Upstart Breezes, Ready for Fountain of Youth
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Upstart breezed five furlongs at Palm Meadows the morning of Feb. 14 in preparation for a planned start in the upcoming $400,000 Besilu Stables Fountain of Youth Stakes (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park.
A dazzling 5 1/2-length winner of the Lambholm South Holy Bull Stakes (gr. II) Jan. 24, Ralph M. Evans' 3-year-old son of Flatter covered the distance in 1:00.60 under exercise rider Vicki King. The ninth swiftest of 28 works at the distance Saturday, the drill was the last for Upstart in advance of the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth Feb. 21.
"If all systems are as good as they are, we'll be entering in the Fountain of Youth," said trainer Rick Violette, who called Upstart's tuneup "great."
Upstart established himself as a 2015 Triple Crown prospect during his 2-year-old season, during which he dominated New York-bred rivals in his first two starts. He went on to finish second in the Champagne Stakes (gr. I) and a troubled third in the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I).
The talented ridgling made an auspicious 2015 debut in the 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull, stalking the pace before making a four-wide sweep to the lead turning for home on his way to a convincing victory.
Violette said he is well aware of the possibility of a "bounce" in the Fountain of Youth, following such a big effort nearly three months after the Breeders' Cup.
"There's always a concern about that," the trainer said. "We take all that into account in our preparation during the four weeks. We'll see what happens, but it's always a concern."
Saturday's breeze was the second for Upstart since the Holy Bull. Violette designed a less aggressive move in preparation for the Fountain of Youth than he had prior to his most recent start, when he worked a strong six furlongs leading up to the race.
"Today's breeze wasn't the :58, 1:12 breeze that he did a week before the Holy Bull, but he didn't need to. He had that start four weeks ago and he has a good foundation," Violette said. "If he regresses, we hope he can still win. He's a good horse and he's doing terrific."