That Free Drop Billy (Union Rags) scratch is making a lot more sense right now.
Robert J. Baron's Promises Fulfilled (Shackleford), also trained by Dale Romans, pulled off an 18-1, front-running upset in Saturday's GII Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park. It was 2 1/4 lengths back to the speedy 'TDN Rising Star' Strike Power (Speightstown) in second. Returning juvenile champion Good Magic (Curlin), favored at 3-5, could only manage a disappointing third after sitting a good trip.
Promises Fulfilled kicked off his career with a pair of winning efforts in Kentucky, including a narrow decision in a Keeneland allowance Oct. 13. He stayed on nicely for third after setting the pace and racing erratically around both turns in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. last time Nov. 25.
“I had a lot of confidence in this horse because of the way he trained,” said Romans, adding that the aforementioned 2017 GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity winner will await next weekend's GIII Gotham S. at Aqueduct. “He trained so well, and the race he ran when he was third was as impressive a race as a horse can run. To do what he did and be as compromised as he was and still run third to two good horses, he's a special horse. The way he's been working over this racetrack, he'll take his racetrack with him. He doesn't care where he is.”
Sent on the engine by Irad Ortiz, Jr. from post nine, the anticipated hot early pace never materialized and Promises Fulfilled was able to call the shots through fractions of :23.80 and :48.39. He began to let it out a notch at the top of the stretch and responded nicely to a pair of back handers in the lane to win going away.
“I thought that he could open up, and he did,” Romans said. “It was a bunch of fast horses, but a lot of times that speed doesn't materialize and coming from the outside it kind of pressed our hand. I just told the jock, 'Push the pedal and try to open up and see where they go from there. If somebody comes and chases you down the backside, then ride a smart race.' They let him go in :48 with his ears up and I knew it was going to take a heck of a horse to pass him at that point.”
Romans continued, “I think [the 3-year-old picture] is muddy water right now, but it'll start clearing itself up. This round of preps and the next round are the two where they all come together. Right now there's nobody just running away from the crop and that makes it exciting.”
Gulfstream Park's 72nd Fountain of Youth Day–featuring nine stakes–handled a record $28,541,305. Total handle on the 14-race program was up 6.92% from the previous record set last year when a 13-race program produced a total handle of $26.693 million.
Pedigree Notes:
Promises Fulfilled's dam Marquee Delivery, a homebred for David Jacobs, won five of 23 starts and also hit the board in a pair of Grade III attempts. Marquee Delivery, also represented by the multiple stakes winner Marquee Miss (Cowboy Cal), who was second in Saturday's Spring Fever S. at Oaklawn, and the multiple stakes-placed Marquee Cal Gal (Cowboy Cal), had a filly by Gemologist in 2016 and a colt by Tiznow in 2017. She was bred back to Dialed In. Promises Fulfilled is the fourth graded winner for the young sire Shackleford, who was trained by Romans to a victory in the 2011 GI Preakness S.
Saturday, Gulfstream Park
XPRESSBET FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH S.-GII, $400,000, GP, 3-3, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.17, ft.
1–PROMISES FULFILLED, 116, c, 3, by Shackleford
1st Dam: Marquee Delivery {MGSP, $264,901}, by Marquetry
2nd Dam: Fast Delivery, by Little Missouri
3rd Dam: Copelan's Girl, by Copelan
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($37,000 Ylg
'16 KEESEP). O-Robert J. Baron; B-David Jacobs (KY); T-Dale L.
Romans; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr.. $238,080. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-1,
$327,280. *1/2 Marquee Miss (Cowboy Cal), MSW & GSP,
$300,658; & Marquee Cal Gal (Cowboy Cal), MSP, $249,209.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: A++.[bullet ad=”pick-view-hip-11-ftfmar-2018″][bullet ad=”pick-view-hip-342-obsmar-2018″][bullet ad=”kbif-g2g3″]2–Strike Power, 122, c, 3, Speightstown–Gold d'Oro, by
Medaglia d'Oro. ($300,000 RNA Ylg '16 KEESEP).
O/B-Courtlandt Farm (KY); T-Mark A. Hennig. $76,800.[bullet ad=”gayle-van-leer-dam-purchased-by”][bullet ad=”lanes-end-sales-grad”]3–Good Magic, 122, c, 3, Curlin–Glinda the Good, by Hard Spun.
($1,000,000 Ylg '16 KEESEP). O-e Five Racing Thoroughbreds &
Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings
LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $38,400.[bullet ad=”stonestreet-bredraised”][bullet ad=”hillndale-consigned”]Margins: 2 1/4, 2 1/4, 2. Odds: 18.20, 3.90, 0.70.
Also Ran: Machismo, Marconi, Gotta Go, Storm Runner, He Takes Charge, Peppered. Scratched: Free Drop Billy. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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