Nearly, Commandment Top List of Curlin Florida Derby Noms

Holy Bull, Fountain of Youth Winners Among 28 Nominees
Diamond Anniversary Running Featured on March 28 Card
G1 Kentucky Derby Prep One of 10 Stakes, 5 Graded

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Centennial Farms’ Nearly and Wathnan Racing’s Commandment top a list of 28 3-year-olds nominated to the 75th running of the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa (G1) March 28 at Gulfstream Park.

The Diamond Anniversary of the premier Kentucky Derby (G1) prep will be featured on a $2.45 million program with 10 stakes, five graded. The 1 1/8-mile Curlin Florida Derby will offer 100 qualifying points for this year’s Kentucky Derby on a scale of 50-25-15-10 for the first four finishes. The Run for the Roses has been won by 26 starters in Gulfstream Park’s tradition-rich event, while 45 starters have captured 62 Triple Crown races.

Post positions for the Curlin Florida Derby will be simulcast live Saturday between Gulfstream’s third and fourth races.

Nearly, who has won three races in a row at Gulfstream by a total of 20 lengths, is coming off a dominating 5 ¾-length victory in the Jan. 31 Holy Bull (G3), a 1 1/16-mile Curlin Florida Derby prep, in which he dueled on a fast pace before drawing off to a dominating score. The son of Not This Time is trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, who has saddled a record eight Curlin Florida Derby winners, including 2017 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming.

Pletcher is also represented on the nominations list by Repole Stable and Robert and Lawana Low’s Renegade, Whisper Hill Farm LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC and Windancer Farm’s Courting and Winstar Farm LLC, CHC Inc. and First Go Racing LLC’s Jackson Hole.

Trainer Brad Cox, who saddled Tappan Street for a thrilling victory over future Horse of the Year Sovereignty in last year’s Curlin Florida Derby, is represented on this year’s nominations list by seven 3-year-olds, most notably Commandment, who captured the Feb. 28 Coolmore Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream Park.

The son of Into Mischief, like Nearly, is riding a three-race winning streak, one that includes a maiden special weight triumph at Churchill Downs and a commanding 6 ¾-length romp in the one-turn mile Mucho Macho Man Jan. 3 at Gulfstream Park.

Cox also nominated Steve Landers Racing LLC’s Confessional, Shadwell Stable’s Ezum, Spendthrift Farm LLC’s Further Ado, and Winstar Farm LLC, CHC, Inc. and First Go Racing LLC’s Autobahn, Easterly and Gethsemane.

Michael and Katherine Ball’s Chief Wallabee, who fell a neck short of beating Commandment in the Coolmore Fountain of Youth, has been nominated by Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott to the Curlin Florida Derby. A debut winner Jan. 10 at Gulfstream, the son of 2014 Curlin Florida Derby winner Constitution was making his second start, as well as his two-turn and graded-stakes debuts, in the 1 1/16-mile Coolmore Fountain of Youth.

The $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2), a 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-old fillies on the Curlin Florida Derby undercard, received 17 nominations, including Calumet Farm’s undefeated She Be Smooth, a six-length winner of the one-turn mile Davona Dale (G2) on the Coolmore Fountain of Youth undercard. The Pletcher-trained daughter of Lexitonian was coming off a 2 ¼-length debut victory at Gulfstream. Repole Stable’s Zany, undefeated in three starts, also represents the Hall of Fame trainer on the nominations list for the 56th running of the Gulfstream Park Oaks, which offers 100 qualifying points (50-25-15-10) for this year’s Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs.

Seven Cox-trained fillies have been nominated to the Gulfstream Park Oaks, including Albaugh Family Stables LLC’s On Time Girl, a wide-trip third in the Davona Dale who previously captured the Forward Gal (G3) at Gulfstream.

Averill Racing LLC, Mathis Stable LLC and Tristan De Meric’s My Miss Mo, a Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained daughter of Uncle Mo who finished second behind She Be Smooth in the Davona Dale, was also nominated to the Gulfstream Park Oaks.

The $225,000 Pan American presented by Rood & Riddle (G3), a 1 ½-mile turf stakes for 4-year-olds and up, received 17 nominations, LSU Stables’s Far Bridge, the multiple Grade 1-stakes winner who captured last year’s edition.

The $175,000 Ghostzapper presented by FanDuel TV (G3), a 1 1/16-mile stakes for 4-year-olds and up, attracted 16 nominations. Cox nominated four horses, including Juddmonte’s Disco Time. Three Pletcher-trained nominees include Michael Tabor’s Life and Times, a son of Justify who finished a troubled third behind Knightsbridge in the Hooper (G3) while coming off impressive back-to-back wins at Gulfstream to launch his career.

The $175,000 Orchid, a 1 ½-mile turf stakes for older fillies and mares, received 10 nominations, led by Gary Barber, Bridlewood Farm and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ Speed Shopper, who won the Jan. 24 Christopher Clement (G3) at Gulfstream last time out, and Andrew Schwartz and Wendy Schwartz Gilder’s Just Basking, a late-rallying winner of the The Very One (G3) Feb. 28 at Gulfstream.

The $175,000 Appleton presented by Daily Racing Form (27 nominations), $175,000 Sanibel Island presented by Surfside (23 nominations), $175,000 Sand Springs (25 nominations), $175,000 Cutler Bay (21 nominations), and $175,000 Army Mule (26 nominations) round out the stakes portion of the Curlin Florida Derby undercard.