Hades 'Doing Great' as He Waits for Florida Derby

All continues to go smoothly for D. J. Stable and Robert Cotran's undefeated Holy Bull Stakes (G3) winner Hades , a trend they and trainer Joe Orseno hope to see continue as they sit out the March 2 $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park to await the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) March 30.

Hades was able to set a moderate pace under jockey Paco Lopez in the 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull Feb. 3 at Gulfstream, briefly lost the lead to Fierceness  after six furlongs but fought back and pulled clear to win by two lengths in a 9-1 upset of the reigning 2-year-old male champion, who wound up third.

Video: Holy Bull S. (G3)

Since then, Hades, by multiple grade 3-winning millionaire Awesome Slew  , has continued to thrive at Gulfstream, which prompted the connections to give the Fountain of Youth some consideration before deciding to pass.

"He's doing great, that's the problem. It's hard to sit still," Orseno said. "But in the grand scheme of things and what we're trying to accomplish, it's probably the right thing to do. I've seen too many people try to run in all three races here and then you have nothing left. We're just trying to do right by the horse."

Should all go according to plan, Hades would be Orseno's second Kentucky Derby (G1) starter and first since Thunder Blitz was fourth behind Monarchos in 2001. In 2000, Orseno skipped the Derby with Gotham Stakes (G3) winner and Wood Memorial Stakes (G2) runner-up Red Bullet, who then won the Preakness Stakes (G1).

"It's not just (waiting for the Florida Derby), it's everything after that," Orseno said. "We've got a full year mapped out for him and planned. To make that you just can't go to the well every time. It's a nice problem to have."

Hades was purchased as a 2-year-old in training last April and debuted Dec. 9 at Gulfstream, rallying from last after a quarter of a mile to win by a half-length in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden optional claimer. He returned 22 days later to lead most of the way in an eight-length New Year's Eve allowance romp over fellow Florida-breds.

"I knew he was a very talented horse, so I thought if anything gets him beat (first time out,) it's the distance. He overcame it. Fortunately, Paco had a lot of faith in him," Orseno said. "Second race was seven-eighths and Paco rode him pretty much the way he wanted to in there and had him in contention.

"Going long, I think he's a horse that will sit still. He does just about anything you ask him to do," he added. "So, if he has a good mind and he doesn't try to run off and he relaxes for the jock, I think he'll get a distance all day long."

Hades showed as much in the Holy Bull, his two-turn debut. The Florida Derby is contested at 1 1/8 miles with the three Triple Crown races requiring horses to go 1 1/4 miles in the Derby, 1 3/16 miles in the Preakness and 1 1/4 miles in this year's Belmont Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.

"It became fun in his second race at the top of the stretch, when he changed leads and just accelerated away from those horses. It was a wild moment for me, and I've had some wild moments with some big horses," Orseno said. "He took me right there and I thought, 'This horse could bring us back to some of the big races we always want to be in.'"