Premier Star, Caracaro might be Fountain of Youth bound

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The 3-year-old prospects Premier Star and Caracaro turned in impressive victories at Gulfstream during the past week.

Premier Star remained perfect in two starts after cruising to a 5 1/4-length allowance victory under Irad Ortiz Jr. on Wednesday, earning an 85 Beyer Speed Figure. The effort came five weeks after the son of Tapiture launched his career with a 1 3/4-length maiden special weight triumph over Caracaro, who flattered the effort with a very easy and well-graded maiden win of his own here on Jan. 11.

Both of Premier Star’s wins have come at seven furlongs, although trainer Jorge Navarro believes he’ll have no problem stretching out down the road.

“From Day 1 I knew I had something special with his horse,” Navarro said. “We’re going to take things step by step, but naturally we’d like to think about the Florida Derby. Irad said once he hit the stretch so far in front, he was looking for company. He said he had so much horse, but [Premier Star] didn’t know what to do. We’ll have to correct that. But we’ll probably look to stretch him out around two turns next time. Maybe in the Fountain of Youth.”

The Fountain of Youth will be run here Feb. 29.

Caracaro bounced back from his second-place finish behind Premier Star with a six-length maiden win going a mile, for which he received a 92 Beyer Figure, fourth highest among all 3-year-olds nationwide during the opening two weeks of the year. Trainer Gustavo Delgado also has big aspirations for Caracaro, with the Fountain of Youth on his radar as well.

Delgado has confirmed that Bodexpress will make his next start in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational rather than the Grade 3 Fred Hooper Stakes on Jan. 25. Bodexpress, who finished a tiring third as the favorite in the Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday in his most recent start, has not had a published work since Jan. 3.

“He doesn’t have to work again,” Delgado said. “Instead, we are giving him some strong two-minute gallops. He is very fit. That’s all he needs.”