75th Curlin Florida Derby (G1) Anniversary to be Celebrated in Style

Commandment, Chief Wallabee, Nearly, The Puma to Clash in $1M Prep
Chief Wallabee the 2-1 Morning-Line Favorite for Third Career Start

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – The 75th anniversary of the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa will be celebrated in style Saturday at Gulfstream Park, where a particularly deep field of nine 3-year-olds will feature four of this year’s most highly rated Triple Crown prospects.

Commandment and Chief Wallabee, the 1-2 finishers in the Feb. 28 Coolmore Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream; Nearly, a resounding winner of the Jan. 31 Holy Bull (G3) at Gulfstream; and The Puma, coming off a strong Tampa Bay Derby (G3) victory; will clash in the tradition-rich 1 1/8-mile stakes for 3-year-olds.

The Diamond Anniversary of the definitive Kentucky Derby (G1) prep will offer 200 qualifying points for this year’s Run for the Roses on a scale of 100-50-25-15-10 to the first five finishers. The first jewel of the Triple Crown has been won by 26 starters from the Curlin Florida Derby, while 47 starters have captured a total of 63 Triple Crown races.

The Curlin Florida Derby will close out a star-studded 14-race program with 10 stakes, five graded, worth $2.675 million in purses.

Trainer Brad Cox, who saddled Tappan Street for a thrilling victory over future Kentucky Derby winner and Horse of the Year Sovereignty in last year’s Curlin Florida Derby, will be represented this year by Wathnan Racing’s Commandment, who rallied in the 1 1/16-mile Coolmore Fountain of Youth to prevail over Chief Wallabee by a neck.

“From a training standpoint he’s fit and ready to go,” said Cox, whose Coolmore Fountain of Youth hero has breezed twice in preparation for the Curlin Florida Derby, including a ‘bullet’ five-furlong workout at Payson Park last Saturday. “Obviously, he passed his first two-turn test with flying colors. I guess the question is, new pilot, but I feel like we’re in good hands. We’ll see what happens.”

Flavien Prat will ride Commandment for the first time Saturday, replacing Irad Ortiz Jr.

Commandment is riding a three-race winning streak, one that includes a maiden special weight triumph at Churchill Downs in his second career start and a commanding 6 ¾-length romp in the one-turn mile Mucho Macho Man Jan. 3 at Gulfstream Park.

“He’s a sturdy horse. He’s a strong horse. You can’t count a rib on this guy. He carries a lot of weight. He’s a stout horse, I think is the best way to describe him. He’s one that I wouldn’t be worried about running back in four weeks,” Cox said. “We gave him plenty of time after the Mucho Macho Man leading up to the Fountain of Youth, so now we’re starting to do a little more with him and he’s responded well.”

The son of Into Mischief is rated second on the Curlin Florida Derby morning line at 5-2, while Chief Wallabee has been installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite for only his third career start.

Michael and Katherine Ball’s Chief Wallabee, a seven-furlong debut winner Jan. 10 at Gulfstream, made impressive two-turn and graded-stakes debuts in the Coolmore Fountain of Youth, in which he made a four-wide sweep on the far turn to engage pacesetter Solitude Dude at the top of the stretch and prevailed over the previously undefeated colt following a stretch duel, only to be caught late by Commandment.

Chief Wallabee’s Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who saddled Sovereignty for his runner-up finish behind Tappan Street in the Curlin Florida Derby, said Chief Wallabee faces a greater challenge in this year’s running.

“I don’t compare horses. I think that’s a mistake. They are different horses. Sovereignty had a foundation in him. He had three races as a 2-year-old. He had two good races as a 3-year-old,” Mott said. “This horse has only had two races total. So, I think it’s a big ask. And I realize that. It’s a huge ask. I think he’s very talented, and he’s a nice horse. He’d have to overcome history.”

Chief Wallabee, a son of 2014 Curlin Florida Derby winner Constitution, will only be Mott’s fourth starter in the Curlin Florida Derby. He has finished second three times.

“I never had the horses for it. There are some (trainers) who wake up in the morning and that’s the only thing they think about,” said Mott, whose stable was dominated by turf horses earlier in his career. “Believe me, we’re enthusiastic about it, and maybe more so now than ever. But you’ve got to have the right horses.”

Chief Wallabee, who will be ridden by Junior Alvarado, has the opportunity to win one of the very few important stakes that have eluded his trainer.

“I’d love to (win the Florida Derby). We won the Met Mile two years ago with Cody’s Wish. That was on my bucket list. And the Travers, which we got last year (with Sovereignty). Besides that, that covers most of the bases,” Mott said.

Fellow Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will seek his record-extending ninth Curlin Florida Derby victory when he saddles Centennial Farms’ Nearly Saturday.

