Fountain of Youth a whole new ballgame for Irish War Cry

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The track and distance are the same but the potential race shape quite different for Irish War Cry, who will look to enhance his brightening Kentucky Derby hopes when he heads the field in the Grade 2, $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes for 3-year-olds, the highlight of a blockbuster card on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

Irish War Cry won last month’s Holy Bull Stakes here, which, like the Fountain of Youth, is a Grade 2 race at 1 1/16 miles. In that race, though, Irish War Cry inherited the lead when no one else sought it, and he controlled the pace before bounding clear for a dominating 3 3/4-length victory.

In the Fountain of Youth, Irish War Cry likely will have to sit behind speedier rivals like Three Rules and Takaful while seeking a comfortable spot with a short run to the first turn. It’s a scenario that trainer Graham Motion thinks will work out just fine because Irish War Cry has shown no signs of being unmanageable. This could be a dress rehearsal for bigger and better things in the weeks ahead.

“Hopefully, there’s enough speed that he settles,” Motion said at his barn at the Palm Meadows training center. “The other day, I thought he ended up on the lead by circumstance. He’s settled in the morning.”

Irish War Cry enters the Fountain of Youth unbeaten in three starts. After a pair of sprint wins at Laurel, he successfully stretched out in the Holy Bull. Motion said that race “woke him up.”

“He’s been a lot sharper in his training,” said Motion, who described Irish War Cry as “pretty straightforward, pretty uncomplicated.”

A victory on Saturday likely would make Irish War Cry the favorite for the Kentucky Derby on May 6, as both Classic Empire and McCraken have had ill-timed hiccups in recent weeks. In addition to the prize money, the Fountain of Youth is worth 85 points overall – including 50 to the winner – under the system used by Churchill Downs to determine the field for the Kentucky Derby. In essence, it’s a Win and You’re In race.

In addition to Three Rules and Takaful, other prominent runners lined up against Irish War Cry in the 11-horse field include Practical Joke, a two-time Grade 1 winner at 2 who is making his first start of the year, and the late-running Gunnevera, who was second to Irish War Cry in the Holy Bull and likely will have a hotter pace this time to set up his closing charge.

Practical Joke runs well fresh. He was a five-length winner of his debut last summer at Saratoga and followed that up with victories in the Hopeful and Champagne. His lone loss came in his only try around two turns, a third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. That was the final start of his 2-year-old campaign.

“He’s done really well here,” Chad Brown, who trains Practical Joke, said at Palm Meadows. “All his works have been good. I see a horse who’s bigger, stronger. He’s been a better work horse. I’m really excited to get him started.”

Brown said that bringing Practical Joke back in a two-turn race “is a tall order, but I didn’t see anything else that made sense.”

With Joel Rosario opting to ride Irish War Cry, Jose Ortiz has picked up the mount on Practical Joke.

Gunnevera, the Delta Downs Jackpot winner, has never finished worse than second in three starts under Javier Castellano, who is aboard Saturday.

Three Rules, never worse than second in six starts at Gulfstream, was second in the seven-furlong Swale Stakes last time out and must prove that he can handle two turns against horses of this caliber. He was sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita.

:: ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays, and analysis

Takaful romped in his debut last fall but regressed in two subsequent starts. He is marooned in post 10.

Beasley is an intriguing longshot. He was second to the highly regarded Battalion Runner in an allowance race here Feb. 3. Trainer Mark Hennig said Beasley did not negotiate the turns well last time. Hennig subsequently has done dental work and changed bits on Beasley.

However, Hennig said he was pondering rerouting Beasley to the Tampa Bay Derby on March 11.

Trainer Mark Casse also was considering the Tampa Bay Derby for Lookin for Eight after he landed the outside post in the Fountain of Youth.

Made You Look is trying dirt for the first time following a nightmarish trip in the Kitten’s Joy Stakes on turf.

The Peruvian-raced import Huracan Americo, Talk Logistics, and Quinientos all are decided longshots.

The Fountain of Youth is the last of 13 races on a card that begins at noon Eastern. There are nine stakes races, eight of them graded, and five of them close out the card for an all-stakes pick five.

Among the marquee names competing Saturday are Greenpointcrusader and War Story in the Grade 3 Fred Hooper; Catch a Glimpse and Celestine in the Sand Springs; Suffused and defending race winner Olorda in the Grade 3 The Very One; Pretty City Dancer in the Grade 2 Davona Dale; Interpol and defending race winner Heart to Heart in the Grade 3 Canadian Turf; and Taghleeb, Twilight Eclipse, and Wake Forest in the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida.