As one of the nation's premier winter racing destinations, Gulfstream Park annually attracts some of the best 3-year-olds in training as they prepare and compete with the Triple Crown series in mind.
No trainer has done it better in South Florida than Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, whose unparalleled success includes a record number of wins in the Florida Derby (G1), Gulfstream's signature race, and its prep, the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2).
Since 2007, Pletcher has won the $1 million Florida Derby, a 1 1/8-mile test that has produced a remarkable 59 Triple Crown race winners, seven times, including back-to-back in 2014-15 and 2017-18 as well as this spring with 2022 champion 2-year-old male Forte .
Forte also gave Pletcher his record fourth victory in the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth, the first dating back to Scat Daddy in 2007. The 78th Fountain of Youth will be run March 2, 2024, four weeks before the Florida Derby is contested for the 73rd time, March 31.
"Gulfstream has always been a good program for us, for our later-developing 2-year-olds slash 3-year-olds," Pletcher said. "It obviously has a very good Triple Crown prep program, and we've been fortunate to have some success over the years."
Pletcher's primary winter base is in South Florida, with strings at both Palm Beach Downs and Gulfstream, where he won 18 consecutive Championship Meet training titles starting in 2004. The 2023-2024 Championship Meet will kick off Dec. 1.
Gulfstream's series of stakes for 3-year-olds begins New Year's Day with the one-mile Mucho Macho Man Stakes, a race Pletcher has won twice. He has also taken the 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull Stakes (G3) twice, including in 2018 with Audible , who would go on to win the Florida Derby. The 35th Holy Bull is scheduled for Feb. 3.
Two of Pletcher's current young stars are Fierceness and Locked. Repole Stable homebred Fierceness rebounded from a poor showing in the Oct. 7 Champagne Stakes(G1) with aplomb, powering to a 6 1/4-length upset at odds of 16-1 in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Nov. 3 at Santa Anita Park. It was just his third start, having graduated in his debut Aug. 25 at Saratoga Race Course.
"He ran super," Pletcher said. "We were kind of perplexed by his Champagne after his successful debut and just kind of had to check him over and make sure everything was OK. Eventually he breezed so well we decided to draw a line through the Champagne and try again and thankfully he delivered the type of performance that he's capable of. We're obviously very excited about that."
Fierceness finished as the third individual betting interest (29-1) in the first Kentucky Derby Future Wager that concluded just before the Breeders' Cup. He wound up favored among 38 individual betting interests in the second future wager over Thanksgiving weekend (8-1).
Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm's Locked began and ended Pool 1 of the Derby future wager as the top individual betting interest, and finished Pool 2 second to Fierceness, both times at 14-1. He broke his maiden at second asking Sept. 1 at Saratoga before winning the Breeders' Futurity (G1) Oct. 7 at Keeneland and finishing third as the favorite in the Juvenile.
"I thought he ran deceivingly well in the Breeders' Cup. He was one of the few horses that was making up ground from off the pace," Pletcher said. "Unfortunately, he just got shuffled back a little too far and climbed a little bit from the kickback. Once he finally got out in the clear, he was finishing up very strongly and a couple strides away from getting up for second. We think he's a very talented colt that will appreciate the added distance and we're excited about his 3-year-old year."
Pletcher also has a handful of other stakes-tested 2-year-olds and others on the rise.
"It's always an exciting time of the year, to kind of see where you are with your 2-year-olds turning 3 and hopefully have some other ones that haven't started yet that can step up," Pletcher said. "We always look forward to the Gulfstream meet. It's always been a good for our program with the young horses starting to come around."
Pletcher isn't the only South Florida-based horseman with promising 2-year-olds that may be seen at Gulfstream over the winter. Jose D'Angelo trains Bentornato, undefeated in four starts and running in the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes In Reality Stakes Dec. 2 at Gulfstream.
Saffie Joseph Jr. unveiled Peter Blum's homebred Mastery colt Merit, a popular 10 1/4-length maiden special weight winner sprinting seven furlongs Nov. 4.
Others expected in Florida are Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) show finisher Stretch Ride, who lost for the first time in his third start for trainer Dale Romans, and Dancing Groom, an Antonio Sano trainee who ran third in the Champagne and sixth in the Kentucky Jockey Club.
Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, winner of the 2023 Holy Bull with Rocket Can, has Billal, who ran third in the Nashua Stakes; Parchment Party, unbeaten in two starts; and Knightsbridge, a 10 1/2-length debut winner Nov 4.
Trainer Danny Gargan's Dornoch, a full brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage , could run in Florida after Saturday's Remsen Stakes (G2), as could other horses from that race at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Breeders' Futurity (G2) runner-up The Wine Steward is the most accomplished 2-year-old in the barn of trainer Mike Maker, who runs a large string in South Florida during the winter months.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
