Road to the Kentucky Derby: Fountain of Youth
The Grade II Fountain of Youth Stakes is the second Championship Series race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. The 75th running of the $300,000 race follows the Feb. 13 Risen Star Stakes, won by Mandaloun. The 1 1/16-mile Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth awards 50-20-10-5 Derby qualifying points to the top 4 finishers.
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Fountain of Youth
Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. Post, odds, jockey, trainer. Race 14 with post time 6:10 p.m. EST.
1 – Drain the Clock (5-1)
- Jockey: Edgard Zayas
- Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.
2 – Prime Factor (5-1)
- Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
- Trainer: Todd Pletcher
3 – Sososubtle (20-1)
- Jockey: Paco Lopez
- Trainer: Armando De La Cerda
4 – Fire At Will (7-2)
- Jockey: Kendrick Carmouche
- Trainer: Mike Maker
5 – Jirafales (20-1)
- Jockey: Javier Castellano
- Trainer: Gustavo Delgado
6 – King’s Ovation (20-1)
- Jockey: Corey Lanerie
- Trainer: Dale Romans
7 – Tarantino (8-1)
- Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione
- Trainer: Rodolphe Brisset
8 – Greatest Honour (9-5)
- Jockey: Jose Ortiz
- Trainer: Shug McGaughey
9 – Tiz Tact Toe (30-1)
- Jockey: Rajiv Maragh
- Trainer: Robert Hess Jr.
10 – Papetu (15-1)
- Jockey: Junior Alvarado
- Trainer: Antonio Sano
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Race contenders, including Greatest Honour profile
Greatest Honour has won back-to-back races at Gulfstream after losing by a nose at Aqueduct going 1 1/8 miles in November. His win in the Holy Bull (G2) in his 2021 debut registered a 103 Equibase Speed Figure. He swept past a trio of runners turning for home and drew away to win by more than 5 lengths over Tarantino. Papetu finished fourth at 5/1 odds but was 10 lengths behind Greatest Honour, while Jirafales was a distant fifth at big long shot odds. Greatest Honour is a son of Tapit. He’s a big, athletic colt with distance pedigree, and he’s up to No. 4 in the current NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll.
Fire At Will is an accomplished entrant who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf in his last start in November. His prior race was also a win on the turf. He’s a front-runner or pace presser, and he switches back to dirt, a surface he won on last fall in a minor stakes at Saratoga. EPO trainer Mike Maker is No. 3 at the Championship Meet with 33 wins and a 21.6% win rate.
Drain the Clock has won 4 of 5 starts and only missed when he dumped his rider in a minor stakes race in November. His win at the end of January in the Grade III Swale Stakes produced his best Equibase Speed Figure (ESF), 95. EPO trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has 37 wins at the meet, which is second behind EPO Todd Pletcher.
Prime Factor has the Championship Meet’s leading jockey and trainer, as Irad Ortiz Jr. has 98 wins at the meet, with the next-closest jockey Luis Saez with 74 wins. Ortiz sports the best win percentage at the Gulfstream meet at 26.6%. Trainer Todd Pletcher has 42 wins and a 24% win rate. Prime Factor won his debut here by more than 8 lengths, sprinting 6 furlongs, and then improved his speed a bit more to 88 ESF when finishing a distant third in the Holy Bull as the favorite behind winner Greatest Honour.
Jockey Tyler Gaffalione earned his 1,500th victory Wednesday at Gulfstream, and he rides Tarantino. He’s a son of two-time Grade 1 winner and 2009 Kentucky Derby runner-up Pioneer of the Nile. Tarantino has two wins plus two runner-up finishes in stakes races, including last time out in the Grade III Holy Bull. Tarantino pressed the pace as a 26-1 long shot but was no match down the stretch for the winner, Greatest Honour.
A total of eight graded stakes races highlight a huge day of racing at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, Feb. 27. The 20-cent Jackpot Rainbow 6 Pool could reach more than $500,000. Ahead of the Fountain of Youth in Race 12 is the $200,000 Davona Dale (G2), which drew a field of 12 3-year-old fillies. The winner is awarded 50 points and a spot in the starting gate for the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs, one day before the May 1 Kentucky Derby.
The final Road to the Kentucky Derby Championship Series race at Gulfstream Park is the Florida Derby on March 27.
