HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Holy Bull winner Burnham Square and the exciting prospect River Thames are two of four 3-year-olds who competed here Saturday who could possibly return in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes on March 1 or await the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 29. Burnham Square overcame a less-than-perfect trip to register a very professional 1 3/4-length victory over the lightly raced Tappan Street in the Holy Bull. It was the second straight local victory for Burnham Square since trainer Ian Wilkes put blinkers on the homebred son of Liam’s Map prior to his 2-year-old finale. On Monday, Wilkes reported that all was well with Burnham Square, who received a career-best 90 Beyer Speed Figure and earned 20 qualifying points for his performance in the Holy Bull, which marked his stakes debut. “He’s bright, alert, came out of the race fine,” Wilkes said. “I’m very happy with him. He took that next step forward in the Holy Bull but didn’t take a great leap forward, which you really don’t want at this point, because then they’re likely to regress somewhere down the line. I prefer to see him get a little better and a little better and peak just at the right time.” :: Get Gulfstream Park Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day. Wilkes said that despite Burnham Square’s impressive effort, there are still a couple of things he needs to work on coming out of the Holy Bull. “I am a little perturbed [that] he got a bit hot before the race, and the way he broke, I’d like to see him a little calmer next time,” Wilkes admitted. “He doesn’t always act that way and normally he breaks good.” Wilkes said that as of now, he’s planning on bringing Burnham Square back in the Fountain of Youth, which, like the Holy Bull, will also be decided at 1 1/16 miles. “As long as he trains good over the next several weeks, that’s what we’ll do,” Wilkes said. “The less shipping you have to do, the less stress you put on the horse, the better. Obviously, we’re very excited to have a horse on the Derby trail. Having a 3-year-old in these types of races is like at a different level than anything else. And with him, distance isn’t an issue. He just has to be faster than everyone else.” Burnham Square wasn’t faster than River Thames, at least from a Beyer standpoint, on Saturday. The latter received a 92 Beyer rating for his 6 1/2-length allowance win earlier on the card, withstanding a six-furlong pace duel before drawing off with complete authority to win easily for the second time in as many starts in the one-mile allowance. After the race, Todd Pletcher left the door open for bringing the son of Maclean’s Music back for the Fountain of Youth. “This race was sort of the obstacle we were worried about, coming back in three weeks off such an impressive debut. But in order to put ourselves in position moving forward, we didn’t have many alternatives,” Pletcher explained. “I’m glad he was able to handle the short turnaround with a big, solid race, and he came to the wire with his ears pricked like he wanted to go farther.” The connections of both Tappan Street and Ferocious – second and fourth, respectively, in the Holy Bull – said if all went well, either the Fountain of Youth or Florida Derby would be next for their Derby hopefuls. Trainer Brad Cox was extremely bullish on Tappan Street’s performance, even in defeat, while making only his second start in the Holy Bull. “I thought he ran really big, wide throughout, extremely wide around the far turn. [He’s a] young horse, still learning, second start of his life. I truly believe he’s really going to move forward off this and that he has a big, big future,” Cox enthused. “The best is yet to come.” Cox said Tappan Street will continue to train at his winter home at Payson Park moving forward. “I’m not sure we’ll go straight to the Fountain of Youth. We could wait for the Florida Derby. We’ll talk it over with our team and make a plan,” said Cox. “I’m not certain he needs two more runs if we think he’s good enough to be a Derby horse.” Ferocious, who was multiple Grade 1-placed but came into the Holy Bull with only three published works since the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile three months earlier, raced forwardly for 5 1/2 furlongs before tiring to finish nearly a dozen lengths behind Burnham Square. Ferocious was equipped with blinkers for the first time Saturday. “It’s a humbling game. He did everything we were looking for with the blinkers added. He was quiet in the gate and rated very professionally, stuck his head in front on the turn, but when he needed to start running at the three-eighths pole, that’s when we realized he wasn’t fit enough,” assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr. said. “We hate making excuses, but that’s what happened and it was very disappointing.” Delgado said he and his father, trainer Gustavo Delgado, will see how Ferocious trains over the next few weeks before deciding on his next start, which he added would likely come in either the Fountain of Youth or Florida Derby. “We’ll regroup and see how he handles everything moving forward,” the younger Delgado added. “He earned four more Derby qualifying points, is still in the top 20 in the standings [13th as of Monday], and we still believe he belongs in these kind of races.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.