Gulfstream Park hosts the Grade 2, $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes this Saturday, February 29. Valuable prep points for the 2020 Kentucky Derby will be on the line in this one as 50 points will be awarded to the winning horse, 20 will be awarded to second place, 10 will be awarded to third place, and five will be awarded to fourth place.
The Fountain of Youth, a tradition-rich 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds, will anchor Saturday's blockbuster 14-race program with nine stakes, including the $200,000 Davona Dale Stakes (G2), featuring the 2021 debut of Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) heroine and Eclipse champion Vequist. The Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park is worth 50 points to the winner in the Kentucky Derby prep-race scoring system. February 26, 2020 05:20 PM. Fifty-points will be more than enough for Fountain of Youth champ to Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs on May 2, 2020. Since switching to the new system seven years ago, every horse that scored at least 38 points qualified. A handful of those who wore the Fountain of Youth crown went on to don the Derby jewels as well. TIM TAM in 1958. Drain the Clock breezed a half-mile Sunday morning at Gulfstream Park in preparation for a possible start in the $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) Feb. 27 at the Hallandale Beach, Fla.
The 1 1/16 mile dirt race has a post time of 6:04 p.m. ET and will be televised on Fox Sports and TVG. Dennis’ Moment is the morning-line favorite in this 12-horse field.
Contenders for the 2020 Fountain of Youth Stakes
1. Candy Tycoon (15-1) – Trainer: Todd Pletcher – Jockey: Manuel Franco – Record (5): 1-1-2
Candy Tycoon broke his maiden last month with a victory on this track at this same distance. The competition will be a lot tougher on this trip.
2. Makabim (50-1) – Trainer: Daniel Hurtak – Jockey: Junior Alvarado – Record (7): 2-0-2
After narrowly winning a $16,000 claiming race last month, Makabim finished 5th in his most recent outing in the American Fabius Stakes and is a clear long shot in this one.
3. Masterday (30-1) – Trainer: Gilberto Zerpa – Jockey: Cristian Torres – Record (3): 1-1-0
Masterday earned a second-place finish at this surface and distance in his last race; improving on that performance will be difficult in this field.
4. The Falcon (50-1) – Trainer: Anthony Quartarolo – Jockey: Marcos Meneses – Record (2): 0-1-1
This is quite an ambitious spot for a horse that hasn’t been able to break its maiden against significantly weaker opponents.
5. Dennis’ Moment (2-1) – Trainer: Dale Romans – Jockey: Flavien Prat – Record (4): 2-0-0
Dennis’ Moment is perhaps the most intriguing horse in this race. The three-year-old has had two strong wins sandwiched between two ugly losses, most recently finishing in eighth place at the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile (G1) at Santa Anita last November. The colt has the pedigree (sired by Tiznow) and potential to win, but there are an awful lot of question marks for a morning-line favorite.
6. As Seen On TV (9-2) – Trainer: Kelly Breen – Jockey: Paco Lopez – Record (4): 2-2-0
As Seen On TV has never finished worse than second place. In his last trip in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes, As Seen On TV lost by a head to Chance It. He’ll have a shot at revenge this Saturday.
7. Country Grammer (15-1) – Trainer: Chad Brown – Jockey: Javier Castellano – Record (2): 1-0-0
Country Grammer enters this race off of a maiden victory by 3 ¼ lengths at Aqueduct last November. It will be interesting to see how he handles this test.
8. Gear Jockey (20-1) – Trainer: George Arnold II – Jockey: Julien Leparoux – Record (5): 0-1-2
Despite still being a maiden, Gear Jockey has shown some potential with third-place finishes in the Bourbon Stakes (G3) and the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) last year.
9. Liam’s Lucky Charm (15-1) – Trainer: Ralph Nicks – Jockey: Edgard Zayas – Record (7): 3-1-2
Liam’s Lucky Charm has three wins to date including a victory over Chance It in the Florida Sire Affirmed Stakes. All three of those wins have come at distances of seven furlongs or less, however; he still needs to prove himself at longer distances.
10. Shotski (10-1) – Trainer: Jeremiah O’Dwyer – Jockey: John Velazquez – Record (5): 2-1-0
Shotski’s two most recent trips are a win at the Remsen Stakes (G2) in December and a runner-up finish in the Withers Stakes (G3) earlier this month.
11. Ete Indien (8-1) – Trainer: Patrick Biancone – Jockey: Florent Geroux – Record (4): 2-1-0
Ete Indien has shown plenty of skill in two career first-place finishes and a runner-up finish to Tiz the Law in the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) earlier this month. Can he claim the early lead from this unfavorable post position?
12. Chance It (7-2) – Trainer: Saffie Joseph – Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione – Record (6): 4-2-0
2020 Fountain Of Youth Stakes Probables
Like Ete Indien, Chance It could have his early jump hampered by a bad post position draw. But even from this post position, it will be hard not to respect Chance It as he is the four-time winner is the most consistent performer in this field.