After Conquest Titan closed from last to finish second
behind Cairo Prince in the Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park on January
25, trainer Mark Casse looked into his options for the son of Birdstone’s next
stop on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.
Although he surmised that his late-running three-year-old might
be somewhat better suited to other races, Casse determined that the Grade 2, $400,000 Fountain of Youth on February 22 is the best option for
achieving his ultimate goal.
“I thought (the Holy Bull) was great and a really good
learning experience for him. Right now our goal is to keep him happy and
healthy, and that’s one of the reasons we’re going to stay and run in the
Fountain of Youth,” Casse explained.
“We maybe would have a better shot going to New
Orleans with the longer stretch, with speed not holding as well there. But we
felt it was better to keep him home for right now. We know he loves Churchill
Downs, so we’re trying to get him there happy and healthy. I think he proved the
other day that he can run with the best of them.”
Conquest Titan broke from an outside post position and
quickly settled in at the back of the 11-horse pack before making his move
leaving the backstretch in the Holy Bull. The Kentucky-bred colt circled the
field on the turn and kicked in through the stretch to check in 5 3/4 lengths
behind Cairo Prince.
“He ran by some really nice horses at the half-mile pole,”
Casse asserted. “He’s got an extremely fast turn of foot.”
In the Fountain of Youth, the major prep for the Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream on March 29, Conquest Titan is
expected to meet a strong group of three-year-olds, including General a Rod, who
finished second behind the Casse trainee in a November 30 optional claimer at Churchill
Downs before capturing the Gulfstream Park Derby on New Year’s Day.
Others Fountain of Youth prospects include the Shug
McGaughey-trained Top Billing, who was a sensational allowance winner on the
Holy Bull undercard; trainer Todd Pletcher’s Commissioner, who registered a
narrow victory over Top Billing in a January 3 optional claimer; and the Jose Garoffolo-conditioned Wildcat Red, who
effortlessly captured the Hutcheson last weekend.
“Obviously, it’s not going to be an easy race,” Casse said. “We’re just
looking for him to run another good race.”
In other Fountain of Youth news, trainer Bill Kaplan says We’re All Set, who finished a good
third behind Top Billing and Surfing U S A
in
an allowance race on Holy Bull Day, could run on Fountain of Youth Day, but not
in the Grade 2 event.
“The owner (Herbert and Ione Elkins) wants to go in an
allowance race on Fountain of Youth Day,” Kaplan said. “If all goes well there,
maybe we go in the (Florida) Derby. If the allowance race doesn’t go on
Fountain of Youth Day, I guess there’s a possibility we could run in the
Fountain of Youth. We’re leaving our options open right now.”
Meanwhile, Kaplan could saddle East Hall
in the Fountain of
Youth. The Graeme Hall gelding captured a November 24
allowance race at Gulfstream through a disqualification before finishing
third on January 21 in the OBS Championship Stakes, beaten a neck and a nose.
“We’re happy with the way East Hall has developed,” Kaplan
remarked. “He’s won at Gulfstream, ran very well in the OBS race, so he’s deserving
of a shot if all goes well in the next couple weeks.”
Kaplan saddled Imawildandcrazyguy to a fourth-place
finish in the 2007 Kentucky Derby.
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