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FOY Contenders Breeze in South Florida

The South Florida worktab was dotted with several horses tuning up Saturday morning for a possible start in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park Mar. 5.

WinStar Farm and Siena Farm LLC's 'TDN Rising Star' Emmanuel (More Than Ready) will be in search of a third win in as many starts in the Fountain of Youth and tuned up for the 8 1/2-furlong test with a bullet half-mile in :48.05 (1/32) Saturday morning at trainer Todd Pletcher's base at Palm Beach Downs.

He worked great, I was very pleased with it,” said the conditioner, who also breezed GII Remsen S. hero Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo, 4f, :49.37) and GII Iroquois S. hero Major General (Constitution, 5f, 1:02.29). Both are under consideration for the Fountain of Youth.

“I don't know for sure. I have to talk to Jerry Crawford about Mo Donegal tomorrow,” Pletcher said. “I talked to [WinStar's] Elliott [Walden] a little bit this morning. One of my concerns is that it looks like it's going to be a big field. You might enter and draw a bad post. We might take a look at entering both Mo Donegal and Major General. All things being equal, Major General will probably go to the [Mar. 12 GII] Tampa Bay Derby.”

Rattle N Roll (Connect), winner of last year's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, prepped for his seasonal debut in the Fountain of Youth by drilling five-eighths of a mile in :58.67 Saturday morning over the Gulfstream Park main track.

“It went really well. The horse worked super,” trainer Ken McPeek said. “He worked fantastic and came out of it good. We're going to do a little gate work Wednesday, and he's all set.”

Howling Time (Not This Time), unraced since his fifth-place effort to Smile Happy (Runhappy) in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. in late November, went five furlongs in :58.54, while his Dale Romans stablemate Giant Game (Giant's Causeway) covered a similar distance in :59.04.

Simplification (Not This Time), an excellent second in the GIII Holy Bull S., went five furlongs in 1:02.66 at Gulfstream Park for trainer Antonio Sano.

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Letruska Easy Winner in Royal Delta

When last seen at the races as the 17-10 favorite in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff in early November, Letruska (Super Saver) had absolutely nothing go her way, as she attended a suicidal pace and unsurprisingly folded, beating just one rival home. Having since been rewarded with the Eclipse Award for her total body of work in 2021, the St. George homebred returned to action in Saturday's GIII Royal Delta S. and made very light work of five grossly overmatched rivals.

Kicked straight into the lead by Jose Ortiz, Letruska crossed down onto the rail and relaxed nicely on the engine through an opening quarter-mile that was clocked in a comfortable :24.39. Able to ration her speed evenly through the middle furlongs, Letruska was confidently handled around the turn as she continued to build an imposing advantage and glided home ears-pricked and never out of a high gallop to get back to her winning ways.

Letruska became a household name with a battling defeat of multiple champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) in last year's GI Apple Blossom H. and she promptly added front-running tallies in the GI Ogden Phipps S. and GII Fleur de Lis S. A game half-length winner of the GI Personal Ensign S. at Saratoga last August, the bay led them on a merry chase in the GI Juddmonte Spinster S. Oct. 10, but attended the wicked early fractions in the Distaff and hung around to the top of the lane before hoisting the white flag. A return trip to Hot Springs for the Apple Blossom is in the cards, trainer Fausto Gutierrez said following the victory.

Pedigree Notes:

Letruska's dam, third for Cobra Farm and Stan Hough in the 2009 GII Adirondack S., is a full-sister to GI Del Mar Futurity winner J P's Gusto and was purchased by St. George Farm for $100,000 carrying the filly that would become Letruska at the 2015 Keeneland November Sale. Magic Appeal is also the dam of the once-raced Ocotzingo (Hard Spun), the 2-year-old colt Prudencio (Arrogate) and a yearling filly by Malibu Moon. She was most recently covered by Curlin.

ROYAL DELTA S.-GIII, $150,000, Gulfstream, 2-26, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:43.43, ft.
1–LETRUSKA, 123, m, 6, by Super Saver
                1st Dam: Magic Appeal (GSP), by Successful Appeal
                2nd Dam: Call Her Magic, by Caller I. D.
                3rd Dam: Malibu Magic, by Encino
O/B-St. George Stable LLC; T-Fausto Gutierrez; J-Jose L. Ortiz $92,070. Lifetime Record: Ch. Older Female, Ch. 3yo Filly-Mex, MGISW, 24-18-1-1, $2,348,529. *1/2 to Trigger Warning (Candy Ride (ARG)) MSW & GISP, $555,378. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Into Vanishing, 118, f, 4, Into Mischief–Vanishing, by Lemon Drop Kid. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-Augustin Stable; B-George Strawbridge (KY); T-Jonathan Thomas. $29,700.
3–Il Malocchio, 120, f, 4, Souper Speedy–Egbert Bay, by Sligo Bay (Ire). 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-Franco S. Meli; B-Franco Meli (ON); T-Martin Drexler. $14,850.
Margins: 3, 3/4, 1HF. Odds: 0.10, 31.50, 26.80.
Also Ran: Crazy Beautiful, Key Biscayne, Helping Lisa D. Scratched: Family Time.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Sunday Insights: Fancy Colts Make 4-Year-Old Debuts on Both Coasts

