Risen Star for Indy Dancer

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. - At first, trainer Todd Pletcher intended to run Indy Dancer in Sunday's Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds. But when another of his top 3-year-olds, Bham, was knocked out of Saturday's Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park because of a fever, Pletcher thought seriously about moving Indy Dancer to the Fountain of Youth.

The deadline to make a decision was Tuesday - because the flight to New Orleans was scheduled for Wednesday - and at the Palm Meadows training center Tuesday morning, Pletcher said he had decided to stick with his original decision. He will send Indy Dancer to the Risen Star, leaving Pletcher without a representative in the Fountain of Youth, the first Grade 1 race of the year for 3-year-olds.

"I think the Risen Star is a slightly easier race - emphasizing slightly - for a horse who has only had two starts," Pletcher said at his stable office. "The long stretch there might suit him. The track at Gulfstream the last couple of weeks has become pretty speed-favoring, and that's a concern because of his style.

"Plus, I didn't want to change his schedule just because of Bham. One should have nothing to do with the other."

With Indy Dancer going to Louisiana, the prospective Fountain of Youth field stands at eight. The field, including riders where known, is Conservation (Jose Santos), Midway Cat (Jorge Chavez), Offlee Wild (Mark Guidry), Ozzie Cat (Pat Day), Spite the Devil, Ten Cents a Shine (Jerry Bailey), Trust N Luck (Cornelio Velasquez), and Whywhywhy (Edgar Prado).

Midway Cat breezed a half-mile in 51.80 seconds on Tuesday morning at Gulfstream Park. Offlee Wild was scheduled for a workout on Wednesday morning at Gulfstream.

Ozzie Cat and Whywhywhy were scheduled to fly from California to Florida on Wednesday.

Pletcher said that Bham's illness will likely keep him out of next month's Florida Derby, too, and may set him too far back to make the Kentucky Derby.

"I'd say his Kentucky Derby status is in jeopardy," Pletcher said. "This is a significant setback. He hasn't done any training in the last week, and I don't expect to get him back to the track for another four or five days. His temperature got up to 103 at one point, then it lingered longer than we needed it to."