopez
122
Kelly J. Breen
-
7
Country Grammer (KY)
Javier Castellano
118
Chad C. Brown
-
8
Gear Jockey (KY)
Julien R. Leparoux
118
George R. Arnold, II
-
9
Liam's Lucky Charm (FL)
Edgard J. Zayas
122
Ralph E. Nicks
-
10
Shotski (KY)
John R. Velazquez
124
Jeremiah O'Dwyer
-
11
Ete Indien (KY)
Florent Geroux
120
Patrick L. Biancone
-
12
Chance It (FL)
Tyler Gaffalione
122
Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.
-
