joe orseno | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘Wow’ Work for Hades Ahead of Florida Derby

D. J. Stable and Robert Cotran's Hades (Awesome Slew), coming off a win in the Feb. 3 GIII Holy Bull S., tuned up for an expected start in the Mar. 30 GI Curlin Florida Derby with a five-furlong work in 1:00.34 (2/14) Sunday at Gulfstream Park. The gelding worked in company with 3-year-old maiden Halon (Flameaway).

“It was what I call a 'Wow!' work,” trainer Joe Orseno said. “I put a horse in front of him to have a horse to run at a little bit. At the quarter-pole, I told both riders to ask their horses. If the other horse ran away from him, I needed to know that. The rider on the inside horse said when he asked, his horse responded and found another gear, and Hades ran by him so fast it's kind of ridiculous.”

Orseno added, “I've got him galloping out the mile in 1:42. Horses don't do that.”

Although the Mar. 2 GII Fountain of Youth was scratched down to just five horses when heavily favored Speak Easy (Constitution) unseated his rider in his pre-race warm-up, Orseno hasn't questioned his decision to bypass the final local prep for the Florida Derby with Hades.

“For me, my horse didn't have that look in his eye that he had until two days before the Fountain of Youth, when I could say, 'Wow: The way he feels now, maybe I should have been in there.' Never did I think that I did the wrong thing,” Orseno said. “He has a big future, so we're not looking at just the next two races, the Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby. We're looking down the road, too. You've got to pick and choose your spots.”

Hades is unbeaten in three starts. He debuted with a win at Gulfstream in early December and added an allowance victory in Hallandale at the end of the month. He defeated Domestic Product (Practical Joke) by two lengths in the Holy Bull and the form of that race was flattered when the runner-up returned to win the GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby Saturday.

“He didn't win by much, but he did get up to win, so I think that complimented us a little bit,” Orseno said of the Tampa Bay Derby finish.

Sunday's breeze was Hades' final serious preparation for the Florida Derby.

“Next week he's going to open gallop. He's not even going to breeze. And then he'll just have a little something the next week, so today was his major prep,” Orseno said.

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Gulfstream Boosts Spring/Summer Purses

Overnight purses for the upcoming Spring/Summer Meet at Gulfstream Park will be increased in all categories from open handicaps to $6,250 claiming races with conditions.

Open handicap purses will rise from $60,000 last season to $74,000; $6,250 claiming races with conditions will jump from $17,000 to $20,000; open allowances will be $10,000 higher than 2023 levels, ranging from $61,000 to $63,000; entry-level allowances for Florida-breds will increase from $43,000 to $48,000; maiden special weight races will increase by $10,000 to $60,000; maiden special weight races for Florida-breds will go up from $40,000 to $48,000; maiden races for $12,500 claimers will get a boost of $6,000 to $25,000; starter allowance purses will increase from $3,000 to $9,000 (from $25,000 to $49,000); and the purse for a $50,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds will jump by $9,000 to $44,000.

“With the increased purses, grass racing, and our workers compensation program, Gulfstream is now the summer place to be,” said Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (FTHA) President Joe Orseno. “We are able to offer better purses and we hope this will encourage trainers and owners to keep horses at Gulfstream Park through the non-championship meet. A big thank you to 1/ST management and the FTHA purse committee for negotiating this competitive purse structure.”

Gulfstream will race four days a week from April to June and three days a week from July to November with turf racing throughout the spring and summer.

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Holy Bull Winner Hades To Wait For Florida Derby

All continues to go smoothly for D. J. Stable and Robert Cotran's undefeated GIII Holy Bull S. winner Hades (Awesome Slew), a trend trainer Joe Orseno hopes to see continue as the colt sits out Saturday's GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park to await the GI Florida Derby.

Since his two length score in the first leg of the Florida series, Hades has worked twice at four furlongs and at a mile, which prompted the connections to give the second leg some consideration before deciding to pass.

“He's doing great, that's the problem. It's hard to sit still,” Orseno said. “But in the grand scheme of things and what we're trying to accomplish, it's probably the right thing to do. I've seen too many people try to run in all three races here and then you have nothing left. We're just trying to do right by the horse.”

Potentially, Hades could be Orseno's second GI Kentucky Derby starter. He entered Thunder Blitz in 2001, who was fourth behind Monarchos.

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Connections Eye Florida Route to Derby for Holy Bull Winner Hades

D. J. Stable LLC and Robert Cotran's Hades (Awesome Slew), upset winner of Saturday's GIII Holy Bull S. over juvenile champion and 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light), may be pointed to either the Mar. 2 GII Fountain of Youth S. or the Mar. 30 GI Curlin Florida Derby, hinted trainer Joe Orseno to the Gulfstream Park notes team Thursday.

“We're obviously working backwards from the first Saturday in May,” said Orseno. “We'll do what's best for the horses. I don't think both races are in the plans. If I had to guess today, I'd say the latter one.”

Orseno said the undefeated Hades came out of his Holy Bull win in good shape.

“My both feet are on the ground and everything's fine,” said Orseno. “The horse is doing great. He came out of it really well in his training. He's been back training two days. He's galloping great.”

Orseno continued: “Yesterday, he was more aggressive. It was windy and it was his first day back on the track. Today, he was more settled.”

The trainer also detailed the decision that led to gelding the bay, who is now unbeaten in three starts. Orseno had spotted Hades at the 2023 OBS April Sale, where he worked two furlongs in :21 1/5. D. J. Stable signed the ticket and Orseno brought his longtime client Cotran in to team up on the Florida-bred colt.

“When I bought him out of the sale, I gave him a week and brought him down here. He just wasn't training like I thought he should have been,” Orseno said. “He was stud-ish, really stud-ish. He was a little weak behind. He didn't seem to be himself. I said, 'This isn't the horse I bought,' because we really loved him.”

Despite extra time turned out in Ocala, Hades showed no improvement.

“He was being real stud-ish, not going forward. I said, 'Just cut him and help him grow up a little bit.' That's what we did. We just gave him time and cut him. He's a son of Awesome Slew. Nobody was thinking 'stallion' at that point. Nobody was thinking anything. We bought a racehorse and we've got to get him to the races.”

The result is an undefeated prospect who has earned 20 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

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