Gulfstream Park
3/30/2019
Race Round-Up: (R14) Gr. I Florida Derby (3yr M, 1-1/8 Mile Dirt, $1,000,000)
Track Condition: Fast
Final Time: 1:48.86
Maximum Security took down the Gr. I Florida Derby in gate to wire fashion Saturday in a final time of 1:48.86. The son of New Year’s Day earned 100 Kentucky Derby 2019 points in the race and is now tied for second with By My Standards on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard (Plus Que Parfait has 104 after his Gr. II UAE Derby score last Saturday).
The top four finishers in the race were Maximum Security, Bodexpress, Code of Honor, and Bourbon War. With Bodexpress’ second place finish he also secured his entry into the Kentucky Derby starting gate with 40 points (13th place). Code of Honor already had his spot locked up, but he added another 20 points to his total and now has a 74 and sits in fourth place. Bourbon War added 10 more points to his resume and now has 31 and sits in 15th place. Bourbon War’s spot is not completely locked up so it will be interesting to see if Mark Hennig will try another prep or take his chances and hop the 31 points is enough to get him into the starting gate.
Let’s look at the race round up for Saturday’s Gr. I Florida Derby:
#1 – Maximum Security: Went gate to wire on Saturday traveling through fractions of 24.42, 48.98, 1:12.90, 1:36.34 and crossed the wire in 1:48.86, about three and a half lengths in front of Bodexpress. The Jason Servis trainee is now four for four with $649,400 in career earnings. Saturday’s victory was his first time traveling 1-1/8th miles but given his uncontested early fractions, I am still hesitant to say he’s a formidable horse for the Kentucky Derby. This one left the gate very fast and was able to grab the lead going into the first turn and kept about a length in front of Bodexpress the entire backstretch. Entering the final turn, Saez kicked away and began to open up on the rest of the field and eventually won the race by a little more than three lengths. Bodexpress, who is still a maiden raced second the entire way and due to this I feel the soft fractions benefited both runners. New Year’s Day, who is Maximum Security’s sire won the BC Juvenile back in 2013 and his dam, Lil Indy was a claiming level horse and a miler on her best day. The main reason I am still suspect of this horse is because he’s never really been pressured throughout his career and I doubt he will get such an easy trip in the Derby. Given the large field size of the Derby the post position will be crucial, as well as the placement of the other speed horses in the race.
#2 – Bodexpress: Followed Maximum Security the whole way around the track eventually losing ground down the stretch to lose by three and a half lengths. He was in good position all the way around but could never get closer than a half length of the leader. He did finish about three ahead of Code of Honor and Bourbon War for third and fourth. Given how the race played out and the 1-2 finishers essentially went gate to wire in their respective positions I don’t give his finish much credence. The son of Bodemeister is still a maiden after five starts but does have enough points for the Derby. Bodemeister was a tough opponent on the Derby trail back in 2012 in which he finished second in both the Derby and the Preakness. His dam, Pied a Terre was an unraced mare by City Zip and a Meadowlake mare named Lady Auchamore.
#3 – Code of Honor: Left the gate without any issues and moved closer towards the rail, sitting about seventh entering the first turn. He sat about two to three lengths off the rail down the backstretch and tried to make a move between horses entering the final turn but was still left with a lot to do. Into the stretch, Velazquez put him back on the rail where he passed Hidden Scroll and eventually settled for a third-place finish. Velazquez put the whip in his left hand midway down the stretch which caused Code of Honor to drift off the rail quite a bit, so it seems he still has some kinks to work out. I thought he finished okay given the fractions upfront were very pedestrian and he’ll likely get a much faster pace in the Derby. Still not 100% on him getting the 10F distance but I see him being a top five betting choice come the first Saturday in May.
#4 – Bourbon War: My pick going into Saturday as I figured he’d relish the extra distance, but he did not get any help from a pace standpoint. He had a leisurely start once the gates opened and ended up third to last entering the first turn. Irad eventually had to take him four-wide entering the final turn but he really couldn’t make up any ground on the front running pair. He finished about three-quarters of a length behind Code of Honor and about four in front of fifth place finisher, Current. It did take Bourbon War some time to switch his lead and he was a tad wavy down the lane. A faster pace would have benefited him, but I feel he has a lot to improve on before being considered one of the top three-year olds. He may not even get into the Derby given he has 31 points but if he can sneak in the distance should not be a problem.
#5 – Current: Was second to last entering the first turn and eventually ended up in last down the backstretch. He just got up over Hidden Scroll to secure the fifth-place finish and I assume the connections will move him back to the grass after this effort. I expect this one to improve as the year goes on for Pletcher, however he is not Derby material.
#6 – Hidden Scroll: Much of the scrutiny of this race is being taken by Bill Mott as they wanted Hidden Scroll to rate off the leaders here. Breaking from post one, he did have a shot to get to the leaders early in the race, but Castellano had him in third entering the first turn. You can see Castellano pulling back on the reins at several points during the backstretch and most horses will not win under these circumstances. I think Mott bit off more than he could chew with this one and he should have let Castellano go right to the lead from the start. Would not be surprised to see Mott take some time with this horse as the Derby hoopla is now over. One to keep an eye on for later in the year.
#7 – Union’s Destiny: Went a little wide into the first turn and sat in fourth after the first turn. He was about a length to a length and half off the leaders the entire backstretch but was done running entering the lane. He finished about two lengths ahead of Harvey Wallbanger.
#8 – Harvey Wallbanger: Took up his usual running at the back of the pack and had no impact in this contest. The soft fractions did not help his chances, but I see him being an 8-8.5F horse going forward.
#9 – Everfast: Broke well enough and settled in sixth down on the rail entering the first turn. He raced next to Hard Belle for most of the backstretch but began to retreat well before the final turn.
#10 – Garter and Tie: Had to go wide due to Union’s Destiny trying to make a run at the leaders and settled in fifth around the first turn. He tried to make a wide run entering the final turn in which he got within a couple lengths of the leaders, but he soon began to retreat and was beaten by over 20 lengths.
#11 – Hard Belle: Sat in sixth place after the first turn but was done around the 6F mark. Will be interesting to see what Mejia does from here on out as they’ve tried a little bit of everything with this horse. If it were up to me, I’d leave him as a sprinter and try to keep him up or on the pace going forward.
About Josh:
Originally from Upstate New York, Josh (also referred to as Dr. Atlas in racing circles) has been a long time follower and supporter of the "Sport of Kings".
Mr. Chicorelli worked for Horse Racing Nation and DerbyWars from 2011-2013 and has been a local at the Saratoga Race Course for over a decade. In his spare time, Josh writes handicapping articles and has worked part-time for the NYRA Bets Squad over the past two years.
Josh received his BS in New Media Marketing from RIT in 2011 and recently completed his Masters in Business Administration from RPI (May 2018).
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