Big Brown Better Than Dutrow’s Voice Morning After Florida Derby
After winning four races across the globe – three of them worth a combined $4 million – trainer Rick Dutrow had plenty to cheer about Saturday, so much so that he had laryngitis when asked Sunday morning on the condition of IEAH Stable and Paul Pompa Jr.’s $1 million Florida Derby (G1) winner Big Brown.
Using ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers, Dutrow said the undefeated son of Boundary was doing well Sunday morning back at his Palm Meadows Training Center barn. The hours after his five-length victory went smoothly and that plans for what comes next would solidify early this week.
Dutrow started his day with wins by Four Roses Thoroughbreds’ Diamond Stripes in the $1 million Godolphin Mile (G2) and IEAH’s Benny the Bull in the $2 million Golden Shaheen (G1) on the Dubai World Cup (G1) undercard. Benny the Bull, winner of the Sunshine Millions Sprint here Jan. 26, joined Saratoga County and Kelly’s Landing, both of whom went on to Golden Shaheen victories a few weeks after winning Gulfstream Park stakes races. Kelly’s Landing and Saratoga County won editions of the Mr. Prospector Handicap (G3): Kelly’s Landing in 2007 and Saratoga County in 2005.
IEAH’s Adagio followed the Florida Derby with a win in a $43,500 allowance on the turf. Edgar Prado rode both winners in Dubai while Kent Desormeaux rode the two Gulfstream stars.
Florida Derby Runner-Up Smooth Air Kentucky-Bound
Mount Joy Stable’s 3-year-old homebred colt Smooth Air couldn’t gain ground on favored Big Brown in the stretch of Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park, but 70-year-old trainer Bennie Stutts, Jr. couldn’t have been much happier Sunday morning if he had won the race.
“We’re going to the Kentucky Derby (G1),” said Stutts. “It’s not hard to take $200,000 for finishing second. The key to him is that he’s able to rate. He broke sharp yesterday near the lead, but (jockey Manoel) Cruz was able to ease him back off the pace.
“When he worked the last time (Mar. 25 at Calder), he worked five-eighths. He went the first half-mile in 51 and then threw an eighth in 11 to go 1:02, which was the fastest of the day, and that’s what he gave us on the turn Saturday. I’ve said it before. He’s not a big horse, but he’s all horse.
“I’ve had a lot of inquiries to buy him, but Brian (Mount Joy owner Brian Burns) has shown no interest in selling him. As far as when he’ll ship to Kentucky, that will be up to him (Burns). He’s a good shipper. We went up to Tampa the night before the race (third in Sam Davis Stakes on Feb. 16) and he ran big. I can train him here (Calder) or up there.
“I’m pretty sure they’ll want to go up well before the race and he’ll go into Dallas Stewart’s barn (at Churchill Downs) rather than a Derby barn or receiving barn. Dallas has horses for them (Mount Joy) and there won’t be any problem with help and he’ll have 24-hour security.”
A Florida-bred chestnut by Smooth Jazz, Smooth Air has never finished off the board in seven starts and pushed his earnings to nearly $400,000 on Saturday. He finished five lengths behind Big Brown but was 7½ lengths clear of Tomcito in third with nine others strung out behind him.
Heat Burns Out Elysium Fields in Florida Derby
The connections of Robert Evans’s Elysium Fields reported the 3-year-old son of El Prado was doing fine Sunday morning after the colt’s disappointing 11th-place finish in the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
Trainer Barclay Tagg and his team think Saturday’s warm weather sapped the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) runner-up’s energy.
“He got pretty hot as they got to the gate and his temperature was up after the race,” said Robin Smullen, Tagg’s assistant now overseeing the Gulfstream stable. “He didn’t get heat stroke, but it looks like a severe overheating.”
Elysium Fields was the 5-2 second choice under jockey Eibar Coa in the signature event of the Gulfstream season and finished 43 lengths behind undefeated Big Brown.
“Luckily, Eibar didn’t press him,” said Smullen. “He could tell the horse just wasn’t himself after a half-mile and he didn’t push him because if he had, it could have turned into a full-blown heatstroke.
“At least the horse came back okay and we went over him completely. His heart is good. He scoped clean and an hour after the race he seemed fine. He ate up his dinner last night. We just have to chalk it up to the heat and live to fight another day.”
That next fight is unclear now. The colt will travel with the majority of Tagg’s horses to Keeneland this week. His second-place finish in the Fountain of Youth (G2) puts him ‘on the bubble’ in terms of graded-stakes earnings necessary to qualify for an oversubscribed Kentucky Derby. After settling in Kentucky, a decision to stay on the Triple Crown trail will be made.
“I can’t imagine we could go into the Derby off a race like that,” said Smullen. “Since it was a heat issue, we will have to see how he does in the cooler weather. If he gets up there and he starts acting like a bear, Barclay could decide to race him up there. It’s the kind of thing that will be day-to-day.”
