Fountain of Youth Awaits Derby Dozen Leader Dornoch

1. Dornoch  

Owner/Trainer: West Paces Racing, R. A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Two Eight Racing, and Pine Racing Stables/Danny Gargan

Good Magic  —Puca , by Big Brown   

Breeder: Grandview Equine (KY)

A full brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage  , he returns to action in the March 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park, his first start since defeating Sierra Leone  in the Dec. 2 Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack. The 1 1/16-mile race also drew grade 1 winner Locked , quick debut winner Speak Easy , and two or three other 3-year-olds of exciting ability. (Speak Easy and another entrant, Merit , are cross-entered in an allowance optional claimer March 1 at Gulfstream.) Dornoch's latest work at Palm Meadows Training Center Feb. 24, posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) by XBTV, was excellent. He left workmate Neat Trick  far behind when cut loose in the lane and galloped out enthusiastically. 

2. Fierceness 

Owner/Trainer: Repole Stable/Todd Pletcher

Pedigree: City of Light  —Nonna Bella , by Stay Thirsty   

Breeder: Repole Stable (KY)

Coming off a subpar third in the Feb. 3 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream, Fierceness encouragingly showed eagerness in his first breeze since the race. Working at Palm Beach Downs Feb. 23 in company with Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) runner-up Agate Road , he always appeared to be traveling more easily than that rival on his way to clocking a half-mile in :48.54 while in hand. Last year's champion 2-year-old male and Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner will aim to get back on track at Gulfstream in the March 30 Florida Derby (G1), a race Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher has won seven times.

Work of the Day from #PalmBeachDowns—Fierceness (Outside) and Agate Road worked 4 Furlongs in 48.54 on February 23rd, 2024, for trainer @PletcherRacing. pic.twitter.com/THSoP00C37

— XBTV (@WatchXBTV) February 23, 2024

3. Sierra Leone 

Owner/Trainer: Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Brook Smith, and Peter Brant/Chad Brown

Gun Runner  —Heavenly Love , by Malibu Moon

Breeder: Debby M. Oxley (KY)

His win in the Feb. 17 Risen Star Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots came in seemingly the strongest top-to-bottom Derby prep based on its entries, and he managed the victory while rallying from ninth to catch a loose-on-the-lead Track Phantom . The race was not quick, however. Sierra Leone's 1 1/8-mile time of 1:52.13 was the slowest in the Risen Star since the race was extended to that distance in 2020. Admittedly, it was on a sloppy track. His Equibase Speed Figure was modest, a 98, and other speed figure providers rated his effort from moderate to slow. Perhaps the conditions, which included a dawdling pace, contributed. 

4. Locked  

Owner/Trainer: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm/Todd Pletcher

Gun Runner  —Luna Rosa , by Malibu Moon 

Breeder: Rosa Colasanti (KY)

He was an elite 2-year-old in 2023, as he showed in winning the Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland and finishing third in the swiftly run Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at Santa Anita Park. Slow into stride in the Breeders' Cup, he rallied down the stretch, hinting at potential improvement when races extend beyond 1 1/16 miles. Initially pointed toward the Feb. 10 Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs, he was rerouted to the Fountain of Youth after a setback left him off the work tab for a few weeks. That training interruption could leave him shy of being fully cranked for his return in Saturday's Fountain of Youth, with improvement anticipated in his second start off the bench.

5. Forever Young 

Owner/Trainer: Susumu Fujita/Yoshito Yahagi

Real Steel —Forever Darling , by Congrats 

Breeder: Northern Racing (JPN)

Japan's top hope for the Run for the Roses, he rises a spot in the 'Dozen rankings after improving to 4-for-4 with a head win in the Feb. 24 Saudi Derby (G3) over American sprinter/miler Book'em Danno . Jostled a bit leaving the gate, Forever Young appeared in trouble when under encouragement in midpack on the turn of the one-mile race. But he leveled out over the long stretch at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, catching Book'em Danno right on the wire. This performance had some flaws—he was not responsive early and never switched leads down the lane—and yet he found a way to win while hinting he wants more distance.

6. Timberlake 

Owner/Trainer: WinStar Farm/Brad Cox

Into Mischief  —Pin Up , by Lookin At Lucky  

Breeder: St. Elias Stables (KY)

He also climbs a position in the 'Dozen, having won his first start at 3 in this past Saturday's Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park. Not showing overeagerness that hampered his finish at times at 2, he rated under Cristian Torres just behind the leaders in fifth, went after the front-runners with a wide advance on the second turn, and pulled away for a two-length victory. He drifted out under left-handed urging when switching leads in early stretch but then seemed to straighten out under a right-handed stick. This was an encouraging first two-turn win for last year's winner of the Champagne Stakes (G1) over a one-turn mile. 

