Kentucky Derby Blog

Cool Coal Man won the $350,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park, putting himself squarely into the muddled mix of Derby hopefuls. A half-hour later, his barn mate War Pass — last year’s juvenile champion — made his 3-year-old debut by essentially jogging to a 7 1/2-length win in an allowance race.

Both are trained by Zito and owned by Robert LaPenta, who, like the trainer, was exuberant afterward.

Cool Coal Man finished in 1:51.85 and returned $16.60, $8.40 and $6. Elysium Fields paid $8 and $4.40, while Court Vision rallied from way back to get third, albeit about 6 lengths from the front, and paid $3.40.

War Pass was officially sent off at 1-9 on the Gulfstream toteboards and 1-20 overall. There was $763,758 wagered on the race, virtually all of it on War Pass — who returned the absolute minimum, $2.10 for the win.
Cool Cool Man, War Pass,

Here is the complete field for the Fountain of Youth in post position order.
What is your pick?

1. Cool Coal Man, Kent Desormeaux, 6-1 (ML from DRF)
2. Golden Spikes, Javier Castellano, 12-1
3. Court Vision, Garrett Gomez, 3-1
4. Kentucky Bear, Elvis Trujillo, 10-1
5. Z Humor, Cornelio Velasquez, 8-1
6. Ready Set, Jose Lezcano, 20-1
7. Monba, Edgar Prado, 4-1
8. Anak Nakal, Julien Leparoux, 6-1
9. Elysium Fields, Eibar Coa, 15-1
10.Halo Najib, Rene Douglas, 12-1
11.Make the Point, John Velazquez, 12-1
12.Adriano, Eddie Castro, 20-1

1 1/8 Miles | 3 Year Olds Stakes | Purse: $350,000
Post-time for the Fountain of Youth Stakes is scheduled for 6:15 PM EST.

Fountain of Youth Stakes

This is really a great free resource. Past performances for probably every 3 year old with a chance of winning the 2008 Kentucky Derby.

http://www.brisnet.com/promo/dby0505y.pdf

Graded Earnings: $1,320,000
Race Record: 4-4-0-0
Winnings: Finish 1st at 2007 Beeders’ Cup Juvenile, Champagne Stakes, Allowance Optional Claiming and Maiden Special Weight.
Pedigree:
His sire, Cherokee Run, won the ’94 Breeders’ Cup Sprint and banked over $1.5 million in his career. In ’07, Cherokee Run rates as the fifth-leading Juvenile sire, and the No. 18-leading stallion overall. He’s been represented by four Breeders’ Cup starters, all in Juvenile races, and his Chilukki (’99 Juvenile Fillies) and Kafwain (’02 Juvenile) ran second in their respective races. War Pass’ dam, Vue, also produced G1-winning 2-year-old Oath, heroine of Saratoga’s Spinaway.

As of 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb 28th, and with $47,492 bet into the win-only wager, the field was a 5-2 choice over the 23 separately listed entries. War Pass was a clear-cut second choice at 7-2, followed by Pyro (9-1), Court Vision (14-1), El Gato Malo (19-1), Monba (19-1), Crown of Thorns (21-1), and Majestic Warrior (22-1). Check out more Kentucky Derby contender odds!

There were two Kentucky Derby prep races last weekends. Here are the results.

Sam F. Davis Stakes
Fierce Wind charged to the lead entering the stretch of his stakes debut and held off fast-closing Big Truck to prevail by a half-length in the $200,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes on Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs. The winner paid $5.40, $3, and $2.40. Fierce Wind, a Kentucky-bred son of Dixie Union, ran the 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in stakes-record time of 1:44.13 with Cornelio Velasquez riding. He now has three straight wins since shipping to Florida last October.

Borderland Derby Winners
Poni Colada swept to the lead on the turn to complete a last-to-first rally and accelerated clear to an eight-length romp in the $100,000 Borderland Derby on Saturday at Sunland Park. The son of Volponi covered the 11/16-mile dirt race in 1:47.19 and paid $5.40. The Steve Asmussen trainee earned $60,000 for the win, doubling his lifetime earnings to more than $123,000.

Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds
Pyro staked his claim as one of the top 3-year-old colts in training yesterday at the Fair Grounds with a powerful victory in the $300,000, Grade III Risen Star Stakes, the final prep for the Louisiana Derby. Pyro went 11/16 miles in 1:44.68 and paid $3.80 to win.

Pyro, who has been working out in the mornings with Horse of the Year Curlin for trainer Steve Asmussen, was a cut above the 3-year-olds he faced yesterday and is clearly a major Kentucky Derby contender.

Turf Paradise Derby Stakes
California shipper Nikki’sgoldensteed claimed a 53/4-length win in the $100,000 Turf Paradise Derby Stakes at Turf Paradise. The Formal Gold colt covered 11/16 miles in 1:42.81. The 5-2 third choice, Nikki’sgoldensteed paid $7, $3.20, and $2.40. The exacta (7-5) was worth $18.80.

2008 Derby Updates

A total of 449 3-year-olds were nominated for the 2008 Triple Crown by the January 19 deadline of the early period, down by only one from last year’s record of 450. Early nominations pay a $600 fee, and they are now all eligible for the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. Although early nominations are now closed, owners can still nominate their 3-year-olds by March 26 for a $6000 fee.

Globalization in racing is evident here, with 20 foreign-trained horses, led by 7 from the barn of Irish-based Aidan O’Brien, 5 trained by Dermot Weld, and 3 by Saeed bin Suroor. Todd Pletcher tops the trainers list with 31 nominations. Nick Zito is a distant second in this category with 18 nominees, followed by 14 trained by Richard Mandella. Distorted Humor leads all sires with 13 nominees, followed by Tale of the Cat and Mineshaft with 11 each.

For the sixth straight year, trainer Todd Pletcher has the most nominated horses — 31 — although some are nominated by their owners rather than the trainer. To see the complete list of 488 nominees, go to http://www.thetriplecrownchallenge.com/nominees.aspx

Triple Crown Nominees

The Risen Star Stakes is Grade 3 race on Feb, 9 at Fair Grounds. This is the major prep for the Triple Crown. The 3-year-olds will be running 8.5 furlongs for a $300,000 purse.

PR #  PP #  Horse Name  Jockey          Odds1  1.  Check It Twice  J. Velazquez  12-12  2.  Blackberry Road C. Borel  5-13  3.  Visionaire  J. Lezcano  6-14  4.  Bonanza  P. Husbands  15-15  5.  Unbridled Vicar C. Lanerie  15-16  6.  Rich Young RulerF. Arguello  30-17  7.  The Darp  R. Albarado  15-18  8.  Pyro          S. Bridgmohan  3-19  9.  Signature Move  M. Baze  6-110  10.  Peteadoris  J. Graham  20-111  11.  Z Fortune  G. Gomez  7-212  12.  Prince Cortez  J. Leparoux  12-1

Churchill Downs is offering Derby Futures this weekend on 23 separate wagering interests.

Derby Future Odds

The track is named for John and Henry Churchill, who leased 80 acres of land to their nephew, Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr. Clark was president of the Louisville Jockey Club and Driving Park Association.

While traveling in England and France in 1872-1873, 26-year-old Col. M. Lewis Clark, devised the idea of a Louisville Jockey Club for conducting race meets. Clark toured and visited with a number of prominent racing leaders, including England’s Admiral Rous and France’s Vicompte Darn, vice president of the French Jockey Club.

Upon his return from Europe, Clark began development of his racetrack which would serve to showcase the Kentucky breeding industry. For his inaugural race meet, Clark designed his three major stakes races, the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and Clark Handicap, after the three premier races in England, the Epsom Derby, Epsom Oaks and St. Leger Stakes, respectively.

These events have each been held continuously at Churchill since their debut in 1875. Today, there are many other great races run in Churchill Downs.

churchill downs