Interesting South Florida barn notes...

courtesy of Daily Racing Form:

The current leading contender for the 134th Kentucky Derby, War Pass, is among dozens of Derby hopefuls stabled in south Florida, although trainer Nick Zito has said the Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner will not necessarily race at Gulfstream while based at the Palm Meadows training center.

Nick Zito, trainer of War Pass, said his star has settled in comfortably and, given ideal circumstances, will have three prep races toward the Derby. Working backward, the Wood Memorial in April would be his final prep, preceded by the March 15 Tampa Bay Derby, preceded by a race either at Tampa or Gulfstream in February. War Pass is scheduled to have his first breeze since his Oct. 27 BC Juvenile victory in the next few days, said Zito.

Among the numerous other 3-year-olds eligible to come to the fore quickly is Tale of Ekati, the Belmont Futurity winner whose trainer, Barclay Tagg, won the Derby with Funny Cide.
Tale of Ekati is training at Palm Meadows because he didn't seem to like the Gulfstream track, Tagg said. For that reason, Tagg is thinking of running Tale of Ekati in Derby preps at Fair Grounds or Tampa Bay Downs.

"Everything is tentative depending on how he does," he said.

Tagg, who brought the New York-bred Funny Cide out of south Florida to upset the 2003 Derby, will have another of his top 3-year-olds in action this weekend when he sends out another New York-bred, Big Truck, as one of the leading candidates in Saturday's seven-furlong Grade 3 Hutcheson Stakes.

Like Funny Cide five years earlier, Big Truck began his career beating up on statebreds at 2. He won his maiden by 6 1/2 lengths and the Bertram F. Bongard Stakes by two lengths. After dropping a neck decision as the 1-5 favorite in the one- mile Sleepy Hollow Stakes, Big Truck ventured into open company to conclude his 2-year-old season, finishing fourth in the Grade 2 Remsen following an extremely eventful trip.

"The Remsen is a throw-out," said Tagg. "He had a bad trip every step of the way. The Hutcheson is really coming back a little too soon for him, but there really isn't any other place to run him.

"I wish they had left the Holy Bull where it used to be during the opening month of the meet instead of moving it back near the end. That would have been perfect. The only reason I'm turning him back to seven furlongs is because there's nowhere else to go right now."

Veteran trainer Cam Gambolati managed the unusual feat of losing two closes finishes in stakes four minutes apart last weekend.

Gambolati was at Tampa Bay Downs last Saturday to saddle Run Sully Run for the Inaugural Stakes. With Daniel Centeno up, Run Sully Run was bothered badly at the start of the six-furlong race, then came flying to just miss by a nose.

The Tampa horses had not even returned to be unsaddled when the field was dispatched at Calder for the Pete Axthelm Stakes. Gambolati watched via simulcast as Buffalo Man, with Edgar Prado up, rallied strongly from far back, only to finish a half-length back in second.
"Sully got annihilated coming out of the gate and should have won," said Gambolati, who began his training career in 1978, won the 1985 Kentucky Derby with Spend a Buck, and currently is stabled at the Palm Meadows training center. "Buffalo Man had no excuse other than he just ran out of ground."

For Buffalo Man, the Pete Axthelm defeat comes with a particularly shiny silver lining. He earned a 97 Beyer Speed Figure in his career turf debut and, considering he was sired by El Prado, would seem to have a terrific future on the grass.

"It really was a great race for him, very encouraging," said Gambolati. "You hate to lose the way we did, but both horses came out of their races great."

Gambolati said both horses likely will run next in Gulfstream stakes, with Buffalo Man headed to the Jan. 27 Appleton and Run Sully Run going in the Feb. 2 Swale.