Watch: King Reviews Saudi Derby, Rebel in Derby Dozen Video

7. Track Phantom 

Owner/Trainer: L and N Racing, Clark Brewster, Jerry Caroom, and Breeze Easy/Steve Asmussen

Quality Road  —Miss Sunset , by Into Mischief 

Breeder: Breeze Easy (KY)

The Gun Runner Stakes and Lecomte Stakes (G3) winner descends a couple of positions due to victories from Forever Young and Timberlake. His runner-up finish in the Risen Star Stakes was solid—he lost by just a half-length to Sierra Leone—but everything went his way, though that happens more often for a speedy horse. Clear on the lead through splits of :49.67 and 1:14.74, he seemed to have a prime opportunity to lead throughout. He is not expected to face Sierra Leone next out. Track Phantom is pointed to the March 23 Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds, while the April 6 Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland is on Sierra Leone's agenda.

8. Catching Freedom  

Owner/Trainer: Albaugh Family Stables/Brad Cox

Constitution  —Catch My Drift , by Pioneerof the Nile

Breeder: WinStar Farm (KY)

Winner of the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn and third in the Risen Star Stakes, he does not appear to be as quick as the leading prospects on this list, but he is a determined sort. Bidding between rivals in the Risen Star, he fought on to show after being placed in tight by Sierra Leone and fourth-place Resilience  late in the stretch. With Cox having a deep squad of classy 3-year-olds, this colt could appear in any number of the final Derby preps depending on where the trainer points his other runners. If he makes the Derby, he will have prior experience on the Churchill Downs strip. In two starts last year at 2, he won a maiden race and was fourth in an allowance optional claimer.

9. Mystik Dan 

Owner/Trainer: Lance Gasaway, 4 G Racing, and Daniel Hamby III/Kenny McPeek

Goldencents  —Ma'am  by Colonel John  

Breeder: Lance Gasaway, 4 G Racing, and Daniel Hamby III (KY)

Trainer Kenny McPeek is pointing him toward the March 30 Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn—logical placement in light of his eight-length win in a muddy Southwest Stakes (G3) there. McPeek's 3-year-olds have been firing at Oaklawn this winter; stablemates Common Defense  and Northern Flame  outran their odds in finishing 2-3 behind Timberlake in the Rebel Stakes at the Arkansas track. This colt resumed breezing Feb. 23 with a half-mile in :49 at Fair Grounds. Eager to see if he can follow up his Southwest with another top-level performance; his two earlier routes resulted in a pair of fifths.

10. Tuscan Sky 

Owner/Trainer: Spendthrift Farm/Todd Pletcher

Vino Rosso  —South Andros , by Sky Mesa  

Breeder: Sierra Farm (KY)

He ran a point faster than Sierra Leone on an Equibase Speed Figure scale in posting a 99 by defeating Nash  by two lengths in a first-level allowance optional claimer at Fair Grounds on Risen Star Day. Other figure providers had him running faster by an even larger margin. Coupled with a fast debut win in his only other start, it appears this is a colt with graded stakes potential. Without any Derby qualifying points, he is in the challenging position of likely needing a first- or second-place finish in an upcoming Derby prep to safely gain entrance to a typically oversubscribed Derby—absent squeezing in two preps by making a follow-up start in a race such as the April 13 Lexington Stakes (G3) at Keeneland.

11. Hades 

Owner/Trainer: D. J. Stable and Robert Cotran/Joe Orseno

Awesome Slew  —The Shady Lady , by Quality Road   

Breeder: Ocala Stud, Joseph M. O'Farrell III, David O'Farrell, et al. (FL)

Trainer Joe Orseno tossed around the prospect of running the front-running Holy Bull winner in the Fountain of Youth but stuck to his initial plan to await the Florida Derby. He gave him a long, open-gallop workout at Gulfstream Feb. 25, a mile move faster than a two-minute lick with a time of 1:47.96. That followed a more traditional half-mile breeze in :48.41 Feb. 17. Another meeting with Fierceness, whom he defeated in the Holy Bull, is on deck in the March 30 Florida Derby. 

12. Honor Marie   

Owner/Trainer: Ribble Farms, Michael Eiserman, Earl Silver, Kenneth Fishbein, Daniel Fishbein/Whit Beckman

Honor Code —Dame Marie , by Smart Strike 

Breeder: Royce Pulliam (KY)

Willing to give him a pass for a non-impact fifth in the Risen Star. That was his first start of the year, and an absence of pace did not suit his closing style. His two defeats have come in the slop—he had been second in his other try over a wet track—compared to being 2-for-2 on fast surfaces. His two victories were earned on the dirt at Churchill Downs, topped by the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) last fall when he rallied beneath the Twin Spires for a two-length win.

* Note: With Churchill Downs Inc.'s continued ban of Bob Baffert from racing at its tracks and of his horses from earning Kentucky Derby qualifying points, none of his top 3-year-olds, led by Nysos  and Muth , are in the Derby Dozen. Nysos would be top-ranked if eligible.