Earlier in the week, Tagg also indicated Eric Fein’s Big Truck, winner of the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) on Mar. 15, could appear in the $150,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) here or perhaps the $600,000 Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland, both on Apr. 12. He could also stay on the shelf all the way until the Derby.
“It will depend on logistics,” said Tagg, who worked Big Truck a ‘bullet’ half-mile in 47 Saturday morning at Gulfstream. “I’d have some questions about the Polytrack up there, but I’m not sure how many I want to leave behind here. We will see. I’d hate to see either one come up really soft.”
Cool Gator Returning to Canada After Florida Derby Try
With a healthy respect for the emphatic winner, Garland Williamson and trainer Danny Vella will take Cool Gator back to their base at Woodbine in Canada after a fifth-place finish behind Big Brown in Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park.
“It’s pretty obvious Big Brown is a pretty special horse,” said Vella immediately after his Ontario-bred son of Macho Uno checked in 18 lengths behind the undefeated Big Brown.
“I think there was a fairly fast group of horses in front of us, and with that kind of absolute speed, it kind of threw us off and we had to try and catch up a little earlier than we would have liked.”
Vella spent the winter training Cool Gator hoping to determine if he had a Kentucky Derby (G1) contender or a Queen’s Plate (G1) hopeful on his hands. The Toronto-native knows he’s got a quality colt, but also knows which path to take after Saturday.
“I think it was a credible race, but I think we’ll head up to Canada,” he said. “I think he’s still a maturing horse. There are a lot of lucrative and important races up there and maybe after we get some of that maturing we might someday come back down (to the U.S.).”
Electrify Soothes Florida Derby Disappointment for Plesa
Padua Stables’ Electrify helped salvage a disappointing afternoon for both his owner and trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. with his 8¾-length victory in Saturday’s $75,000 Forever Whirl Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
The victory a near-record time came an hour after Padua’s Face the Cat finished eighth in the Florida Derby (G1) and the Plesa-trained Hey Byrn (owned by Bea Oxenberg) finished fourth, both behind the powerful display by Big Brown.
“It’s too bad Electrify isn’t three (years old),” said Plesa in the winner’s circle when told his 5-year-old charge ran faster than Big Brown. “This feels good. He ran the way we expected him to run.”
Electrify, a son of Delaware Township, bounced back from a rough trip in the $1 million Sunshine Millions Classic on Jan. 26 at Santa Anita. The eighth-place finish was quickly chalked up to disaffection for Cushion Track when the gelding came within .06 of the Gulfstream track record held by Brass Hat.
“I think we’re probably going to take him up north with us this summer (Monmouth Park),” said Plesa. “He’s missed some of the heavy heads in the handicap division and I think he deserves a shot at them now.”
Plesa was at a loss to explain the performance of Hey Byrn after two impressive allowance victories earlier this season.
“We’re going to scope him,” said Plesa. “We obviously expected him to run better and this is disappointing. He looked like he was making a run, but then flattened out in a way that we’ve never seen him do before. It’s the kind of thing that could be bleeding or a flipped palate.”
Coa & Velazquez Ties for Lead in Gulfstream Standings
Jockeys Eibar Coa and John Velazquez have each won Gulfstream Park riding titles in the past and are currently tied with 71 victories apiece after 73 days of the session that runs through Sun., Apr. 20, although the two leading jockeys will have limited opportunities after Sunday before going on to Keeneland or and Aqueduct in New York.
Jose Lezcano ranks third with 54 wins and also is moving on to Keeneland by next weekend. Kent Desormeaux won a pair of races on Saturday, including Big Brown in the $1 million Florida Derby (G1), and is fourth in the standings with 48 tallies.
Edgar Prado is fifth with 45 winners, but missed the Saturday card at Gulfstream to ride in Dubai where he won the $1 million Godolphin Mile (G2) on Four Roses Thoroughbreds’ Diamond Stripes and the $2 million Golden Shaheen (G1) atop IEAH Stable and partners’ Benny the Bull, both trained by Rick Dutrow, who remained at Gulfstream to saddle Big Brown in the Florida Derby on a memorable afternoon.
Jockey Javier Castellano had a big day at Gulfstream Saturday with four victories, including the Shirley Jones Handicap (G2) on Sugar Swirl and Sporting Art in the Bulleit Bourbon Palm Beach Stakes (G3), leaving him sixth in the standings.
Trainer Todd Pletcher did make the trip to Dubai for Saturday’s races, sending out Donn Handicap (G1) runner-up A.P. Arrow to finish a disappointing fourth behind Curlin in the $6 million Dubai World Cup (G1), but assistants sent out 3-year-old Fujita to win the first race at Gulfstream.
Fujita’s victory gave Pletcher his 23rd winner of the meet to lead the standings in a bid for a fifth consecutive Gulfstream championship. Pletcher leads by two with Nick Zito and Wayne Catalano two back in second with 21, Peter Walder fourth with 20 and Bill Mott fifth at 19.