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Nine Challenge Read the Footnotes in Florida Derby© Greg Melikov
Feb 26, 2004
Nine 3-year-olds attempt to snap the three stakes winning streak of Read the Footnotes in Saturday's 53rd Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.
Read the Footnotes, the 7-5-morning line favorite in the 1 1/8 miles event that breaks from post 3, captured the $250,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes on Feb. 14 by a neck in the Grade 2 test at 1 1/16 miles. It was the third consecutive stakes victory for the son of Smoke Glacken dating back to last year when he took the Remsen on Nov. 29 at Aqueduct. Jerry Bailey remains aboard
Value Plus, the early 3-1 second choice ridden by John Velazquez, drew post 8. The Todd Pletcher-trained sophomore comes off a convincing 5 ¼-length allowance triumph on Feb. 14. Tapit, 5-1, with Edgar Prado in the irons, breaks from post 4. The son of Pulpit hasn't raced since winning the Grade 3 Laurel Futurity on Nov. 15.
Others in the field by post position, with jockey and odds:1) The Cliff's Edge, Shane Sellers, 12-1
2) Friends Lake, Richard Migliore, 15-1
5) Farnum Alley, Pat Day, 20-1
6) Sir Oscar, Julio Garcia, 8-1
7) Notorious Rogue, Joe Bravo, 20-1
9) Frisky Spider, Eddie King Jr., 20-1
10) Smoocher, Jose Santos, 12-1
Trainer Nick Zito's Birdstone, once mentioned for the Grade 1 contest, will instead run in the $500,000 Lane's End Stakes at Turfway Park on March 20.
Eurosilver, another highly rated Zito colt, will race in the $150,000 Swale Stakes on the Florida Derby card at seven furlongs. The son of Unbridled's Song crushed an allowance field on opening day. Last year, he took the $400,000 Lane's End Breeders' Cup Futurity at Keeneland, whipping Limehouse and Value Plus.
Limehouse, another Pletcher colt who captured the $150,000 Hutcheson Stakes on Valentine's Day, is entered in Sunday's Tampa Bay Derby.
Since 1979, five horses who won the Fountain of Youth, captured the Florida Derby: Spectacular Bid, that year; Proud Truth, '85; Fly So Free, '91; Thunder Gulch, '95; and Vicar, '99.
Spectacular Bid and Fly So Free also captured the Hutcheson, staged this year for the first time on the same day as the Fountain of Youth, which produced a half-dozen Florida Derby winners.
The first Florida Derby winner of the Kentucky Derby was Nashua in 1955. The last of 10 to successfully Run for the Roses was Monarchos in 2001.
Gen. Duke holds the stakes record: 1:46 4/5 for 1 1/8 miles. I was at Gulfstream that afternoon, on Mar. 29, 1957, when the Calumet Farm colt set it. He defeated Bold Ruler while stablemate Iron Liege finished third.
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