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency

10th-GP, $63K, Alw/OC, 4yo/up, 7f, 5:14 p.m. ET

'TDN Rising Star' First Captain (Curlin) makes his 4-year-old debut against a relatively accomplished field here. The $1.5-million FTSAUG yearling kicked off his career three-for-three, annexing the one-turn-mile GIII Dwyer S. at Belmont in July. He has been off since finishing third as the favorite in Saratoga's restricted nine-panel Curlin S. later that month, and trainer Shug McGaughey told TDN's Steve Sherack recently that the son of MGSW and MGISP America (A.P. Indy) was given a freshening without a specific issue or injury.

“There really wasn't anything the matter with him, I just wasn't altogether pleased of where I stood with him, so I thought, 'Well, let's just give him some time,'” McGaughey said. “Time helped him a lot. He was at Barry Eisaman's and he did a great job with him. He got out here and had a really good bottom in him and he's been breezing ever since.”

First Captain will take on the likes of GSWs Trophy Chaser (Twirling Candy) and Dennis' Moment (Tiznow) and stakes winners Real Talk (Gemologist) and Hello Hot Rod (Mosler). TJCIS PPs

7th-SA, $72K, Alw/OC, 4yo/up, 7f, 6:47 p.m. ET

The Bob Baffert barn has a pair of talented if lightly raced 4-year-olds signed on here in 'TDN Rising Star' Triple Tap (Tapit) and sale topper Shaaz (Uncle Mo). The former, a Summer Wind Equine homebred, is a half to none other than Triple Crown winner and Horse of the Year American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) and a full to GISW juvenile Chasing Yesterday. He took his track-and-trip debut almost a year ago, and resurfaced on Breeders' Cup weekend at Del Mar to clear another condition. The chestnut was last seen finishing a distant fourth to fellow Summer Wind-bred Tapit colt and brilliant 'Rising Star' Flightline in the GI Runhappy Malibu S. Dec. 26.

Michael Lund Petersen's Shaaz (Uncle Mo), meanwhile, fetched $1.1 million at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale off a :10 flat breeze. The half-brother to Grade II-winning grasser Azar (Scat Daddy) from a very deep female family earned a gaudy 105 Beyer Speed Figure when besting another stablemate narrowly in a maiden event on the Malibu undercard. He crossed the line second at 3-10 in a first-level optional claimer Feb. 5, only to be put up by the stewards in a decision that yielded plenty of chatter on twitter. TJCIS PPs

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Smile Happy Possible for Florida Derby

Lucky Seven Stable's Smile Happy (Runhappy) is among possible candidates for Gulfstream's GI Curlin Florida Derby Apr. 2, according to trainer Ken McPeek. Lucky Seven Stable also owns McPeek-trained Rattle N Roll (Connect), who is scheduled to make his 2022 debut in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. Mar. 5 at Gulfstream. Smile Happy had been expected to make his second start of the year in either the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland Apr. 9 or the GII Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds Mar. 26.

“You may see him in the Florida Derby,” said McPeek, who saddled Harlan's Holiday for a victory in the 2002 renewal. “I'm going to try and keep him and Rattle separated because they have the same owner. You'll see one in the Blue Grass and one in the Florida Derby following the Fountain of Youth.”

Smile Happy and Rattle N Roll are both stabled at Gulfstream. Smile Happy had a series of six workouts at Gulfstream prior to his second-place effort in the Feb. 19 GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds.

“This is a really good horse,” said McPeek. “He ran well in New Orleans. I think he could have been a tad closer, but the pace didn't set up well for him. He still showed real bravery to run late. This horse has a very bright future.”

Smile Happy won at first asking at Keeneland Oct. 29, closing from off the pace to win easily going 8 1/2 furlongs. He returned to capture the Nov. 27 GII Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs by 3 1/4 lengths, defeating Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway), who subsequently won the GIII Sam F. Davis S. at Tampa and third-place finisher White Abarrio (Race Day), winner of the GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream in their respective 2022 debuts.

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