Napoleon Solo Breezes for G2 Coolmore Fountain of Youth

Jack’s Promise Full of Promise for Gulfstream Park Sprint
Fawkes Leaves Reef Runner in Dubai for G1 Al Quoz
20-Cent Rainbow 6 Solved Friday for $77,814 Payoff

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Gold Square LLC’s Napoleon Solo breezed a half-mile in 48.45 seconds Friday morning at Palm Meadows Training Center in advance of a scheduled start in the $425,000 Coolmore Fountain of Youth (G2) Feb. 28 at Gulfstream Park.

The Chad Summers-trained 3-year-old son of Liam’s Map’s workout was ranked fourth of 45 recorded at the distance at Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County. He has breezed six times at Palm Meadows in preparation for his 2026 debut in the 80th running of the 1 1/16-mile prep for the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) March 28.

“We came here with a plan,” Summers said. “We looked and saw Sovereignty had six breezes before his Fountain of Youth last year and we decided to make that plan as close as we could.”

(Sovereignty, the 2025 Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old, won the Fountain of Youth last season in his 3-year-old debut.)

Napoleon Solo, who is undefeated in two starts, captured his Aug. 8 debut at Saratoga by 5 ¼ lengths before rolling to a 6 ½-length victory in the Oct. 4 Champagne (G1) at Aqueduct.

Friday morning at Palm Beach Downs, Centennial Farms’ Nearly breezed an easy half-mile in 50.98 seconds .in early preparation for an anticipated start in the Curlin Florida Derby. The maintenance workout was the 3-year-olds son of Not This Time’s second since capturing the Jan. 24 Holy Bull (G3) by 5 ¾ lengths going away.

After watching Nearly break his maiden, score an allowance victory and impressively win his graded-stakes debut in the 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull at Gulfstream in relatively rapid succession, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher has opted to give Florida-bred colt a breather and bypass the Coolmore Fountain of Youth

Jack’s Promise Full of Promise for Gulfstream Park Sprint

Jack’s Promise always showed trainer Dale Romans promise, just not all the time.

The 4-year-old son of Promises Fulfilled, who is scheduled to run in Saturday’s $125,000 Gulfstream Park Sprint, broke his maiden at Gulfstream just about a year ago before winning his next start at Keeneland. Just when Romans came to expect more of the same from him in his next couple of starts at Churchill Downs, he never became involved in the action, beaten by a combined 80 lengths.

“What I couldn’t figure out was he’d throw in a clunker with no explanation. He’s kind of gotten that out of his system, but he’d either run real big or pull himself up for no reason,” Romans said. “I think he’s figured that out a little bit and has become more competitive.”

Which isn’t to say that Jack’s Promise still isn’t without his surprises. The Baron Thoroughbreds LLC’s homebred enters the six-furlong Gulfstream Park Sprint off the gamest of optional claiming allowance victories Christmas Eve at Gulfstream with a performance that took his trainer completely by surprise. Instead of rallying from off the pace, Jack’s Promise went right to the lead and withstood race-long pressure to prevail by a neck.

“I was shocked. I didn’t give the jockey instructions. When he broke sharp, he went on with it. He was down on the inside. I thought he wanted to be on the outside running,” Romans said. “It wasn’t what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised.”

On the strength of that performance, Jack’s Promise is rated second at 9-2 on the morning-line for the Gulfstream Park Sprint behind multiple graded-stakes winner Damon’s Mound, the 7-5 morning-line favorite.

Earlier on Saturday, Romans will saddle West Point Thoroughbreds’ Ivory and Ebony for her turf debut in Race 6, a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance for fillies and mares.“She’s training well. We’re starting her on turf for the first time, because her pedigree says she should like it,” Romans said. “We’ll see if she can step up and get to the next level.”

The 4-year-old daughter of Spun to Run broke her maiden at Saratoga before concluding her 2025 season with three runner-up finishes in a row at Churchill Downs.

“Hopefully, she has a big 2026. If she likes the turf, we’ll stay there,” Romans said. “If not, we’ll go back to the dirt.”

Fawkes Leaves Reef Runner in Dubai for G1 Al Quoz

Trainer David Fawkes has returned to his Gulfstream Park base from his ultra-successful journey to Saudi Arabia, where he saddled Alex and JoAnn Lieblong’s Reef Runner for a victory in last Saturday’s $2 million 1351 Turf Sprint (G2). Reef Runner has not.

“He’s in Dubai right now,” Fawkes said.

The Lieblongs’ homebred 5-year-old gelding is scheduled to race next in the $1.5 million Al Quoz Turf Sprint (G1) on the undercard of the March 28 Dubai World Cup (G1)

“I’m going to try to go back to work him twice there before the race,” Fawkes said.

Reef Runner ($21.10) defeated Group 1 winner Lazzat by a neck under Irad Ortiz Jr. in the 1351 Turf Sprint.

“He did everything right from the day he got there. When he got there he got better and better,” Fawkes said.

After winning the 2024 Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint at Gulfstream, Reef Runner put together a string of seven straight in-the-money finishes without a victory, prompting his connections to decide to geld the son of The Big Beast.

Freshly gelded Reef Runner won an Aug. 3 overnight handicap at Gulfstream off a two-month layoff and went on to finish first in the Green Flash (G3) at Del Mar, only to be disqualified and placed second, and win the Eddie D. (G2) at Santa Anita. He finished fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) at Del Mar before closing out his 2025 campaign with a victory in the Janus at Gulfstream before shipping to the Middle East.

“Before I gelded him, he was a horse. When he won his first race after gelding him, I told Mr. Lieblong, ‘We’re going to California and run in the ‘Win & You’re In.’ He won, but they disqualified him. We stayed and won the Eddie D. Then we ran in the Breeders’ Cup,” Fawkes said.

20-Cent Rainbow 6 Solved Friday for $77,814 Payoff

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 at Gulfstream Park was solved Friday for a $77,817.84 payoff. The popular multi-race wager had gone unsolved just one racing following Sunday’s mandatory payout.

The combination on the winning ticket was 7-4-3-7-9-2 in the six-race sequence that spanned Races 5-10.

In the Rainbow 6, the jackpot pool is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

The Rainbow 6 will start anew Saturday when the sequence will span Races 7-12, headlined by the $125,000 Gulfstream Park Sprint in Race 10. The field of eight older horses will contest the six-furlong sprint that may well be a popular ‘single’ leg with the presence of 7-5 morning-line favorite Damon’s Mound, a veteran sprinter with just shy of $1 million in purse earnings, will seek his third-straight stakes victory Saturday. The multiple graded-stakes winner is trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott.

There will be a $1 Super Hi-5 carryover of $12,478.42 heading into Saturday’s Race 12.

Who’s Hot: Edgard Zayas doubled aboard Jeter ($7.20) in Race 1 and Sheshimaintenance ($38.60) in Race 10.