The Road to the Kentucky Derby- February 24th – VOLUME 6
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It is a New Year and a whole new season for horse racing as a number of quality Thoroughbreds celebrated their third birthday on January 1st and are poised to make a name for them self on the 2011 Triple Crown Trail.
Leading up to horse racing’s premier event; the Kentucky Derby this May, there are close to 60 prep races between the beginning of the year and mid-April that determine this year’s field. These prep races also provide some solid insight into which horses have the best chance to win the Derby and possibly go on to earn the Triple Crown by winning the Preakness and the Belmont as well. Here is a brief re-cap of a couple of key prep races from last weekend.
The Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park, Saturday Feb.26
The Fountain of Youth is a grade II stakes race for three year-old Thoroughbreds with a total prize purse of $400,000. It is contested on a dirt track over a distance of 1 1/8 mile. To Honor and Serve was the morning-line favorite, but by post time Soldat was listed as the 7-5 favorite and he did not disappoint. Ridden by jockey Alan Garcia, he burst from the gate into the lead position and never trailed in a gate to wire victory in the Fountain of Youth. To Honor and Serve along with Gourmet Diner pressed Soldat a bit down the stretch, but the Colt used a burst of speed to capture the race by two full lengths. Gourmet Diner was second and To Honor and Serve, who closed at 8-5, finished third. 
Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, this horse won an allowance race at Gulfstream in his 2011 debut. Next up for Soldat on the Derby trail will most likely be a run in the Florida Derby on April 3.
The Borderland Derby at Sunland Park, Saturday, Feb.26
The Borderland Derby is an ungraded stakes race for three year-old Thoroughbreds with a total prize purse of $100,000. It is contested on a dirt track over a distance of 1 1/16 mile. Fusa Code, ridden by Justin Sheppard, went off at 7-1 but wasted little time in establishing the fact that he was the horse to beat in the Borderland. He took the lead from 3-2 favorite Special Kid at the top of the stretch and held off the field the rest of the way to win by three-quarters of a length over Behold de Buy. Special Kid finished third after getting nosed-out of a second-place finish at the wire.
This was Fusa Code’s first stakes race victory and his first win in five starts. Trained by Steve Asmussen, this horse is now in line to run in the grade III Sunland Derby on March 27.
Things start to heat up this upcoming weekend as the calendar turns the page to March with the running of the John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway and the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct.
David Schwab is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog. While not cheering for his beloved Philadelphia Eagles David can be found working on his blog. David wants to hear from you so please comment below.
