Trainer Jose Garoffalo reported Sunday morning that Wildcat
Red exited his 10 1/4-length romp in Saturday’s Quality Road Stakes at
Gulfstream Park in good order.
“He came out of it excellent. He ate up everything,” Garoffalo said. “He’s
happy this morning. Everybody’s happy.”
There certainly was reason for good cheer in the Wildcat
Red camp after the three-year-old Florida-bred colt rebounded from a troubled
18th-place finish in the May 3 Kentucky Derby in such an impressive fashion
in Saturday’s stakes for three-year-olds.
Jockey Luis Saez sent Wildcat Red to the lead at the start,
but the son of D’wildcat soon met a three-pronged challenge to his outside from
longshots Purchango, Nothyouraveragejoe and Best Plan Yet entering the
backstretch. After a :22 4/5 first quarter and a half-mile in :45 4/5, the 1-5 favorite gave them the slip and rolled to victory under a hand
ride, completing 1 1/16 miles in 1:42 3/5.
“I’m very happy because the horse gets his confidence back,” Garoffalo said.
“He came back good out of the Derby, which was my main concern. The way he’s
been training and the way he ran (Saturday), the Derby wasn’t a problem for him.
Now, we can look forward to the rest of the year.”
Garoffalo is targeting the Grade 1, $1 million Haskell Invitational
at Monmouth Park on July 27 as Wildcat Red’s next start.
“The rider told me (Saturday) that the horse felt better
than ever,” he said. “He’s got more power; he’s bigger; he’s stronger; he’s more
muscular.”
Saturday’s victory was Wildcat Red’s third stakes triumph
at Gulfstream, where he has been no worse than second in eight appearances. The
Honors Stable Corp.’s colt captured the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth and Grade 3 Hutcheson during Gulfstream’s Champions Meet. He prepped for the
Kentucky Derby, in which he was knocked out of the race early by a bumping
incident and heavy traffic, with a close second-place finish in the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 29.
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