Wildcat Red beats out General A. Rod for a win at the Fountain of Youth Stakes

Wildcat Red beats out General A. Rod for a win at the Fountain of Youth Stakes: The 2014 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park proved to be a great race for Wildcat Red on Saturday, February 22, 2014. Trained by Jose Garoffalo and ridden by jockey Luis Saez, Wildcat Red, a three-year-old colt, took the win in the 1 1/6 mile dirt track.

It turns out that trainer Garoffolo’s intuition was correct as he said that he always knew Wildcat Red had potential from the moment he first saw him. Garoffalo stated, “When you buy a horse and you like the horse and he shows you some talent, you never know how far he can go…that one was the very first time I saw him, [and] I knew he was going to be a decent horse.”

Wildcat Red posted a winning time of 1:41.85 in the grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes. General A Rod came in second and Top Billing came in third place. The Fountain of Youth Stakes is yet another race on the road to the Kentucky Derby and it is a major determining factor as the winner is awarded 50 points towards a spot at the starting gate at the Derby.

It was no easy feat for Wildcat to take the win however, General A. Rod gave Wildcat and literal run for the money. Both horses had a clean break from the gate and were already pitted against each other into the first turn. The two continued to duke it out on the backstretch of the race track and they continued to battle hard against each other all the way until the end where Wildcat Red was finally able to get slightly in front of General A Rod and get a nose ahead at the wire for the win. Top Billing was actually the 2/1 favorite and he raced well, making a move at the top of the stretch, but could never catch up with the leaders. Both Wildcat Red and General A. Rod pulled two to three lengths above the rest from the beginning of the race.

Fountain of Youth Stakes 2014 Results and Payouts
4-Wildcat Red, $11.00 to Win, $5.00 to Place, $3.40 to Show
5-General a Rod, $4.60 to Place, $3.20 to Show
12-Top Billing, $2.60 to Show
Also ran: 13 – East Hall , 3 – Medal Count , 1 – Commissioner , 10 – Our Caravan , 2 – We Miss Artie , 9 – Best Plan Yet , 7 – C. Zee , 8 – Almost Famous , 11 – Hesinfront
Scratched horses: Casiguapo (Trainer)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLXUfo_b6WM&feature=c4-overview&list=UUe3xqxd95jp8W6m_O93L-hg