Nearly, who is rated third on the morning-line at 3-1, has won three races in a row at Gulfstream by a total of 20 lengths, including a dominating 5 ¾-length victory in the Jan. 31 Holy Bull (G3), a 1 1/16-mile Curlin Florida Derby prep that followed victories in a six-furlong maiden special weight and a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance.

“His races have been super. As expected, this will be the most difficult race he’s been in, but at the same time he’s handled everything at Gulfstream the way we hoped,” Pletcher said. “He handled the stretch-out and is certainly training like you’d like to see one coming into a race like this.”

After three races in relatively quick succession, Pletcher opted to bypass the Coolmore Fountain of Youth with Nearly.

“That’s what we decided and hopefully it works out. We’re pleased with the way he’s coming up to it,” Pletcher said. “His training has gone extremely well since the Holy Bull. Everything’s gone according to plan, knock on wood. He’s doing really great.”

Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez has the return call on Nearly.

Trainer Gustavo Delgado, who saddled Mage for a second-place finish in the 2023 Curlin Florida Derby prior to his Kentucky Derby victory, will saddle OGMA Investments LLC., JR Racing and High Step Racing’s The Puma for a start in Gulfstream’s premier prep Saturday.

The son of Essential Quality is coming off an impressive off-the-pace victory in the March 7 Tampa Bay Derby (G3) in his third career start.

The Puma debuted at Gulfstream Jan. 10, when he recovered from a slow start to take the lead in the stretch, only to be caught by Chief Wallabee.

“We always liked the horse from the start. We felt like he was a very smart, talented horse,” said Delgado’s son and assistant Gustavo Delgado Jr., noting that the son of Essential Quality was a ‘value’ $150,000 purchase at the 2025 OBS April sale. “We took our time. That’s the reason we didn’t race him as a 2-year-old. He has a great disposition. We were patient with him and put a good foundation in him. That’s what we always do when we have a horse we think can campaign in these kinds of races. First time out, we thought it would take a really good horse to beat him, and definitely that was the case.”

The Puma finished third in the Feb. 7 Sam Davis at Tampa Bay Downs before going on to win the Tampa Bay Derby

“Going into the [Tampa Bay Derby] what we had in mind was that he needed a clean trip because a month earlier in the Sam Davis, we encountered all sorts of trouble, traffic inside horses,” Delgado Jr. said. “For the Tampa Bay Derby, I think we knew more about him. The game plan for that race was to stay away from horses and stay outside. I think the (outside) post position helped us to stay outside of horses.”

The Puma, who is rated fourth at 9-2 on the morning line, drew the No. 8 post position for Saturday’s race. Hall of Famer Javier Castellano has the return mount.

Baalbek Corp.’s Wayne’s Law, who broke his maiden in his second start by 6 ¾ lengths and won the Aventura by 7 ¼ lengths back-to-back last year at Gulfstream, will enter the Curlin Florida Derby coming off a runner-up finish in his 2026 debut in the Sam Davis, in which he finished 3 ¾ lengths behind victorious Renegade and 2 ¼ lengths ahead of The Puma.

Marcos Meneses has the return mount on the Amador Sanchez-trained son of 2020 Curlin Florida Derby victor Tiz the Law. Wayne’s Law is rated at 15-1 on the morning line, along with Redland Rebels.

Calypso Racing Stables LLC’s Redland Rebels enters the Curlin Florida Derby coming off a fourth-place finish in the Tampa Bay Derby, in which he set the pace into the stretch. The Patrick Biancone-trained son of Uncle Chuck broke his maiden on turf last year and finished second in the Kitten’s Joy on grass at Gulfstream in his 2026 debut.

Joel Rosario has the call on Redland Rebels, who is cross-entered in Saturday’s Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn.

Eddie Plesa Jr. will saddle the last starter of his distinguished training career Saturday at Gulfstream, where he will be represented in the Curlin Florida Derby by Leon Ellman, Glassman Racing LLC and wife Laurie Plesa’s Timeless Victory (20-1ML). The son of By My Standards, who finished third behind Nearly in a Jan. 2 seven-furlong optional claiming allowance, made an auspicious two-turn debut while winning a 1 1/8-mile optional claiming allowance by six lengths March 1.

Jose Morelos has the return mount aboard Timeless Victory.

Pin Oak Stud LLC’s Albus (20-1ML), who raced twice last year, will enter the Curlin Florida Derby coming off a sharp 2026 debut victory by 6 ¾ lengths in a two-turn maiden special weight Feb. 27 at Tampa Bay Downs. Trained by Riley Mott, former assistant to his Hall of Fame dad, Albus will be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione.

The 2026 Curlin Florida Derby field will be rounded out by trainer Jose Castro’s Gregarious, a son of Mo Town who finished second in a 1 1/8-mile maiden special weight Feb. 21 at Gulfstream in his career debut. Rated at 50-1 on the morning line, Gregarious will be ridden by Rajiv Maragh.