Cherry Wine runs a corker

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Dale Romans already had one serious Kentucky Derby candidate, Breeders’ Futurity winner Brody’s Cause, heading into last weekend’s action at Gulfstream Park. He came out with a second following Cherry Wine’s impressive entry-level allowance victory at 1 1/16 miles here Saturday.

Cherry Wine has now registered two consecutive one-sided victories over the main track – including a maiden win at Churchill Downs in November – after opening his career with four straight losses, three coming on grass. Owned by Frank Jones Jr. and William Pacella, Cherry Wine rated at the rear of the eight-horse field for nearly six furlongs Saturday before advancing along the rail under jockey Corey Lanerie while leaving the backstretch. Cherry Wine looked loaded for bear at that point, angling around the embattled leaders entering the stretch and exploding away to a six-length victory over the Todd Pletcher-trained Battery. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 78.

“I thought he was very impressive,” said Romans. “The race he won at Churchill, we still weren’t positive if he was a dirt horse after winning on a wet track in an off-the-turf race. But [on Saturday] he answered all the questions. He’s the real deal. We were last but no more than six or seven lengths out of it. On this racetrack, sometimes it’s hard to make up ground, but he does have some acceleration, and he’ll gallop out forever. He’s a real racehorse.”

Romans said Cherry Wine reminds him a lot of his sire, Paddy O’Prado, who finished third in the 2010 Kentucky Derby and went on to become a Grade 1 winner on turf.

“His daddy was the same way,” said Romans. “As a yearling, I didn’t like Paddy O’Prado much. At 2, I started thinking the more I trained on him, the more I knew what I had, and he didn’t break his maiden until February of his 3-year-old year. So, this horse is already ahead of that, and he’s got a lot of improvement to come.”

Romans said he’ll likely keep Cherry Wine at Gulfstream to run in the series of Kentucky Derby preps, the Holy Bull, Fountain of Youth, and the $1 million Florida Derby on April 2.

“We’ll see how the Holy Bull comes up, but right now, I think we’ll keep him in Florida and run the gauntlet here,” said Romans.

As for Brody’s Cause, he has not breezed since his third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Romans said he is looking at only two prep races for him prior to the Kentucky Derby. Brody’s Cause already has 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points by virtue of his victory in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland on Oct. 3.

“We’ll probably start breezing him next weekend and try to make the Tampa Bay Derby and then maybe the Blue Grass,” said Romans. “We’ve got enough points already to get us there if we can pick up a few more in those two races, and then we’ll have a fresh horse for the Triple Crown and all summer.”

Cherry Wine’s big effort came 30 minutes after Pletcher sent out WinStar Farm’s Gettysburg to a 4 1/4-length triumph over a full field going 1 1/8 miles in a maiden special weight race. Gettysburg, a son of Pioneerof the Nile, led throughout under jockey Javier Castellano in his third start and received a career-best 82 Beyer.