Overcoming traffic problems in the run down the backstretch and avoiding a two-horse spill on the stretch turn, Tami Bobo's Simplification rallied wide for a 3 1/2-length win in Saturday's Grade 2, $400,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.
Ridden by Jose Ortiz for trainer Antonio Sano, the 3-year-old Florida-bred son of Not This Time covered 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:44.04 and paid $7 as the second betting choice.
In Due Time (also by Not This Time), ridden by Paco Lopez, finished second, with O Captain a length back in third, three-quarters of a length ahead of favored Emmanual in fourth and Dean Delivers fifth in the field of 11.
The winner earned 50 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby, with the second, third and fourth finishers getting 20-10-5 points each.
The race was marred by a spill involving two horses trained by Bill Mott. High Oak, ridden by Junior Alvarado, clipped heels when it appeared that Lopez shifted In Due Time to the outside on the turn, forcing A.P.'s Secret and jockey Tyler Gaffalione to alter course and into High Oak. Galt threw rider Joel Rosario when that horse tried to avoid the fallen High Oak.
Both horses did not suffer obvious injuries and walked back to their stables. Alvarado returned to the jockeys room complaining of ankle soreness, and will be evaluated at a nearby hospital. Rosario returned to the jockeys room on his own power but took off the final race.
Stewards conducted an inquiry but allowed the original results to stand.
Longshot Markhamian showed the way early, setting fractions of :23.77, :48.27 and 1:12.19 for the first six furlongs. Emmanuel, who came into the race with a perfect two-for-two record for Todd Pletcher, raced four wide into the first turn and was even wider down the backstretch and around the far turn. Simplification, who broke from the No. 2 post, was bottled up in traffic in the run down the backstretch, having to check while lacking room before shifting to the outside approaching the far turn.
Dean Delivers, another longshot who was chasing the early leader inherited the lead when Markhamian threw in the towel, but he was quickly surrounded by a host of rivals turning into the stretch, including Emmanuel and the eventual winner.
Simplification was to the outside of Emmanuel when the spill occurred and overtook that rival, opening up down the stretch after passing the mile marker in 1:44.04 to win going away.
The win was the third in six career starts for Simplification, who won a maiden race by an eye-popping 16 3/4 lengths last Oct. 23. After finishing third in an allowance race in November, Simplification won the Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 1, going wire to wire to win by four lengths. He came off a second-place finish to White Abarrio in the G3 Holy Bull Stakes Feb. 5 after getting off to a slow start.
This was the second time trainer Sano won the Fountain of Youth, scoring in the race with Gunnevera in 2017.
Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth post-race quotes
Winning trainer Antonio Sano (Simplification): “For me I liked the trip. I talked to [jockey] Jose [Ortiz] this morning and said you don't need to be in the front. The start was very important. If the horse has a good start and a safe trip, you won't have a problem. I wanted him to stay outside. Our horse in front with the speed horses won't have a chance. The horse responded to Jose. He said, 'Go,' and it was all good.”
“Five years ago here, we had [Post] No. 2 [with Gunnevera], and now we have No. 2 again. We repeat history.”
“I was worried for the jockey that went down. I know it was no problem for my horse because he was already outside. Jose when he came back asked me what happened. I said, 'I don't know.'”
“When my horse broke bad last time I thought, 'What a disaster.' I learned that the horse can run in the front or from behind. He doesn't have to be in the front. The plan today for the race was that he didn't need the front. If the start was good, I left it up to Jose to make the decision where to be.”
Compare to Gunnevera – “Both horses are nice horses, class horses, but Gunnevera wanted to go all the time. This horse is different. He can run in front or from behind, it doesn't matter.”
Winning rider Jose Ortiz (Simplification): “I knew he was going to be tough today. I worked him last week and Antonio had a lot of confidence in him. He broke well. He pulled me into the race. He put me there. At the three-eighths pole, I decided to go wide and follow Emmanuel and he was there for me.”
Trainer Kelly Breen (In Due Time, 2nd): “We're waiting to see just like everybody with the worst that was just outside of us. Paco was happy with everything that happened. Maybe he got stuck a little bit stuck inside on the rail, didn't have the perfectly clean, clean trip. But, to come running for second I think shows we're a contender. We're a legit. First time stakes racing against this caliber of competition, I think he's just getting better. I'm around him every day. He comes into the paddock and you see these horses for a race of this magnitude, he fits. To me, to my eyes, he looks like a man. Maybe at the turn of the year he still looked like a boy. I'm proud of him.”
Jockey Paco Lopez (In Due Time, 2nd): “That was the position I wanted. I got stuck a little bit at the three-eighths pole and I had to wait, wait and when I saw an opening I let him go. I know [Simplification] was the horse to beat. He gave me a kick and ran very good for the first time going two turns. I'm very happy. I think the horse is only getting better.”
Trainer Gustavo Delgado (O Captain, 3rd): “He ran super. Everybody's happy. The horse is very good. In this moment, we have no pressure. He finished very hard. Gulfstream Park is our home. [The Florida Derby] is possible.”
Jockey Javier Castellano (O Captain, 3rd): “I had a difficult post today, and I did the best I could to save all the ground on the first turn. I didn't want to rush the horse and be close. I rode with a lot of patience and it paid off. He hit the board and finished third. That's what we were looking for today. He made one run and I'm very satisfied the way he did it today.”
Trainer Todd Pletcher (Emmanuel, 4th): “He got squeezed [coming out of the gate] a little bit, dirt started hitting him in the face. And then he ran a long way, very wide all the way around. We were ahead of that [spill], so I don't think that played a factor in our result. He got a lot of experience. I don't think it was a bad race when you consider the break and the ground lost. He ran better than it looks on paper.”
Trainer Ken McPeek (Rattle N Roll): “I was hoping he would be fourth or better. He's a big horse that needs some running, and he hadn't run in five months. He needed the run. I'm glad he didn't get involved in the spill. [Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr.] said they fell just to his right and just missed him. He said he got tired the last eighth of a mile. I can go the Louisiana Derby, Florida Derby or Blue Grass. I can run in any of the three and I'd feel good about any of the three.”
Trainer Dale Romans (Howling Time): “He was running all right. He had to jump over the horses that fell. He was behind them when it happened. I don't know if he would have gotten a lot closer.”
Trainer Bill Mott (High Oak, Galt): “My horses walked off good. All I know is High Oak was in tight quarters.”
Note: Jockey Junior Alvarado was taken to first aid and was expected to go to Aventura Hospital to have his ankle further evaluated. Jockey Joel Rosario walked to the jockey's room and was expected to be evaluated for some back pain.
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