The Fountain Of Youth Stakes (Grade 2) (KYD)- $300.000 Purse
GP- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
February 27, 2021

When we said that the Risen Star, the first 50-point race of the season went perfectly for Mb Stables, we were probably getting ahead of ourselves. The trainer entered three for that race, Evergreen, Howl Of The Hound, and Proud Crown. Evergreen and Howl Of The Hound finished in a dead heat for that win. Perfect, for Mb! Well, the final piece of the puzzle is now placed as Proud Crown would pick up his 50 points just two weeks later, earning a victory here in the Fountain Of Youth. We expect that Mb Stables will have a strong crop of three year olds every year, but does he possibly have his best group right now? Looking at the points list after this race, and it is still very early, Mb holds the first three spots, and none of them are with Smokin Luka, who many thought would become a top candidate. He is “only” ninth. Sure, there are other strong contenders, like my favorite, Locamotive, as well as Pocantico, but Mb is going to have a tough KYD decision in a couple months as the restrictive game rule forces him to have to choose just three worthy contenders. In regards to the Fountain Of Youth, this is Mb’s third win, having also won in 2013 with the late Hick Up, as well as in 2019 with Questionable. Rider T Gaffalione is a first time winner. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:41.64, in line with recent years. Let’s take a look!

(¼ Mile- :24.78)- It looked like Heffalump Hanny and Mahogany Storm were going to be our early leaders as they walk out of the gate in a slow opening quarter, but Elixir has other ideas as the Mb Stables entry powers to the front. He opens up a two length lead quickly over the eventual second and third place horses. Both Papa Nature, out of Night Rider Stables, and Walk The Moon, from Greyfriars Stable were not initially fast starts, but they also made a sharp advance in seeing the slow pace of the others, and took over the second and third spots while on the outside in the opening turn. All this dropped Mahogany Storm to fourth to Smokey Stover. Within a length of him to his outside would be the eventual winner, Proud Crown, out of Mb Stables, he was fifth, with Heffalump Hanny (Jive Inc) between horses, and Hint Of Sugar (Arindel) foreshadowing how they may finish, running close to Proud Crown on his outside. Hard To Forgive (Aer Stables) is behind this group, as is his stablemate, Clown Face. Accountant (D J C Racing Stables), then Kentucky Growl (Alabarda Stable), and Get Set Gone (Serenity Stables).

(½ Mile- :48.28)- Elixir isn’t going to be content with the slowness of the race, and picks it up notably over the second quarter of the race. It looked like he might extend his lead even further over the rest of the field, but eventually the others got the message that they needed to pick it up just a little bit, too. Proud Crown was the first to move up just a little bit, taking over the second position and bearing down on his stablemate. Papa Nature and Walk The Moon are now along the rail in third and fourth as Hint Of Sugar moves four wide, into the fifth position. Take note that quietly in this portion of the race, Proud Crown gained a length on Hint Of Sugar after they were initially running together. Clown Face was next as Mahogany Storm dropped back a bit further. Heffalump Hanny was with this group, as the others trailed the field.

(Top Of The Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Elixir remains the race leader, trying to go wire to wire, and Mb Stables was happy to look back and see that his biggest challenger was going to be Proud Crown. He had gradually been gaining, and had pulled to be about a length behind. Maybe this would become the third prep race already to end up with a dead heat for win, and Mb could pull off another Risen Star? Hint Of Sugar was running well in the turn, too, but remember that length that Proud Crown got on him in an innocent portion of the race? That was still looming as something he needed to make up now! Further back, Heffalump Hanny started to hit his best stride, and Hard To Forgive made a strong move approaching the exit of the turn. If there was going to be a late run from someone, he looked to be a good candidate for it. Mahogany Storm and Clown Face were nearby but needed to get moving now. Papa Nature and Walk The Moon were dropping out of it. Kentucky Growl would hope a 7-wide move would be a good idea and Accountant did not have much to work with.

(Finish- 1:41.64)- In the stretch, Proud Crown takes over from his stablemate as he charges to the front with about a furlong to go. Now, he just needed to hold off Hint Of Sugar, who was also running well, but he never would make up that length. At the wire, it is Proud Crown getting the win, and 50 more KYD points in the pocket of Mb Stables. Hint of Sugar gets a good second and will be worth watching now, as well. Elixir tired late, but was still good enough for third, beating the late running Heffalump Hanny. Perhaps that one just wants longer distances, which is not a bad thing. Hard To Forgive also ran well, and may be worth his current “double it” private sales price for those with the funds. Mahogany Storm is sixth, topping Accountant, Kentucky Growl, Get Set Gone, Clown Face, Walk The Moon, and Papa Nature.

About the Winner- Proud Crown, trained by Mb Stables, and ridden to victory by T Gaffalione, is a three year old gelding by Crown Gold, and is out Step Proud. He was bred in Florida by Tiratzo as a yearling, and acquired by Mb Stables in October 2020 for $250.000 in private sales. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fourth in eight starts, his third stake win, and second graded win. His career earnings are now $414.000.

Track: Fast
Time: :24³  :48¹  1:11³  1:41³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 4 – 10 Paid 26.50
$1 Trifecta: 4 – 10 – 9 Paid 347.80

Scratched: I Show You The Way, Seattle Sloo, Dream State

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES