The road to Bluegrass glory travels through Florida this\nweek in the G2 Fountain of Ute where 14 talented colts will face off to further\ntheir journey towards infamy. The race is highlighted by four horses who have\nalready earned themselves graded honors in TARTON SQUIRT, YOUARENOTSOFUNNY,\nBEF, and COAGULATE HIDE. Fresh off his victory in the G3 Legoland, TARTON\nSQUIRT heads into today\u2019s race as the 5-1 favorite. Its worth mentioning that\nanyone who\u2019s been in or following along the Bluegrass trail has seen Given\u2019s influence\nin just about every race. Given has essentially turned into the Todd Pletcher\nof derby preps, sending out multiple entries in just about every race thus far and\ntoday\u2019s race is no different as he\u2019ll be sending ONYX EXCHANGE, DWARVEN ARROWS,\n& DOORS CLOSING to the gate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fountain of Ute History Lesson<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Before we meet the field lets delve into the history of the sim a bit. The last 5 years of the Fountain of Ute has had a hand in producing at least three Bluegrass hopefuls in YANKEE PHAROAH (2019), LAWERENCE DURRELL (2017), & AWESOME KINGMAMBO (2016). As you might expect before finding their way to Kentucky those three colts kept their talents in South Beach to give the Florida Derby a shot the following month. Only LAWERENCE DURRELL would obtain positive results finishing 2nd<\/sup> in the Florida Derby and ultimately solidifying his Bluegrass Derby bid. Despite not making any noise in the Florida Derby both YANKEE PHAROAH and AWESOME KINGMAMBO would go on to run in the Bluegrass as well. However, between the three horses none of them could muster a finish better than 10th<\/sup> in the first jewel of the Triple Crown. Furthermore, of the last five winners in the Fountain of Ute only one horse has gone on to win a graded race again. Who\u2019s that horse you ask? None other than GANG RELATED (2015) who elected to skip the Bluegrass after finishing 4th<\/sup> in the Florida Derby. GANG RELATED would go on to win the G1 Ambien Shakes Handicap later that year. If the above wasn\u2019t a good enough indicator of what exactly happens to winners after this race, try this on for size. The last 5 winners have gone a combined 1-34 in graded races since winning this race. You can\u2019t even get a job volunteering as a recreational little league batting coach with a percentage like that! Needless to say the sim has not been kind to the winners of this race and we can only hope that today\u2019s winner doesn\u2019t suffer the same fate as the annals would suggest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TARTON SQUIRT (MR SPEAKER x EL CORREDOR)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trainer: tarton12<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Record (7-4-2-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n He\u2019s a multiple G3 winner taking down the Cornstalk and\nopened up his 3 year old campaign with a win in the G3 Legoland where he ran a\n106 speed fig. Most of his mare\u2019s (SQUIRTER CB) progeny has done their best\nwork at sprinting to 8.5F range. He\u2019s looking to break through the genetic\nceiling this week as he\u2019ll test the waters at 9F. <\/p>\n\n\n\n ONYX EXCHANGE (CURLIN x DANZIG)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trainer: givenelite3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Record (7-3-0-2)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A scratch bred son of CURLIN who\u2019s best run to date was in\nthe G1 End of the Line Futurity where he\u2019d finish 3rd<\/sup> by a length.\nHe does own a listed victory at 8F as a two year old but distance may be a real\nquestion mark here. His first race as a 3 year old came in another listed where\nhe led them around the track before needing a breather and finishing 7th<\/sup>\nby 4. <\/p>\n\n\n\n BEF (GOLD SHIP (JPN) x DROSSELMEYER)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trainer: ric804<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Record (5-4-1-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n He\u2019s out of the 250K allowance winning mare KAN who did most\nof her damage as a sprinter. Her son has been fantastic as a two year old\nwinning four out of five which includes the G3 Happy New Year. He makes his three year old debut in today\u2019s\nrace and should be a force in the early pace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n YOUARENOTSOFUNNY (GRAYDAR x DISTORTED HUMOR)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trainer: winningday<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Record (5-4-0-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n He may be finding his best stride at the right time. He\nthrew in an inexplicable dud in the Pro Deed Dirt Juvenile as a two year old,\nbut then bounced back with a win in the IHM Rockets Memorial Stakes (6F) and\ndebuted as a three year old with a victory in the G3 Family of Dragons last\nmonth. He\u2019s out of the mare COMARE who was competent at today\u2019s distance\nleading me to believe he may be a force in this one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n COAGULATE HIDE (RUN AWAY AND HIDE x SYMBOLI KRIS S)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trainer: cthomas<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Record (4-3-0-1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n His only loss thus far was in the 5.5F maiden debut where he\nwas a game 3rd<\/sup>. Since then he\u2019s rattled off three in a row at 8.5F\nwhich includes a G3 victory in the Happy Boxing Day. He\u2019s out of the graded\nplaced mare KRIS MASS who did her best work sprinting which means he\u2019s already\nbroken the mold of sorts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n DOORS CLOSING (CANDY RIDE x FORTY NINER)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trainer: akaran2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Record (9-4-2-1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Winning the Get In Fast Stakes as a two year old has been\nhis crowning achievement thus far. He gave G1 company a go in the Back Up\nBattle to round out his two year old season but finished 6th<\/sup> by 4\nlengths. He then went on to start his three year old season with a 3rd<\/sup>\nplace finish in the Long Bomber Dirt Mile stakes. He\u2019ll get his chance to prove\nthis weekend if he\u2019s more than a miler. <\/p>\n\n\n\n DWARVEN ARROWS (ARROGATE x GIANT\u2019S CAUSEWAY)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trainer: given10<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Record (9-4-1-1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of the G2 turf winning mare GIANT\u2019S DWARF, he\u2019s been\nrunning true to his momma\u2019s form finding the winners circle 4 times which\nincludes a listed victory in the 8.5F Small Horse Challenge Stakes. On the flip\nside his last two performances have been very ugly finishing 10th<\/sup> in\nthe G3 Sam\u2019s Town Delta Jackpot and 4th<\/sup> by 9 lengths in the 9.5F\nIntergalactic Dirt Route. <\/p>\n\n\n\n FIERCELY FROSTED (FROSTED x DYNAFORMER)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trainer: trooper<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Record (4-3-1-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The lightly raced scratch bred out of FROSTED has been very tough\nthrough 4 starts. His only hiccup came in his first start against winners where\nhe finished 2nd<\/sup> by a length and a half. He ended his 2 year old\ncampaign with a victory in the 8.5F Gulliver Dirt Juvenile stakes in which he\nearned a 98 speed fig. He\u2019s heading into the first race of his three year old\ncampaign coming off a two month layoff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n UNION JACKS (UNION RAGS x WILD AGAIN)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trainer: snape<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Record (8-3-3-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Scratch bred son of UNION RAGS who\u2019s been very good at a\nmile, winning two of his three at the distance including a listed victory. His\ntwo year old season didn\u2019t finish the way he\u2019d hoped as he never left the gate\nin the G1 Movieland Futurity and finished 8th<\/sup> by 9 lengths in the G2\nRansom. It\u2019s possible that with maturity and some rest he could find his way\nback to the winners circle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n RED HOLIDAY (DECORATED KNIGHT x HARLAN\u2019S HOLIDAY)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trainer: deepesr <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Record (9-3-0-1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of the turf heavy mare RED MOUNTAINS this guy started\nhis career on the turf but didn\u2019t take to it. You\u2019d figure a grandson of\nGALILEO would enjoy the turf but he\u2019s gone against the grain and found success\nwinning a couple of sprints on the dirt as a two year old and debuted with a victory\nin the 9.5F Franco Invasion Dirt Route as a 3 year old. The only hang-up with\nhim is he\u2019s had two shots in graded as a two year old and finished 8th<\/sup>\nin the G2 Big Hill and 6th<\/sup> in the G3 Cryogenics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n WESTWARD WINDS (WEST COAST x UNBRIDLED)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trainer: sjmeola20<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Record (8-4-2-1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n His four wins have all come in sprints which include a\nvictory in the 5.5F Alyoro Dirt Juvenile. He rounded out his 2 year old\ncampaign with a 4th<\/sup> place finish in the G3 Nashua and a 3rd<\/sup>\nplace in the G3 Happy Boxing Day. Despite most of his success coming in sprints\nit\u2019s hard to argue against the improvement in each of his races. <\/p>\n\n\n\n FROSTED BALLS (FROSTED x SAINT BALLADO)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trainer: massatoga23<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Record: (8-2-3-1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n He\u2019s another who\u2019s had all of his success come in sprints\nwith that defining moment coming in the 7F Deus Ex Dirt Juvenile. He\u2019s run\ntwice against G3 company and finished 2nd<\/sup> in the 7F Los Angeles\nPrevue and 11th<\/sup> in the 6F Happytime Stakes to close out his 2 year\nold season. He\u2019s making his route and three year old debut in today\u2019s G2\nFountain of Ute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A SMOOTH MOVER (SPEIGHTSTOWN x NEW APPROACH (IRE))<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trainer: redhill12<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Record (7-4-1-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of the 250K allowance winning mare SMOOTH APPROACH, he\u2019s\nalready outdone his momma earning the SP badge by finishing 2nd<\/sup> in\nthe Mr. Personality Dirt Juvenile. He opened up his three year old season with\na victory in a 9F allowance race against a four horse field. His lone graded\nperformance to date was in the 8.5F Sam\u2019s Town Delta Jackpot where he finished\n4th<\/sup> by 4.5 lengths. <\/p>\n\n\n\n FROCKED (DISTORTED HUMOR x PULPIT)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Trainer: asrstar1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Record (6-2-1-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n First two starts of his career he went 2-2 taking down both 7F races. Since then this scratch bred son of DISTORTED HUMOR hasn\u2019t won a race. He did manage to earn SP honors finishing 2nd<\/sup> in the Long Bomber Dirt Mile as a 3 year old. Maybe he\u2019s starting to turn the corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Columnists Picks: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. ONYX EXCHANGE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. TARTON SQUIRT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. WESTWARD WINDS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The road to Bluegrass glory travels through Florida this week in the G2 Fountain of Ute where 14 talented colts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":138839,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/138839"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=51343"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51359,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51343\/revisions\/51359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=51343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=51343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=51343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}