Centennial Farms' Nearly was feeling his oats at Palm Beach Downs the morning of Feb. 1 in the aftermath of his eye-catching 5 3/4-length triumph in the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park Jan. 31.
"He came back well," Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher reported. "He was feeling frisky this morning."
READ: Nearly Passes Distance, Class Test in Holy Bull
Making his two-turn and stakes debuts in the 1 1/16-mile stakes for 3-year-olds, Nearly stamped himself as a leading prospect for this year's Kentucky Derby (G1) with his dominating effort, in which he pressed the pace set by 3-2 favorite Cannoneer into the home turn before pulling away and drawing clear to his third straight victory at Gulfstream.
"We thought it was a really strong performance. He put himself in a good spot. They were going pretty quickly early on, but it seemed like he was in a good cruising speed," Pletcher said. "We liked the two-turn stretch-out. It was pretty much what we were hoping for."
The son of Not This Time , the 8-5 second betting choice ridden by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, had previously bounced back from a disappointing sixth-place finish in his Oct. 26 debut at Aqueduct Racetrack with a pair of overpowering victories at Gulfstream by a combined 14 1/4 lengths.
"I haven't had a chance to sit down with anybody to talk about what we're doing for sure. I don't like making any decisions immediately after a race. One of the things we talked about was (Saturday's) race was his third race in a relatively short period, but we wanted to give him some two-turn experience and he handled that," Pletcher said. "Now that he handled that, we're probably in a position where we can give him a little extra time for the next one."
Due to his frequent participation at Gulfstream, Nearly is more likely to train up to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) March 28 at Gulfstream than return in the $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) Feb. 28.
"Since he's 3-for-3 at Gulfstream, I think the Florida Derby would be a logical target, but we'll see how he does and how he bounces back, which will kind of dictate what we do. I would say once we have that discussion, that's probably the most likely scenario," Pletcher said.
Pletcher-trained Audible won the 2018 Holy Bull before going on to win the Florida Derby in his next start and finishing third in the Kentucky Derby. Pletcher has saddled eight winners of the Florida Derby.
Albert Ciuffetelli, Stephani Brennan, Shining Stables, BAG Racing Stables, and Paul Braverman's Bravaro, who finished second in the Holy Bull, is likely to return in the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth, trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said Feb. 1. The New York-bred son of Upstart was closest in pursuit of the dueling pacesetters and held well in the stretch to finish second, 2 3/4 lengths ahead of late closing Project Ace, who was 1 1/4 lengths ahead of a late-fading Cannoneer.
Bravaro was undefeated in two starts in New York-bred company at Aqueduct and had been inactive since winning the Oct. 25 Sleepy Hollow Stakes.
"We wanted him to show up around two turns off the layoff, and he did," Joseph said. "He's a very nice horse and should move forward off that race."
Bravaro's sire Upstart captured the 2015 Holy Bull before finishing second in the Fountain of Youth and the Florida Derby.
Joseph raised the possibility that Chris Fountoukis' Solitude Dude, whom he saddled for a 3 3/4-length victory in the Swale, a 7-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds, could join Bravaro in the Fountain of Youth. However, he continued to express doubts about the son of Yaupon 's breeding for two turns.
"Nothing yet as far as where we'll go. If he did stretch out it would be the Fountain of Youth," Joseph said.
Undefeated Solitude Dude is 3-for-3 around one turn. He entered the Swale 2-for-2 by a combined 17 1/2 lengths.
"I think he's an upper-level talent. Two turns is a question mark, but I think he's an upper-level talent," Joseph said.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
