Divisidero Favored in Appleton

Gunpowder Farms' Divisidero created a buzz at Gulfstream Park Feb. 7 last year, when the son of Kitten's Joy   stormed from 11th at the top of the stretch to score a half-length victory in his debut.

The visually impressive performance was even more stunning when a check of the trainer line in the track program read "William Bradley."

"I always tell people, 'Find me one that's going to win first time out and you better watch out, because he's probably going to be a pretty nice animal," said Buff Bradley, a patient trainer with a strong history for success with late-developing horses.

Divisidero proved to be a pretty nice animal by finishing a fast-closing second in the Palm Beach (gr. IIIT) in his second start and capturing the American Turf (gr. IIT) at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day, after hopping at the start and dropping back to 11th. He finished his sophomore campaign with three wins and a third-place finish in five starts.

The Kentucky-bred 4-year-old is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the April 2 Appleton (gr. IIIT), one of eight stakes on the Xpressbet.com Florida Derby (gr. I) card, after making his 2016 debut with a late-charging third-place finish in the Canadian Turf (gr. IIIT) at Gulfstream Feb. 27.

"He's done very well. I think it was a good race for him to come back in and clear the rust off," Bradley said. "He pleased us with his race and showed us he was going to be able to compete with older horses."

Although Divisidero has been very successful dropping far back and making a furious late run, Bradley is hopeful that he will be able to show a little more early interest in his upcoming races.

"We've been trying to get this horse to stalk a little more and be a little bit closer to the pace—not on the pace but closer, so he isn't left with so much to do (late)," said Bradley, who awarded the return mount to Edgar Prado. "We're still working on that and hoping to get him a bit closer than he has been."

Divisidero will be challenged by a pair of horses who finished in front on him in respective prior meetings—Force the Pass and Long on Value.

Richard Santulli's Force the Pass, who also broke his maiden over the Gulfstream turf last season, finished well clear of seventh-place finisher Divisidero to win the Belmont Derby (gr. IT) by 3 3/4 lengths.

As happy as trainer Alan Goldberg may have been with the grade I win, he was more impressed with his performance in his prior race, in which he overcame race-long trouble to capture the Penn Mile (gr. IIIT), shaking clear inside the eighth-pole and staging an eighth-to-first winning surge.

"His best race is his race at Penn National. You watch that race and you say, 'Man, how did this horse ever win this race?'" Goldberg said. "He had trouble in the Penn National race from the starting gate to the eighth-pole. He got stopped, checked, stopped, checked with no place to go—no place to go—then finally got a seam."

Force the Pass, who went on to finish third in both the Secretariat (gr. IT) at Arlington International Racecourse and Commonwealth Derby (gr. IIT) at Laurel Park to close out his sophomore season, will be making his 2016 debut off a six-month layoff.

"He had a lot of little things—nothing major, just a lot of little things," said Goldberg, who named Hall of Famer John Velazquez to ride the son of Speightstown   in the mile turf stakes.

Wachtel Stable and George Kerr's Long on Value returned from an eight-month layoff to finish second, a neck in front of the on-rushing Divisidero, in the Canadian Turf. The Bill Mott-trained 5-year-old captured the Twilight Derby (gr. IIT) in 2014 and was victorious in the 2015 Canadian Turf.

Merriebelle Stable's Reporting Star, a graded stakes winner who captured the El Prado and finished second in the Sunshine Millions Turf during the Championship Meet; Wertheimer and Frere's All Included, who finished third in the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap (gr. IT) in February; and John Oxley's Sky Captain, a graded stakes winner on the Woodbine Polytrack who is still seeking his first victory on turf; are among the more high-profile entrants in the eight-horse field.

With Exultation and Aktabantay round out the field.