Super Chow, Great Navigator Top Hutcheson Noms List

Congruent Back at Gulfstream to Prepare for G3 Jeff Ruby

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Todd Pletcher will be in search of a record-extending seventh success in the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) April 1 at Gulfstream Park, and the Hall of Fame trainer is supremely confident in Forte’s preparation for the historic 1 1/8-mile Triple Crown prep.

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s Forte brings an extensive resume into the Florida Derby that includes an Eclipse Award as North America’s 2022 2-year-old male championship; three Grade 1 victories, including a triumph in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile; and a stellar 3-year-old debut in the March 4 Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream, in which he pulled away to a 4 ½-length score after negotiating heavy traffic between horses.

“Part of what was so great about his 2-year-old campaign, beside being Breeders’ Cup champion and champion 2-year-old, was he got a lot of foundation and a lot of good experience,” Pletcher said. “That kind of makes a lot of things easier this year due to the fact that he has experience and is able to run a race like he did in the Fountain of Youth – sitting behind horses, taking kickback like a seasoned pro, traveling well throughout waiting for Irad to ask him to advance. A lot of that is because he had such a good foundation at 2.”

Pletcher has saddled Scat Daddy (2007), Constitution (2014), Materiality (2015), Always Dreaming (2017), Audible (2018) and Known Agenda (2021) for Florida Derby victories.

“South Florida is our home winter base, so naturally we’re going to have our best 3-year-olds here. I think, really, when the Florida Derby moved to five weeks out that was a great placement and put you in a good position for the Kentucky Derby,” said Pletcher, who saddled Always Dreaming for a Kentucky Derby (G1) triumph, as well as winning the first leg of the Triple Crown with Super Saver in 2010. “Now that the Gulfstream meet is different than it used to be back in the day. The Florida Derby was more of a prep to another prep, whereas now it’s the final prep.”

Forte has proven, especially in the Fountain of Youth, that he doesn’t need his own way to assert his dominance.

“He’s given us every indication the way he handles himself, his adaptability, his rateability and all of those things will play in his favor,” Pletcher said.

Congruent Back at Gulfstream to Prepare for G3 Jeff Ruby

Tami Bobo and Lugamo Racing Stable’s Congruent, upset winner of the John Battaglia Memorial March 4 at Turfway Park, has returned to Gulfstream Park, where he will train up to his next start in the $700,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3).

Like the Battaglia, contested at 1 1/16 miles, the 1 1/8-mile Jeff Ruby for 3-year-olds will be run over Turfway’s all-weather Tapeta surface March 25. Congruent had run his prior three races on turf at Gulfstream, finishing third in the Pulpit, fourth in the Dania Beach and sixth in the Feb. 4 Kitten’s Joy (G3), but has trained exclusively on dirt.

Antonio Sano-trained Congruent’s previous stakes win came last fall in the Laurel Futurity, which was rained off the Laurel Park turf and contested over a sloppy sealed main track.

“We took the horse down the Florida. We thought it was the best way to go, even though the next race is going to be in less than three weeks,” Lugamo Racing Stable’s Luis Gavignano said. “The reason for that is because he is used to training on the dirt and we didn’t want to leave the horse training on the Tapeta the whole time over there.

“It is quite a trip, the hours, going down and going back again, but we preferred that the horse was in the same place that he’s been all the time, training at the same track, the same surface,” he added. “That’s why we made the decision to send the horse back to Florida.”

Sonny Leon, who pulled off an upset in the 2022 Kentucky Derby at odds of 80-1 on Rich Strike, will ride Congruent in the Jeff Ruby. Leon was aboard for the first time in the Battaglia, in which he rallied from last to first to win by 3 ½ lengths at 16-1 odds.

Nominated to the Triple Crown, Congruent earned 20 qualifying points to the May 6 Kentucky Derby (G1), putting him 12th on the list. The top 20 point-earners earn a spot in the Derby.

“The next race for him will be at the same track and everything,” Gavignano said. “I think that will be the perfect trip for him to try to qualify directly for the Kentucky Derby.”

Super Chow, Great Navigator Top Hutcheson Noms List

Multiple stakes winner Super Chow and Grade 3 stakes-placed Great Navigator are among the nominees to the $100,000 Hutcheson for 3-year-olds sprinting six furlongs March 18 at Gulfstream Park.

Lea Farms Super Chow had a four-race win streak snapped when he was second by a length as the favorite in Gulfstream’s seven-furlong Swale (G3) Feb. 4. During his streak he won three consecutive stakes – the 2022 Bowman’s Mill at Keeneland and Inaugural at Tampa Bay Downs, and the Jan. 1 Limehouse at Gulfstream.

Holly Crest Farm’s Great Navigator was a 5 ¾-length debut winner last summer at Monmouth Park for trainer Eddie Owens Jr. The son of Sea Wizard has gone unraced since rallying to be second in the six-furlong Sanford (G3) last July at Saratoga and has been breezing steadily since Dec. 31 at Gulfstream for his return.

Also among the nominees are Two of a Kind and Aaraj, respectively third and fifth in the Swale; Gold Magic, a maiden special weight winner on debut Feb. 11 at Gulfstream; Todd Pletcher-trained Shesterkin, who is entered to run in Saturday’s Tampa Bay Derby (G3).

Joining the Hutcheson on the March 18 program are the $100,000 Any Limit for 3-year-old fillies, also going six furlongs, and the $100,000 Silks Run for 4-year-olds and up sprinting five furlongs on the grass.

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Michael Bernard and Harry Colburn’s Atomically heads 13 nominees to the Any Limit. Purchased privately after winning the FSS My Dear Girl last fall at Gulfstream, she was seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) and third in the Feb. 4 Forward Gal (G3) in her sophomore debut.

Other prominent nominees include 2022 Back Home Again winner Hot Little Thing, Jan. 14 Gasparilla winner Opus Forty Two, and last-out winners Flakes, Parody, Ro Town and Socially Selective.

The Silks Run attracted 19 nominees led by Yes I Am Free, back-to-back winner of the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint (G3), fellow multiple stakes winners Belgrano and Carotari, respectively second and fourth in the GP Turf Sprint; 2022 Quick Call (G3) winner Big Invasion; 2022 Vigil (G3) winner Lucky Score; and the top two finishers from the Feb. 18 Turf Dash at Tampa Bay Downs, winner Chess Master and runner-up Full Disclosure.