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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