Greatest Honour shows McGaughey he's up for the Fountain of Youth

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Shug McGaughey has confirmed Greatest Honour for the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, a Feb. 27 race for which the bay Tapit colt surely will be a solid favorite.

After Greatest Honour posted a breakthrough victory in the Jan. 30 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park, McGaughey had said he would monitor the colt’s training to determine whether to run back in the Fountain of Youth or wait instead for the March 27 Florida Derby, the final race in the annual Gulfstream series of Kentucky Derby preps for 3-year-olds.

:: KENTUCKY DERBY 2021: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more

Tuesday, McGaughey said it was all systems go toward the Fountain of Youth.

“He came out of the last race good, and his work Saturday up at Payson Park was what I needed to see,” said McGaughey, referring to an easy half-mile breeze in 50.60 seconds. “He’ll work one more time this coming weekend and then we should be all set.”

Greatest Honour, bred and owned by the Courtlandt Farms of Donald Adam, won a maiden race Dec. 26 at Gulfstream in his fourth start. He then earned a career-high 89 Beyer Speed Figure in winning the 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull by 5 3/4 lengths under Jose Ortiz, who has the mount back for the $300,000 Fountain of Youth.

McGaughey followed a similar path in 2013 with Orb, who also took four starts to get through the maiden ranks prior to sweeping a Gulfstream allowance, the Fountain of Youth, the Florida Derby, and the Kentucky Derby.

McGaughey said he and Adam and “everybody connected with” Greatest Honour are “really excited about the horse.”

“We’re going to take a shot in the Fountain of Youth and see what happens,” he said.

One of the top confirmed challengers to Greatest Honour is Fire At Will, who will be making his 3-year-old debut after ending 2020 with a 30-1 upset of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. The Declaration of War colt apparently will need a new rider because Luis Saez, who had been lined up by trainer Mike Maker to ride him, is otherwise committed to reigning divisional champion Essential Quality, who goes in the twice-rescheduled Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park the same afternoon.

:: Enhance your handicapping with DRF’s Gulfstream Park Clocker Report

Other notable possibilities for the Fountain of Youth include Holy Bull runner-up Tarantino, who has the March 6 Tampa Bay Derby as an alternate spot, and the exciting Godolphin prospect Prevalence, who might only go in the Fountain of Youth if a first-level allowance scheduled for next Thursday fails to fill.

The 74th Fountain of Youth is one of nine graded stakes on a blockbuster Feb. 27 card. Entries for all races will be drawn next Wednesday.

McGaughey also confirmed Performer for the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile on Feb. 27. Owned by Phipps Stable, Performer has won six of his last seven starts.

McGaughey has had eight Kentucky Derby starters in his 43-year career, with his other top finishers being Easy Goer, the 1989 runner-up, and Code of Honor, who was awarded second after crossing under the wire third behind the disqualified Maximum Security in 2019.