BY BROCK SHERIDAN
Rockies Balboa escalates from his five-length victory against Florida-bred allowance runners into the Grade 2, $425,000 Coolmore Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, a race that offers 105 points on the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve Leaderboard. Eleven 3-year-olds have entered the mile-and-a-sixteenth Fountain of Youth, the main prep race for the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) to be run at nine furlongs on March 28 at Gulfstream. The Kentucky Derby points will be allocated to the first five finishers on a 50-25-15-10-5 basis.
Rockies Balboa will be running for a share of $25,000 included in the purse from the Florida-bred Incentive Fund, with $17,500 for a win, $5,000 for second and $2,500 for third.
Trained by Dale Romans, Rockies Balboa won for the first time in his fourth career start, taking a six-and-a-half furlong, $50,000 optional claiming maiden race by five-and-three-quarters lengths at Gulfstream on December 12. He repeated that effort in his next start at seven furlongs, winning the aforementioned allowance race on January 29.
Rockies Balboa is by Girvin out of the stakes-winning Florida-bred mare Toni Ann’s Miracle, by Hear No Evil and was bred in Florida by Tonya Hunt.
Randy Miles consigned him to the 2025 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Spring Sale of 2-year-olds where he was selected by Jeffery Bloom as an agent for Charlie Monfort and Brian Spagnola. Monfort now owns him with Bloom’s Bloom Racing Stable, America’s Pastime Stables and Edwin S. Barker.
With two wins and a second in five starts, the bay colt has earned $78,465.
Luis Saez will ride Rockies Balboa for the first time. They have post two and are 20-1 on the morning line.
Wathnan Racing’s Commandment, who caught the attention of the racing world with his commanding victory in the $155,000 Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream on January 3, will make his anxiously awaited return.
The son of Into Mischief, who bypassed the January 31 Holy Bull (G3), has been installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite for trainer Brad Cox.
A winner of a seven-furlong maiden special weight at Churchill Downs in November in his second career start, Commandment won the Mucho Macho Man by nearly seven lengths after splitting rivals coming out of the second turn.
A bay son of Into Mischief, Commandment will be ridden from post four by Irad Ortiz Jr.
Rounding out the field are Jackson Hole with John Velazquez accepting the mount, Talkin and jockey Joel Rosario, Bravaro with Tyler Gaffalione in the irons, Junior Alvarado will be up for Chief Wallabee, Napoleon Solo has Kendrick Carmouche taking the riding assignment, Micah Husbands has the call on Bull by the Horns, Flavien Prat rides Solitude Dude and Lost Money will be guided by Javier Castellano.
— Portions of this story were taken directly from a Gulfstream Park press release.
Return to the February 26 issue of Wire to Wire
