OLDSMAR, Fla. - Now that The Puma has confirmed his connections’ belief that he is a Kentucky Derby horse, they will spend the coming week or so figuring out the best route to get him to the May 2 Run for the Roses.  The Puma earned his way into the Kentucky Derby with a three-quarter-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs. With 56 qualifying points - he also got six points for his third in the Sam Davis - The Puma, a maiden entering the Tampa Bay Derby, should comfortably make the Churchill Downs starting gate.  The Puma arrived back at trainer Gustavo Delgado’s Gulfstream Park barn before the clocks sprang forward one hour Sunday morning. In looking forward to the Kentucky Derby, Delgado, his son and assistant Gustavo Delgado Jr. and the colt’s owners will mull where to run next.  Gustavo Delgado Jr. said Sunday morning the plan is to run The Puma again before the Derby. The options likely will come down to the Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream on March 28, or the Grade 1, $1.25 million Blue Grass at Keeneland on April 4.  :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “We should be able to aim him to race one more time, that will be plan A,” Gustavo Delgado Jr. said. “We already secured our spot in the Derby, it’s a good feeling. Whatever would be the best way to get there in the best shape, then we’ll do what we think is best.”  Running in the Florida Derby would mean coming back in three weeks and facing a tough group that is expected to include Fountain of Youth 1-2 finishers Commandment and Chief Wallabee, and Holy Bull Stakes winner Nearly. The benefit to running in the Florida Derby is it’s at The Puma’s home track, so he doesn’t have to ship as he has in his last two starts.  The Blue Grass, which is expected to be led by pro tem Derby favorite Paladin, gives The Puma four weeks from his last race and four weeks to the Kentucky Derby. While he would have to ship to Kentucky for that race, once the Blue Grass is complete all he has to do is van over to Churchill Downs, an hour away.  Though he’ll get credit for running only 1 1/16 miles in the Tampa Bay Derby, The Puma traveled much farther as he was five  to six wide under Javier Castellano from the time the field straightened out down the backstretch until he hit the finish line. The Puma and Canaletto appeared to brush in deep stretch, but it was fairly incidental.  Delgado Jr. reiterated Sunday he was fine with The Puma being wide since he had encountered traffic when attempting to rally on the inside in the Sam Davis, where he finished third behind Renegade.  “More importantly he always looked good in the race,” Delgado said. “He was last in the first turn, but you could tell he was grabbing the bit and was in a good rhythm all the time. In the Sam Davis he was stuck in between horses and on the inside. [Saturday], he made a big steady move, little by little, and we always knew if he did that he could get another gear.”  The Delgados and Castellano teamed to win the Kentucky Derby in 2023 with Mage, who ran second in the Florida Derby after running fourth in the Fountain of Youth four weeks earlier. Some of the owners involved in Mage are also in on The Puma.  The Blue Grass field is also likely to include Further Ado, who finished second to The Puma in the Tampa Bay Derby in his first start since winning the Kentucky Jockey Club last Nov. 29. Further Ado was positioned three  to four wide while racing close to an honest early pace. He was three wide in the stretch and fought on to finish second, a head in front of Canaletto, with whom he did brush in deep stretch.  Trainer Brad Cox called it “a positive effort” and said if the colt comes out of the race well he would likely be pointed to the Blue Grass at Keeneland, where last October he won a maiden race by 20 lengths.  “We’ll let him tell us,” Cox said.  Further Ado has 35 Derby qualifying points.  Canaletto, sent off as the Tampa Bay Derby favorite after a dominant maiden win at Gulfstream on Jan. 25, also had a wide trip and ran on well to the wire in his second career start.  Adrian Wallace, of Coolmore, which owns Canaletto along with Peter Brant and Brook T. Smith, indicated to Tampa publicity that trainer Chad Brown said he would take a week to make a decision on where Canaletto would run next. One race Wallace mentioned was the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on April 11, a race that while it offers Kentucky Derby points, could be used more as a stepping-stone to the Preakness at Laurel on May 16.  :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.