BetAmerica Derby Prep Showdown: Fountain of Youth & Risen Star

Steve Sherack & Brian DiDonato will make $100 win/place bets on 20 Kentucky Derby preps. The handicapper with the highest total at the end wins.

(To sign up for the BetAmerica sign-up bonus, click here).

SS: GII Fountain of Youth S. – With a stallion’s pedigree to boot, the streaking Gorgeous Bird has the potential to make some noise on the Triple Crown trail with another leap forward. The Marylou Whitney homebred– produced by an unraced daughter of her champion and GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Bird Town–always looked like a winner in his second career start and turned it on nicely once finding racing room in the stretch to earn his diploma going seven furlongs beneath the Twin Spires Nov. 22. The son of Unbridled’s Song took another big step in the right direction traveling a one- turn mile in a $75,000 optional claimer at GP Jan. 24, rolling to a geared-down seven-length tally after a four-wide sweep on the far turn. Gorgeous Bird moves and finishes his races like he’ll relish the added distance and continues to train up a storm at Ian Wilkes’ Palm Meadows base, including a bullet five furlongs in :59 3/5 Feb. 13. It’s always a concern landing on a closer at Gulfstream, but hopefully there’s enough speed up front to give him a fair shake in his two-turn debut. Selection: #4 Gorgeous Bird (6-1). 

GII Risen Star S. – Like my opponent, I was quite tempted to select Keen Ice, who always seems to gallop out like he’s much better than his pp’s may indicate, but I just couldn’t stay away from the likely favorite in Imperia. The GIII Pilgrim hero took to dirt nicely closing smartly at odds of 5-2 to just miss by a head behind the loose-on-the-lead winner El Kabeir in last November’s GII Kentucky Jockey Club at CD. His dam Cocoa Beach (Chi) was quite versatile as well. Crowned as Horse of the Year in her native country, she excelled in America, too, winning the GI Matriarch on grass, the GI Beldame in the slop and also finished second behind the mighty Zenyatta over all-weather in the GI Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic. Picking up Hall of Famer Mike Smith can’t hurt either. Selection: #5 Imperia (7-2). 

SS Current Total: $2,080.

BD: GII Fountain of Youth S. – Upstart will certainly take some serious beating off that super-impressive win in the GII Holy Bull S.–and Frosted isn’t far behind him–but a couple runners in here offer some upside should the favorites falter. I considered Itsaknockout, but will instead go with Gorgeous Bird. The Ian Wilkes trainee overcame a touch of traffic trouble to graduate at second asking at Churchill, and uncorked a powerful four-wide rally before showing off a very nice turn of foot to take a local optional claimer by seven lengths last time. He’s out of a daughter of champion 3-year-old filly Bird Town from the family of MGISW Birdstone, so the more ground, the better for this Marylou Whitney homebred. Selection: #4 Gorgeous Bird (6-1). 

GII Risen Star S. – Keen Ice is one of those horses I wish I could resist, but I just… can’t. He’s always so far out of it that he’s usually left clunking up for only a piece, but he does have some legitimate excuses in his three graded stakes attempts. He was miles out of it in the GI Breeders’ Futurity, and did some late running after finding some traffic trouble in the stretch. It was a similar story in the GII Remsen, as the Donegal colorbearer was never getting to the top two, but closed a big gap to grab third and galloped out strongly. Forced to take up soon after the start of the GII Holy Bull last time, he was closer than usual behind a very slow pace, but only managed fifth before, of course, galloping out well in front. There’s a decent amount of pace signed on here, and I look for Keen Ice to take back early and come rolling in the long Fair Grounds stretch. Hopefully he’ll strike the front before the race is over this time. Selection: #8 Keen Ice (8-1). 

BD Current Total: $2,360.