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It's Triple Crown Season


It's that season again - the Run for the Roses and more. Four hundred five 3-year-olds are nominated for the 2002 Vista Triple Crown.

D. Wayne Lukas and Todd Pletcher lead all trainers with 19 sophomores apiece.

The owners' list is headed by Godolphin with 17 nominees, all trained by Saeed bin Suroor. One is Flag Day, sired by Sunday Silence, who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 1989. The colt was bred by Shadai Farm in Japan.

Storm Cat leads the sires with 12, followed by A.P. Indy and Saint Ballado with 11.
Of the top 16 horses weighted on the 2001 Experimental Free Handicap, 15 are on the list, headed by Breeders' Cup Juvenile hero Johannesburg. The only one missing among those is Jump Start, who was retired.

Fourteen fillies are nominated, including Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies queen Tempera.

Should any horse win all three Triple Crown events, a $5 million bonus will be awarded to the owner. The early sign up period, which cost $600, concluded Jan. 19. Deadline for $6,000 late nominations is March 30.

The first big race for 3-year-olds is Saturday's $200,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The 1 1/16 miles Grade 1 event has attracted a field of eight.

The top contender for the 56th running is Booklet, who captured the 13th Holy Bull Stakes at the same distance on Jan. 19. Trainer John Ward Jr. has switched riders, replacing Eibar Coa with Jorge Chavez, who guided Monarchos to victory in the 2001 Kentucky Derby.

Others in the race include Harlan's Holiday, beaten three-quarters of a length in the Holy Bull, who won the Iroquois Stakes last November in Kentucky; Maybry's Boy, who captured the Spectacular Bid Statakes on opening day; Stephentown, winner of two straight, with Pat Day in the irons; and Tropical Park Derby victor Political Attack, with Mark Guidry aboard.

The Fountain of Youth is the final major prep for the $1 million Florida Derby on March 16. The last Fountain of Youth winner who won both the Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby was Thunder Gulch in 1995.

Meanwhile, the official field for Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager has been released and Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia lists the mutuel field of "All Other 3-Year-Olds" as the 4-1 favorite on the morning line.

Pool 1 opens in 34 states at noon (EST) on Thursday and closes at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. There are 24 wagering interests for each of the three future pools.
The copyright of the article It's Triple Crown Season in Horse Racing is owned by Greg Melikov. Permission to republish It's Triple Crown Season in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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