Gustavo Delgado reached the pinnacle of a long and distinguished international career training horses when Mage stunned the racing world last May by winning the Kentucky Derby (G1) in a 15-1 upset.
Victory Avenue
Delgado is back on the Derby trail this year with another inexperienced but clearly talented colt: Victory Avenue.
Will Victory Avenue Follow in Mage’s Foosteps into the Kentucky Derby
We will have a better read on his potential after the $400,000 Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream Park on Saturday. In addition to the purse money, the winner gets 50 qualifying points, enough to ensure a spot in the Kentucky Derby lineup.
Mage was the fourth horse to win the Derby with only three previous starts. Victory Avenue is traveling a similar path.
He has one race on his resume, a terrific second to Speak Easy, also entered in the Fountain of Youth, in a maiden race on Jan. 27.
If Victory Avenue passes this test, the Florida Derby (G1) on March 30 looms as the next challenge.
Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez will be aboard, replacing Luis Saez who opted to stick with Dornoch, the Remsen (G2) winner who will likely be the Fountain of Youth post-time favorite.
While Victory Avenue will undoubtedly be a factor down the road, this looks to be too tough for a colt in search of his first victory.
Dornoch
Handicappers will likely narrow their focus to Dornoch, a full brother to now-retired Mage, and Locked.
Dornoch’s last race was the Remsen, scoring by a nose over Sierra Leone, the recent winner of Risen Star (G2), at the end of a muddy slugfest at Aqueduct in early December.
“We just want to keep him maintained in what he’s doing,” trainer Danny Gargan said. “Hopefully he can be sound and be there on the first Saturday in May. Don’t get me wrong, we’d like to win the Fountain of Youth but it’s really not the goal.”
Locked detoured here from the Sam F. Davis (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 10 when he spiked a temperature. This will be his first race since a third-place effort as the 2-1 favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1).
“He’s always been a high-class colt and he’s training very well at the moment,” trainer Todd Pletcher said.
Pletcher also sends out Speak Easy, giving him a solid 1-2 punch in this race.
Saffie Joseph, Jr. recently registered his 1,000th training win and will be represented by Merit.
Le Dom Bro, Real Macho, Frankie’s Empire and Dancing Groom complete the field.
As for our pick, the class edge clearly belongs to Locked who already owns a Grade 1 victory in the Breeders’ Futurity. The lengthy layoff and the recent illness are concerns but Pletcher has a knack for overcoming obstacles, and a knack for winning this race. He is the stakes record-holder with four victories.
Post time is 6:10 p.m. ET.
The picks: 1 Locked 2 Victory Avenue 3 Dornoch
The field for the $400,000 Fountain of Youth (G2), from the rail out, with trainer, jockey, odds:
1 Speak Easy (Irad Ortiz, Jr., Todd Pletcher), 9-2
2 Le Dom Bro (Edwin Gonzalez, Eniel Cordero), 30-1
3 Victory Avenue (John Velazquez, Gustavo Delgado), 4-1
4 Real Macho (Tyler Gaffalione, Rohan Crichton), 8-1
5 Dornoch (Luis Saez, Danny Gargan), 2-1
6 Merit (Edgard Zayas, Saffie Joseph, Jr.) 15-1
7 Frankie’s Empire (Miguel Vazquez, Michael Yates), 20-1
8 Locked (Jose Ortiz, Todd Pletcher), 5-2
9 Dancing Groom (Javier Castellano, Antonio Sano), 30-1
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
