Takeaways from 2024 Fountain of Youth

Mar 06, 2024 James Scully

The Road to the Kentucky Derby series returned to Gulfstream Park for the $400,000 Fountain of Youth (G2) on March 2, a 1 1/16-mile offering points on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale to the top five. The South Florida track will also feature the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) on March 30, one of eight major qualifiers for the 150th Kentucky Derby (G1) on May 4.

Here are three takeaways from the Fountain of Youth.

Dornoch does enough to take scratch-depleted comeback

Last seen winning the Remsen (G2) in early December, Dornoch opened his three-year-old season with a 1 3/4-length victory, but the Fountain of Youth lost its luster when three of the top four contenders scratched. Locked and Victory Avenue were withdrawn earlier in the day and Speak Easy dropped his rider in the post parade and sustained cuts by running into the rail while loose.

The 3-10 favorite broke on top and established a moderate tempo on a short lead before surprisingly coming under a challenge from 27-1 Le Dom Bro on the far turn. That rival, a sprint specialist, appeared overmatched considering he finished ninth in the Remsen, more than 30 lengths behind Dornoch in his previous two-turn attempt, but Le Dom Bro forced Luis Saez to put Dornoch under a drive by vying for the lead along the far turn.

Dornoch began to edge away while entering the stretch, but he switched leads belatedly and never appeared to reach full gear, registering a disappointing 94 Brisnet Speed rating.

Dornoch makes his 3yo debut on Saturday in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park after his stunning rebreak against Sierra Leone in the Remsen at Aqueduct.

He is one of 5️⃣ horses to follow in @James_Scully111's Expert Stable!#NeverMissAWinner ⤵️ https://t.co/Z4I1kr94aB pic.twitter.com/mhkdNgT1YD

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) February 29, 2024

Only eight more weeks until Kentucky Derby

A full-brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage, Dornoch is a long-striding, well-muscled colt and a popular talking point surrounds his potential, projections by those close to him that the best is yet to come from a raw talent.

The Danny Gargan-trained son of Good Magic needed three starts to break his maiden, romping on the lead at Keeneland last fall, and Dornoch showed high speed from the start of the 1 1/8-mile Remsen. But after entering the stretch on a clear lead, he suddenly veered into the rail, losing all momentum while surrendering a clear lead. Dornoch re-rallied dramatically to win by a nose over Sierra Leone, displaying top-class ability and a lack of professionalism.

“I feel like he’s still learning,” Saez said after the Remsen. “When he kind of feels a little alone, he was a little lost. As soon as the other one (Sierra Leone) came to him, he saw him and he want to beat him. I can’t describe this. He wants to win the race.”

Dornoch entered 2024 with lofty expectations, and the speedy colt remains a serious Kentucky Derby contender, but the Fountain of Youth didn’t unfold as expected. Gargan trained Dornoch to rate off horses, and Saez planned to take his mount back, but they were forced to alter plans due to scratches.

“We didn’t want to be on the lead but when (Victory Avenue and Speak Easy) scratched, he gets out there and he kind of plays around,” Gargan said. “You can see him with his ears kind of goofing off… We didn’t expect to win today. It just kind of played out that way. I don’t think he ran very hard. He was just kind of playing around out there.”

Dornoch took it easy in the Fountain of Youth and look for a switch in tactics next time. He’ll point for either the Florida Derby or Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland and with only eight more weeks remaining until the Kentucky Derby, we’ll learn whether Dornoch can produce a more focused effort in the final prep.

Locked, Speak Easy to regroup for Pletcher

Todd Pletcher won four races at Gulfstream Saturday, but the defections of Locked and Speak Easy made for a disappointing afternoon. The two-time Kentucky Derby winner was not pleased with how Locked galloped Saturday morning, but Pletcher remains optimistic the juvenile Grade 1 winner can make it back to the races soon.

Speak Easy will need at least a week off from training to heal, a disappointing setback for the sharp last-out maiden scorer.