Hallandale Beach, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – The top three finishers from
Saturday’s Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park all seem to be doing
well the day after.
Itsaknockout, who won the Fountain of Youth when Upstart was disqualified to
second, came out of the 1 1/16-mile stakes in good order.
“He came out of it well. He looked good. We’ll see how he trains, but the
logical thing would be to stay here and run in the Florida Derby,” trainer
Todd Pletcher said.
Upstart, who finished 2 3/4 lengths ahead of Itsaknockout, found Gulfstream’s
track slower on Saturday than expected.
“I wished the track could have been a little faster,” said trainer Richard
Violette. “It was a very tough day. It was a very dry humidity day with
constant wind. It was an uphill battle, no doubt about it.
“That and the six pounds and the tiring racetrack – I think he probably did
bounce a little bit and still managed to win.”
Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito saddled longshot Frammento to finish third in
the Fountain of Youth after trailing the field.
“A horse like this is on the peculiar side in that he’s not that easy to
train. Obviously he’s got to run in one big race, if you have any aspirations
for the Kentucky Derby, which we have,” Zito said. “So, I’ll just sit down
with (owner) Mossarosa and talk to them and think a plan up. Right now,
nothing is permanent. He’s run twice at Gulfstream, so we’ll see.
“I was ecstatic, obviously. It’s nice, especially for the horse. We knew he
had the talent. Handicapping is a big thing. Red-boarding is a big thing. To
me, you have to put a line through his last race. People might say, ‘Why do
you put a line through the last race?’ Well, the first turn, he clipped heels
a little bit and he kind of was out of the race, and it’s just one of those
things. So that’s why you put a line through it. But if you look at the race
before, his first race at Gulfstream, he ran second to a hot horse at the time
in Bluegrass Singer.”
The $1 million Florida Derby at 1 1/8 miles is on March 28.
