HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The 6-year-old named Temple was no match for Abaan five Saturdays ago over the Gulfstream Park turf, but far different trips for both geldings yielded a far different result on Saturday. Temple had smooth sailing en route to a mild upset of the Grade 3, $200,000 Mac Diarmida, while Abaan was taken out of his game early before finishing fourth in a 1 3/8-mile fixture that directly preceded the featured Fountain of Youth on a 13-race Saturday card. Abaan, the 3-5 favorite in a field of 11 older horses, was coming off three straight front-running wins, all of them on or near the lead, the most recent being an easy score in the Jan. 29 W. L. McKnight, a 1 1/2-mile turf race in which Temple ran on belatedly to be a no-threat second. But in the Mac Diarmida, Abaan and jockey Luis Saez were shuffled back in the first of three turns after breaking from post 1, and, after being in and out of different pockets during the meatiest part of the race, Abaan failed to menace down the stretch after getting a few lengths off the lead with a quarter-mile to go. :: Take your handicapping to the next level and play like a pro with free Formulator, DRF's premium data product Saez said the defeat wasn’t so much a result of the trip, but the overall effort put forth by the 5-year-old gelding. “I had a good trip,” Saez said. “He don’t break the way he usually breaks, but after that I was in a perfect spot. When he make his move, he was empty. He don’t fire like he has.” Jose Ortiz was aboard Temple, who won by 1 length and returned $10.40 as second choice after finishing in 2:15.30 over firm going. Temple was given a 100 Beyer Speed Figure. Shamrocket, one of three Pletcher trainees, was along for second, 3 1/4 lengths before Media Blitz, who had 1 1/4 lengths on Abaan. Meanwhile, Temple was forwardly placed throughout, taking over in the final turn for his Mike Maker-trained stablemate, Tide of the Sea, in proceeding to his seventh win in 34 starts. Maker claimed Temple for $35,000 for Paradise Farms in July 2019 at Gulfstream before losing him for $80,000 last June at Belmont Park. He then claimed him back for $80,000 in November at Aqueduct for his current owners, Paradise and David Staudacher. Although stakes-placed on several prior occasions, this was the first stakes win for the Kentucky-bred son of Temple City. Maker started five in the race – Temple, Media Blitz, Glynn County (seventh), Tide of the Sea (eighth), and Kygo (10th). The Mac Diarmida can be expected to produce at least a few starters for the Grade 2 Pan American, which follows by four weeks as part of the Florida Derby Day card on April 2. Virginia Joy in The Very One Some three hours earlier, Virginia Joy powered to victory as an odds-on favorite in the 34th running of the Grade 3, $150,000 The Very One, the filly-mare counterpart to the Mac Diarmida. Ridden confidently by Irad Ortiz Jr., Virginia Joy raced in mid-pack for much of the 1 3/8-mile trip before looping the field and reeling in Family Way to prevail by a length. Harajuku was third, another half-length back in a field of nine fillies and mares. The winner paid $3.60 after finishing in 2:15.92 and earning a 94 Beyer Speed Figure. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports “We’re really pleased with her,” said Chad Brown, who trains Virginia Joy for Peter Brant. “She had trouble keeping weight last year so we finally pulled the plug and turned her out and she came back a different horse.” Virginia Joy, a German-bred 5-year-old, was making her first start in nearly eight months. After going 2 for 6 in Germany, she was stakes-placed and an allowance winner in three starts last year for Brown. This race is a lead-in to the Grade 3 Orchid, a 1 1/2-mile turf race on Florida Derby Day. “I think she can run as short as a mile and a quarter or she can run a mile and a half,” Brown said. “I think the key is keeping her on firm ground and keeping her in good health like she is now.” It was the second time Brown has won this race, with the previous winner, Olorda in 2016, also being bred in Germany. It was the third for Ortiz, following Holy Helena (2018, 2019).