Burnham Square on Surprisingly Rare Path to Classics

We'll start this column with a seemingly dramatic statement: No Kentucky Derby (G1) winner has raced in both the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) and Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) since Go for Gin in 1994. That is not to throw a damper on the 2025 Kentucky Derby chances of Burnham Square, the 5-2 morning-line second choice in the March 1 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park off of his clear Feb. 1 victory there in the Holy Bull, where he rallied from seventh. It's more to the point that these are the types of statistics one finds when examining the ever-changing approach to preparing top 3-year-olds for the spring classics. This year's Fountain of Youth arrives four weeks after the Holy Bull and both races will be contested at 1 1/16 miles. While there certainly was a time where horsemen would have entered their top sophomores in both races, Burnham Square is the only Holy Bull runner entered in the Fountain of Youth, where seven horses are expected to start. Trainer Ian Wilkes said the race is a good fit for Burnham Square, as he looks for more improvement from the son of Liam's Map who also won a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight race Dec. 28 at Gulfstream. "He's run the mile and a sixteenth there twice, so I think that will be fine," Wilkes told BloodHorse earlier this week. "I know the waters get deeper. We just have to keep getting better." The two other horses entered off a four-week gap are both trained by Todd Pletcher as Donegal Racing's Gate to Wire will try two turns for the first time after his dominating win sprinting in the Swale Stakes at Gulfstream, and 2-1 morning-line favorite River Thames enters off an impressive allowance optional claiming race that day at Gulfstream. "This will be his third race in seven weeks with a step-up in class and in distance," said trainer Todd Pletcher of River Thames, who won his maiden special weight debut Jan. 11 sprinting at Gulfstream. "But, he seemed to win his races pretty easy." Two expected starters in Saturday's test will be making their seasonal debuts in last year's Street Sense Stakes (G3) winner Sovereignty and Ed Brown Stakes winner Keep It Easy. Sovereignty, by Into Mischief, currently sits atop the Derby Dozen for BH's Byron King. Changing dynamics on South Florida's path to the classics are especially interesting as the Florida Derby (G1), scheduled this year for March 29, has produced the most Kentucky Derby (G1) winners at 25. The aforementioned Go for Gin also is the most recent Kentucky Derby winner to start in the Holy Bull, Fountain of Youth, and Florida Derby. (Go for Gin won the Holy Bull, ran second in the Fountain of Youth, and fourth in the Florida Derby.) Since 1990, five Fountain of Youth runners went on to win the Kentucky Derby and all five also ran in the Florida Derby. Besides Go for Gin, Unbridled ran third in the Fountain of Youth and won the Florida Derby in 1990, Thunder Gulch won both Florida races in 1995 as did Orb in 2013, while Mage ran fourth in the Fountain and second in the Florida Derby. The Holy Bull has produced two Kentucky Derby winners that did not race in the Fountain of Youth in Funny Cide, who finished fifth in the 2003 Holy Bull; and Barbaro, who won the 2006 Holy Bull. Funny Cide did not race in the Florida Derby while Barbaro won that race.