Derby favourite, To Honor And Serve, will appear at Fountain of Youth Stakes - Horse Racing update
The Fountain of Youth Stakes which is to be held at Gufstream Park, in South Florida, on Saturday, is a Grade 2 event run over a distance of one mile and one furlong on dirt ground for horses of three years of age only.
The latest high flying horse to join the list of entrants for 2011 is To Honor And Serve, a colt who is trained by Bill Mott and is to be ridden by John Velazquez and is a general second favourite for the Kentucky Derby in several ante-post lists.
To Honor And Serve is the offspring of racehorse Bernadini, who won two Grade 2 events as a juvenile, and is determined to assure those who made claims on him for the Derby that he really is the right choice by winning the Fountain Of Youth Stakes, which
is a major preparation race for the Florida Derby, Gulfstream’s million dollar follow-up for the Churchill Downs on 3 April.
Trainer Bill Mott may have saddled the most winners in all of Churchill horseracing history, however, the man has yet to claim the most important and celebrated race –the Kentucky Derby- for himself. Mott says that his greatest shot at winning the race in
the long period of his career has finally come in the form of To Honor And Serve.
Speaking to reporters, Mott has said that he is really hopeful about the horse and has great expectations from him since he has already been at two turns and has raced a mile and one-eighth, and has performed well throughout.
The trainer also explained that the reason for his decision to not participate in the Breeders’ Cup was so that the horse could have a final race to run as a two-year-old and that he is apparently glad with the results.
The colt is in great shape now, due to intensive practice as a two-year-old and managed to outrun a dominant winner of his last three starts, also winning both the Nashua and Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct. At both races, Mucho Macho Man, who just last week showed
off his form by nailing the Risen Star at Fair Grounds, was beaten by To Honor And Serve.
To Honor And Serve will start from gate seven in a field which will have a total of eight runners, headed by Soldat, who is trained by Kiaran McLaughlin and ridden by Alan Garcia and was a winner due to luck and an unexpected turn of events at a shoddy dirt
debut last month at Aqueduct. The others entrant is Gourmet Dinner, who is a Delta Jackpot champion and is under the care of Steve Standridge as trainer and will be ridden by Ramon Dominguez.
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