Last season, Soldat made his name as a turf horse, breaking his maiden in the
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McLaughlin has reiterated that Soldat isn’t a one-dimensional front runner,
for the colt employed stalking tactics as a juvenile on the grass. With the
presence of the speedy Flashpoint in the Florida Derby, Soldat plans to revert
to a tracking position early for regular rider Alan Garcia.
The undefeated Flashpoint has yet to race beyond sprint distances, but has
looked overpowering in his two starts so far. A 6 1/4-length winner in his
January 15 debut at Aqueduct over six furlongs, the Rick Dutrow trainee
dismissed a higher grade of competition in the February 26 Hutcheson at
Gulfstream, drawing off by 7 1/4 lengths in a fast time of 1:22 for seven
furlongs.
Flashpoint would have been a prohibitive favorite in Sunday’s $150,000 Swale
S. (G2), had he remained within the friendly confines of the sophomore sprint
division. Instead, his connections are giving him an opportunity to stretch out
here. If the gray outruns his sprint-oriented pedigree, he would catapult
himself into the Kentucky Derby picture. Flashpoint, pegged at 6-1 on the
morning line, will look to make it a
perfect three-for-three with Cornelio Velasquez back in the irons.
Three of Soldat’s beaten opponents from the Fountain of Youth are taking
another crack at him in the Florida Derby, led by To Honor and Serve. The Bill
Mott-trained colt was once at or near the top in many Kentucky Derby lists,
following convincing scores in last fall’s Nashua S. (G2) and Remsen S. (G2) at
Aqueduct.
Returning from a three-month layoff in the Fountain of Youth, To Honor and
Serve was expected to need that race to bolster his fitness, but he proved
perhaps even shorter than envisioned. He was in a perfect position on the far
turn, only to tire and fade in the stretch, beaten a total of 6 3/4 lengths.
Since then, To Honor and Serve has posted four works at his Payson Park base,
including a pair of bullets, and ought to move forward Sunday. Garrett Gomez
picks up the mount on the well-bred colt, who rates as the 4-1 third choice and will break just to the outside of Soldat from post 2.
BOWMAN’S CAUSEWAY (Giant’s Causeway) was a troubled fourth the Fountain of
the Youth, forced to steady behind a stalling SHACKLEFORD (Forestry) just as he
was making his move on the far turn, yet rallied well down the lane. Trainer
Patrick Biancone then pitched Bowman’s Causeway into a one-mile allowance on
March 19, and the consistent colt ran his usual race for third behind the smart
Todd Pletcher pair of Dance City (City Zip) and Cal Nation (Distorted Humor).
Bowman’s Causeway could appreciate stepping back up in trip in this spot.
Shackleford, a well-beaten fifth in the Fountain of Youth, would need to improve
considerably to turn the tables in the Florida Derby.
Dialed In has passed on two previous clashes with Soldat, for different
reasons, and with varying results. Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito scratched him
from that January 21 allowance because of the sloppy track. Dialed In reappeared
nine days later in the January 30 Holy Bull at a one-turn mile, and scored a
visually impressive last-to-first victory.
His timetable altered by the change of plan, Zito preferred to skip the
Fountain of Youth and instead got a 1 1/8-mile allowance/optional claimer to
fill on March 6. Making his two-turn debut versus older horses that day, Dialed
In was not best suited by the slow early pace, and his four-year-old stablemate
Equestrio (Elusive got the jump on him entering the stretch. Nevertheless,
Dialed In was doing his best work late for second, and blew well ahead on the
gallop-out. Regular rider Julien Leparoux will allow the confirmed closer, the
2-1 second choice, to
settle into stride from post 7.
The Pletcher-trained Stay Thirsty, who has at times worked in company with
his champion stablemate Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie) this winter, shipped to New
York for his 2011 premiere in the March 5 Gotham S. (G3). Judging by his fine
two-year-old form — a runner-up effort in the Hopeful S. (G1) and a
better-than-appears fifth to Uncle Mo in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) — Stay
Thirsty was dispatched as the 4-5 favorite in the Gotham, and duly outclassed
the field by 3 1/4 lengths.
Despite the emphatic win, Stay Thirsty will add blinkers for the first time
Sunday. Pletcher believes that the colt was “a little green” and “a little
intimidated” in his most recent work in company (not with Uncle Mo), and the
equipment change is designed to address that issue. Ramon Dominguez has the
return call aboard the dark bay, who could show a touch more speed with the
headgear from post 6, and is tabbed at 8-1.
Rounding out the eight-horse field is ARCH TRAVELER (Sky Mesa) from the James
Jerkens barn. The bay brings a two-race winning streak into his stakes debut,
having garnered an entry-level allowance at this track and distance on the
Fountain of Youth undercard. The runner-up, Nacho Business (Rahy), didn’t
flatter the form when checking in eighth in last Saturday’s Louisiana Derby
(G2), implying that Arch Traveler must raise his game to factor at this level.