The Fountain Of Youth (KYD) (Grade 2)- $400.000 Purse
GP- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
March 2, 2024
It’s another weekend of exciting KYD prep action, as on Saturday, the 50-point Fountain Of Youth takes place at GP. This is the 21st time the race has been run within the game, and the $400.000 purse has been consistent since 2011, other than a cut that was made in 2021. There have been some greats that have won the race, including Noble Warrior, Niagra, and Questionable. In 2023, Mb Stables picked up the Fountain Of Youth win with Fear Me Not for his fourth win in the race. Fear Me Not would not run in the KYD and would be moved to the grass during the summer. He is still active at this time but has not been in a stake since the BC Turf. As expected, the gate is full, so let’s meet the runners!
1- Razzi Moon (The Freakshow, ridden by Ar Bocachica)- Returns to GP for the Fountain Of Youth after running third in the Holy Bull in a dead heat. That got him six points for the KYD chase, which is a start. To get more points, the trainer will once again put Ar Bocachica in the saddle. Other than the Holy Bull, Razzi Moon is generally untested at this level other than running up the track in the Summer Stakes.
2- Fire Chase (Fractious, ridden by M Franco)- He’s not only hot in name, but hot on the racetrack, with four consecutive wins. The last two such victories have been in good ungraded affairs, first showing he could sprint well in the Brown before running over a mile in the Smarty Jones and winning that one by half a length. That last win got him his ten points, and Fractious has a few around that point total right now. He has many good weapons, but who’s gonna step up and look like his strongest KYD chance?
3- Rare Truth (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by F Geroux)- Looking to rebound after a miserable performance in the Lewis Stakes last month, and it is time for Rare Truth to show that he can handle the best competition his division has to offer. He didn’t show a ton in his two races before that, which go back to his two-year-old season. His last strong race was the ELP Juvenile, and that was a while ago.
4- Freakie The Ghost (Mb Stables, ridden by J C Ferrer)- All three of Mb’s entries will start together, and Freakie The Ghost will be needing to look a lot better than he did here last month in the Holy Bull. He was on the lead there, but after setting the fractions, he could do nothing about the charges that would come at him in the stretch and fizzled to the tenth position. The other races are good enough to think that could be a throw out, but this horse must step up.
5- Poison Arrow (Mb Stables, ridden by R L Moore)- A lightly raced third quarter two-year-old that will make his fifth start here. He’s won three of them, including the Grade 3 Withers up at AQU. This put him in a good spot on the KYD leaderboard with 30 points, but when you are in this barn, you’re running against your stablemates to be one of the three chosen for the KYD. He was a $250.000 private sales purchase and is already paying off. A win here could establish himself as one of the favorites in the KYD chase as of now.
6- Inviting (Mb Stables, ridden by T Gaffalione)- While Poison Arrow has been stepping up, Inviting is needing a strong race to show that he is not becoming left behind. After winning the first three races of his career, Inviting ran well until October, and did not show much in the BC Juvenile. The In Reality, for FL-Breds, gave hope that he may bounce back but he could only run midpack in the Swale. He still works very well, so do not give up on him!
7- Run Forty (Asgar, ridden by Ru Silvera)- After a strong series of races against PA-Breds that saw two stake wins, Run Forty left the Keystone State to come here the Grade 3 Holy Bull. It was a great race, and nearly a victory for him but he had to settle for second there. Nothing wrong with that, as it earns 10 KYD points, which is something that he will now look to build upon. His works don’t really wow you at a mile, but he has never failed to hit the board and he should run competitively here once again.
8- Fear The Longhorn (Royalty Stables, ridden by D E Centeno- Hard to get excited about a horse that has more double digit finishes than he has win. Failed to crack the top ten in each of his last two races: the RP Springboard Mile, which was held in the mud, and the Grade 3 Lecomte. He has another twelfth in the Breeder’s Futurity, as well. Fear The Longhorn must show that he raises his game in stakes if he wants to keep getting these opportunities.
9- Diamond Haggis (Fractious, ridden by P Lopez)- Picked up by Fractious in private sales for $300.000 in early December, and debuted for the trainer in the Grade 3 Kittens Joy here last month that he ended up winning. That, of course, is a turf race, and most of Diamond Haggis’ races have been on the green up to this point, including a win in the always tough Grade 1 Summer Stakes. There’s a future for him there, but can he be equally as good on the main track? We’re about to find out!
10- Valance (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- This is another horse that we saw last month in the Holy Bull, but Valance was never able to get involved, seemingly running in the middle of the pack the entire race. He had a similar type of performance in the previous start to that and was also a non-factor in the Smarty Jones. Valance has had his moments in his career, but his best efforts are not when he has been running long. Works say he should be better than he has been.
11- Imperious (Fractious, ridden by D Davis)- Broke his maiden in his second career start, but was gelded before hitting the track again, nonetheless. The new gelding looked good in the Grade 1 Pharoah, placing second to get into the BC Juvenile. We can easily forgive a midpack finish there, and perhaps we can also throw out his race after, too, since the RP Springboard Mile was run in the mud. Ran well in the Swale, and there’s no reason to think that he can’t get it done here. Could possibly get overlooked at the betting window.
12- Bubba Would (Saratoga Stud, ridden by P Husbands)- Our final runner is this three-year-old gelding by Candlestick who was picked up by Saratoga Stud in private sales for $225.000 back in November. That sale came after back-to-back third place efforts in the Iroquois and the Street Sense but struggled in his debut for his new trainer. After the dud in the Gun Runner, he won an optional claimer at TP and hopes to recapture that form he was showing at CD as a two-year-old.
Prediction: 5-7-2-1
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
