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

Poison Arrow seemed like he would be the one to beat in The Fountain Of Youth, and the bettors agreed, making him the post-time favorite. He was also our pick to win, and Poison Arrow would not make anyone disappointed. Starting from near the back of the pack, he would have a powerful stretch performance to pick up what is now his fourth win in five starts. He’s now accumulated 80 KYD points, and with the race still two months away, he may be making a case to be considered the favorite for the KYD itself. Poison Arrow is trained by Mb Stables, who has now won The Fountain Of Youth five times. Four of them have come in the last six years. R L Moore is the winning rider, his first such win. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:41.81, which is not one of the fastest such times but all that was needed. Let’s take a look at it:

(1/4 Mile- :22.99)- It initially looked like the Mb Stables- trained Freakie The Ghost and the Fractious- owned Diamond Haggis were going to battle it out for the early lead but after about the first furlong, Fear The Longhorn, from Royalty Stables, had other ideas, and surged out in front to an uncontested lead, leading the other two to battle for second. Sitting just behind this lead group of three, would be a trio that consisted of Asgar’s Run Forty, who ran between horses, with Fractious horses, Imperious and Fire Chase, on each side of him. Razzi Moon is next for The Freakshow, and nearby to him is where we find our eventual winner from Mb Stables, Poison Arrow. He has four lengths to make up for now. Valance (D J C Racing Stables) would run to his outside. It was two more lengths to the rest of the field, led by Rare Truth (TwinTowersRacing), over Inviting (Mb Stables) and Bubba Would (Saratoga Stud).

(½ Mile- :46.17)- At the front of the field, Freakie The Ghost and Fear The Longhorn are having a good little back and forth between them of exchanging the lead, and at a half mile it is Fear The Longhorn again by a head. Diamond Haggis wanted nothing to do with that and backed off about two and a half lengths. He’s by himself in third, with a trio of horses that consisted of Fire Chase, Run Forty, and Imperious right behind them. A big gap opened up afterwards, and that’s where Poison Arrow is, running seven lengths off the pace, in a group of four with Razzi Moon, Valance, and Inviting. Rare Truth and Bubba Would trail.

(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- The early speed begins to weaken early the turn, with Freakie The Ghost the first to fade to the back. For now, Fear The Longhorn is still in front, but he no longer has a big lead, and things are getting jam packed behind him. Diamond Haggis, Fire Chase, and Run Forty seemed to be in the best position on the track to make a run if they were able but even, they had to be concerned with how the others who had been several lengths behind them had closed up quickly. Poison Arrow was one of them, but entering the stretch, he looked like he would have some traffic trouble and needed a lane to open up. Valance was in a similar predicament. Inviting was also moving up, and had a clear lane, but it was the one on the far outside.

(Finish- 1:41.81)- Early in the stretch, Fire Chase and Run Forty were looking good, but all eyes were on Poison Arrow as the horse tried to find a lane. He clearly had plenty of run saved up, but there was no gap that was opening up until Run Forty moved out of the way just enough. With under a furlong to go, Poison Arrow could now show everyone what he was made of, and he would come on through for the win. Without watching the race, this will look like one of the derby favorites taking care of business like he should have, and that part is true. But I think he showed a little something here which could be very useful in a twenty-horse field in two months, and that’s impressive stretch desire and awareness, to be patient, but yet have the ability to pounce quickly when the opportunity presented itself. Valance also ran very well in the stretch, and nipped Run Forty for second at the wire, with the outside run of Inviting getting him fourth. Fire Chase was a close fifth, and it was at least a length to the rest of the field. The remaining running order will read Diamond Haggis, Razzi Moon, Bubba Would, Imperious, Rare Truth, Fear The Longhorn and Freakie The Ghost.

About The Winner- Poison Arrow, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by R L Moore, is a three-year-old gelding by Inside Draw and is out of Lakota Maiden. He was bred in California by Barcelona Farms as a third quarter two-year-old, and was acquired by Mb Stables in private sales in mid-November for $250.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fourth in five starts, and his third stake win, all of which are graded. His career earnings are now $504.020.

Track: Fast
Time: :22⁴  :46  1:10²  1:41⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 5 – 10 Paid 42.40
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 10 – 7 Paid 169.80

Scratched: Sisko

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES