As early as the fifth century BC, the Greek historian Herodotus was writing of the Fountain of Youth, a spring that would bring eternal youth to anyone who drank or bathed from its waters. The fountain was still being sought after some two millennia later by Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon, who arrived in present-day Florida in search of the mythical waters.
In racing circles, the Fountain of Youth (G2) is known less as a mysterious elixir to restore youth but rather as an important prelude to the Kentucky Derby (G1) held, appropriately enough, at Florida’s Gulfstream Park, where it was inaugurated soon after World War II.
Tim Tam (1958), Kauai King (1966), Spectacular Bid (1979), Thunder Gulch (1995), and Orb (2013) are the five Fountain of Youth winners that went on to wear the roses at Churchill Downs, but in truth that handful scratches the surface at the number of quality winners and non-winners to have raced in Gulfstream’s second biggest race for 3-year-olds.
A case in point is Forty Niner, who won the 1988 Fountain of Youth but narrowly missed in the Derby to the filly Winning Colors. Despite not claiming the biggest prize in an otherwise highly successful racing career, Forty Niner seems nonetheless to have drunk from the Fountain of Youth that had been written of and coveted by so many for thousands of years.
At last report, Forty Niner is alive and well in Japan at the ripe age of 35, a remarkable longevity for a Thoroughbred anywhere. As this footage shot last year shows, the son of Mr. Prospector is also in extraordinary physical condition.
Forty Niner earlier this fall! Soon to be 35!! pic.twitter.com/83isPDI8Rl
— Kate Hunter • Marugai Racing • ケイト ハンター• まるがいレーシング (@KeibaKate) December 3, 2019
While not unprecedented, reaching 35 is stretching the mortal limits of most champion-quality runners. Offhand, this writer recalls only 1962 champion older mare Primonetta and four-time champion steeplechaser Flatterer living to 35. The noted French miler and U.S. leading sire Lyphard lived to 36.
Forty Niner is the last remaining survivor of an outstanding crop that also included such notables as Risen Star, Seeking the Gold, Criminal Type, Sunshine Forever, Brian’s Time, Proper Reality, Private Terms, Fourstardave, and Dynaformer. The Claiborne Farm owned- and -bred colt was well known as a tenacious fighter, winning eyeball-to-eyeball stretch battles in the Haskell Invitational (G1), Travers (G1), and NYRA Mile. He didn’t always win them, though, losing photos in the Florida Derby (G1), Lexington (G2), and Woodward (G1) in addition to the Kentucky Derby.
The Fountain of Youth was one of the happier endings for Forty Niner, who rebounded from a season-opening loss in the Hutcheson (G3) by repelling the D. Wayne Lukas-trained Notebook after a prolonged duel in the 1 1/16-mile event.
“Some folks will swear 20 years from now that Monday’s Fountain of Youth Stakes was the finest they witnessed,” wrote Dave Joseph in the Sun-Sentinal. “You would be foolish to argue.”
Racing side by side soon after reaching the backstretch, Forty Niner and Notebook raced virtually in tandem all the way to the wire, with the Woody Stephens-trained champion edging his persistent New York-bred rival by a nose.
“There were four or five places down the stretch that (Notebook) might have put his nose in front of ours,” jockey Eddie Maple told the Sun-Sentinel. “The other horse was not giving in, and that only made my horse dig in a little harder.”
“It wasn’t easy. Nothing good is easy,” said Stephens.
Forty Niner was exported to Japan in 1995 and pensioned from stallion duty in 2007. His most prominent runners were multiple Grade 1 winner Coronado’s Quest and Belmont S. (G1) winner Editor’s Note, while another son, Distorted Humor, became a sought-after progenitor in his own right. Distorted Humor notably sired dual classic winner Funny Cide, as well as Belmont and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) hero Drosselmeyer.
On Fountain of Youth Day this weekend take a few moments to celebrate Forty Niner, a golden boy of racing who’s remained eternally youthful.
