The field for next Saturday's Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham Stakes remained a work in progress a week out with only four horses considered definite and a few other fringe players under consideration.
The colt named Soup and Sandwich will get his shot at making the Kentucky Derby after passing a simple test in an allowance race Wednesday at Tampa Bay Downs. Trainer Mark Casse said Soup and Sandwich will now be pointed to the March 27 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.
A field of 10 topped by Holy Bull winner Greatest Honour and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf hero Fire At Will was drawn Wednesday for Saturday's $300,000 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park.
Wipe the Slate will cut back to one turn when he ships cross-country from California to run in the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham Stakes on March 6, trainer Doug O'Neill confirmed Wednesday.
Jackie's Warrior established himself as an elite member of his division last year and on Saturday he'll be looking to pick up where he left off when he launches his 3-year-old season against champion Essential Quality in the Grade 3, $750,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
Fire At Will already has proven he's a terrific grass horse, highlighted by his victory last year in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. But there's only one time in his lifespan when he'll be a 3-year-old in the springtime, and that requires serious consideration for the Kentucky Derby.
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Fire At Will is expected to make his 3-year-old debut on the main track in Saturday's Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park in a bid to step onto the Kentucky Derby trail. His pedigree strongly suggests that his future lies on the turf.
Prime Factor worked his way onto the Derby Watch top 20 list owing to the setback suffered by Prevalence, plus the fact Prime Factor is running Saturday in the Fountain of Youth, giving him a chance to improve upon his third-place finish in the Holy Bull last time out.
Friday's John Battaglia Memorial Stakes, which has attracted Grade 1 winner Gretzky the Great, already held an important place on Turfway Park's winter calendar as a springboard to the track's signature Kentucky Derby prep, the Jeff Ruby Steaks. This year, following Turfway's acquisition by Churchill Downs, it has added importance with Derby qualifying points of its own.
Essential Quality, the 2020 male juvenile champion, will break from the rail when he launches his 3-year-old season in the seven-horse Southwest Stakes on Saturday at Oaklawn Park.
