NEWS
Buddy’s Saint highlights Fountain of Youth
Posted: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 5:01 PM
BUDDY'S SAINT
Adam Coglianese/NYRA photo
by Mike Curry
With the exception of champion Lookin At Lucky, no member of the current three-year-old crop has generated as much buzz as Buddy’s Saint.
The Saint Liam colt will face a formidable challenge on Saturday at Gulfstream Park in the $250,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2)—a 1 1/8-mile race that probably will determine whether he is a legitimate contender for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1).
Buddy’s Saint has finished first in each of his three career starts with only a disqualification in his September 26 debut spoiling an unbeaten record. His Nashua (G2) and Remsen (G2) Stakes romps cemented his status as a buzz-worthy horse entering this year’s Triple Crown trail for trainer Bruce Levine and owner Kingfield Stables.
If Buddy’s Saint is to pass the Fountain of Youth test, he must defeat trainer Todd Pletcher’s highly regarded stakes winner Eskendereya, four-time stakes winner Jackson Bend, turf stakes winner Lost Aptitude in his main track debut, and multiple Grade 1-placed winner Aikenite among nine opponents.
Eskendereya, by Giant’s Causeway, won the off-the-turf Pilgrim Stakes by 7 1/4 lengths in October at Belmont Park before closing his two-year-old season with a ninth-place finish in the Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) on November 7 at the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita Park.
The chestnut colt made an impressive 2010 debut on January 7, controlling the pace en route to a 1 1/4-length win in a one-mile allowance race on the main track at Gulfstream.
Pletcher also will send out Aikenite, the runner-up in the 2009 Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity (G1) who finished sixth in the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) on January 23 in his season debut.
Jackson Bend swept the three divisions of the Florida Stallion Stakes series at Calder Race Course and amassed five wins and one runner-up finish as a juvenile. The Hear No Evil colt finished second, beaten three-quarters of a length by Winslow Homer, in the Holy Bull in his three-year-old bow.
Trainer Dale Romans will give Lost Aptitude a shot on the main track after three wins, one second, and a third in six career starts, all on grass. The bay colt by 2000 Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1) runner-up Aptitude finished second in the Tropical Park Derby (G3) on January 1 at Calder in his most recent start.
The Fountain of Youth also drew Grade 1-placed winner Pulsion and Ice Box, a Nick Zito-trained Pulpit colt who is unbeaten in two starts around two turns.
Maiden winners Prince Will I Am, Positive Split, and Pleasant Prince round out the Fountain of Youth field.
For a preview of Saturady's undercard at Gulfstream, click here.
Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor
February 20, $250,000, 3yo, 1 1/8M, Gulfstream Park, 5:40 PM ET
| Post |
Horse |
Sire |
Weight |
Jockey |
Trainer |
| 1 |
Aikenite 3, c. |
Yes It's True |
116 |
Alan Garcia |
Todd Pletcher |
| 2 |
Buddy's Saint 3, c. |
Saint Liam |
122 |
Jose Lezcano |
Bruce Levine |
| 3 |
Pulsion 3, c. |
Include |
116 |
Mike Smith |
Patrick Biancone |
| 4 |
Pleasant Prince 3, c. |
Indy King |
116 |
Julien Leparoux |
Wesley Ward |
| 5 |
Jackson Bend 3, c. |
Hear No Evil |
120 |
Jeremy Rose |
Nicholas Zito |
| 6 |
Prince Will I Am 3, c. |
Victory Gallop |
116 |
Paco Lopez |
Michelle Nihei |
| 7 |
Positive Split 3, c. |
Repent |
116 |
Edgar Prado |
Kenneth McPeek |
| 8 |
Eskendereya 3, c. |
Giant's Causeway |
120 |
John Velazquez |
Todd Pletcher |
| 9 |
Lost Aptitude 3, c. |
Aptitude |
118 |
Rajiv Maragh |
Dale Romans |
| 10 |
Ice Box 3, c. |
Pulpit |
116 |
Joe Bravo |
Nicholas Zito |
