NEWS
Cool Coal Man holds on to take Fountain of Youth
Posted: Sunday, February 24, 2008 7:26 PM
COOL COAL MAN
Bob Coglianese photo
by Mike Curry
Trainer Nick Zito and owner Robert LaPenta flashed a strong hand on Sunday at Gulfstream Park for this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1).
Cool Coal Man rose to the occasion against a deep, talented field in the $350,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2), holding off game runner-up Elysium Fields by a half-length to earn his first career stakes victory. Zito trains Cool Coal Man for LaPenta, who also owns unbeaten 2007 champion two-year-old male War Pass. The Cherokee Run colt opened his season for Zito with an easy allowance win at Gulfstream one race after the Fountain of Youth.
Cool Coal Man stalked the pace from third then fourth under jockey Kent Desormeaux through an opening quarter in :24.03 and a half-mile in :47.62. Pacesetter Golden Spikes maintained a narrow lead on the turn, where he was challenged by Make the Point and Elysium Fields.
Elysium Fields surged to the lead approaching the stretch, but Cool Coal Man unleashed a powerful turn of foot from the outside of that rival at the top of the lane. The Mineshaft colt accelerated clear and appeared poised for a comfortable victory, but Elysium Fields battled back determinedly when angled outside of the winner by jockey Eibar Coa.
Elysium Fields whittled into Cool Coal Man’s advantage but could not collar the victor, who completed 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.07 on a track rated as fast as the 7.30-to-1 fourth choice in the 12-horse field. The fractions and final time of the race were adjusted using a hand timer on Monday after Gulfstream Park's officials realized that an outrider prematurely tripped the track's teletimer.
"When he got the lead he started to look around and he idled. I stopped hissing at him for about 40 yards, and when I started back, he took off again," Desormeaux said. "It’s hard to sustain that kind of speed for a long time, but when we were galloping out after the wire, he moved out again once he felt the other horse come up to him."
Remsen Stakes (G2) winner Court Vision closed from last to finish third, 5 3/4 lengths behind Elysium Fields. Boyd Gaming’s Delta Jackpot Stakes (G3) dead-heat winner Z Humor was another 2 1/4 lengths back in fourth.
Monba, the fourth-place finisher in the CashCall Futurity (G1), was squeezed early and faded to last as the 3.80-to-1 favorite. Grade 2-placed stakes winner Halo Najib was sixth and Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) winner Anak Nakal finished eighth in his season debut.
Cool Coal Man won a maiden special weight race by 10 1/4 lengths on October 10 at Delaware Park and posted a clear win in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race on November 3 at Churchill Downs. He subsequently finished seventh in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes but bounced back in his season debut on January 26 at Gulfstream Park with a win in a 1 1/8-mile allowance race.
Cool Coal Man improved to four wins in seven starts and boosted his earnings to $307,531. He banked $210,000 in graded stakes earnings, which determines the field for the Kentucky Derby if more than 20 horses are entered.
“He couldn’t have gotten a better trip," Zito said. "I had confidence going in with the post that Kent [Desormeaux] would get a good position with him. He’s run two great races here."
Out of the winning Rubiano mare Coral Sea, Cool Coal Man is from the immediate family of champion and influential sire Storm Bird.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Mike Curry is Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor
