Harvey Wallbanger must continue to prove himself in Florida Derby

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Sure, Harvey Wallbanger was terrific in his last race, but now he’s something of a forgotten horse. Enough has happened since his 29-1 upset in the Feb. 2 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park to push him back down everyone’s Kentucky Derby lists, and now the late-running colt will have to prove himself all over again as one of the longer shots in the March 30 Florida Derby.

“He’s going to need to improve four or five lengths and have the race set up for him,” said Kenny McPeek, who trains Harvey Wallbanger for a five-way partnership led by Harold Lerner. “But he’s trained really well since the Holy Bull here at Gulfstream and we’ve got plenty of faith in him.”

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Harvey Wallbanger is a bay Congrats colt named for the orange juice-based cocktail, not the famed sprinting buffalo nor the hard-hitting Milwaukee Brewers teams of the early 1980s. His last-to-first run in the Holy Bull under Brian Hernandez Jr. has been obscured to a certain extent by other Derby-related events that have occurred in the interim, perhaps most notably the March 2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream. The Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby is among the final round of preps toward the May 4 Kentucky Derby, with 170 qualifying points (100-40-20-10) at stake.

“I don’t pay any attention to those lists anymore,” said McPeek, a trainer since 1985. “All I know is he’ll have a little half-mile blowout here Saturday and we’ll have him ready to roll in the Florida Derby.”

McPeek also has scheduled a team breeze for Saturday for Signalman and Restless Rider. They’re respective prospects for the Kentucky Derby and Oaks, with Signalman scheduled to run April 6 at Keeneland in the Blue Grass and Restless Rider that day in the Ashland. The McPeek horses will all leave April 2 for Kentucky.

Gulfstream racing officials have confirmed a field of at least seven for the 68th Florida Derby. Two or three more 3-year-olds could surface by the time entries are drawn next Wednesday, but this is the core group (in alphabetical order): Bourbon War, Code of Honor, Harvey Wallbanger, Hidden Scroll, Hoffa’s Union, Maximum Security, and Vekoma.

The Florida Derby will be one of seven stakes on the day, with the others being the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks, the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile, the Grade 2 Pan American, and three ungraded turf stakes – the Sand Springs, Cutler Bay, and Sanibel Island.

Four other stakes will be run next Friday (March 29), including three Grade 3’s – the Orchid, Appleton, and Skip Away. Entries for that card will be drawn Sunday.

The four-month championship meet ends March 31, the day after the Florida Derby, with a mandatory disbursement of the Rainbow 6 pool. The jackpot was spiraling toward the $2 million mark as a five-day race week began Wednesday.