Theregoesjojo

Quality Road kept near the lead to win the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, which is now more of a sprint. That isn't bad, except for handicappers. It gives a lesser horse a chance to get somewhat luckier than 1 1/8 or even 1 1/16.

For the horseman, and for the horse, it is good news. It is a little less strain. You just can't pick a Derby horse because he won at a mile.

Quality Road has good, if not stellar bloodlines for the Derby. His bloodlines are usually those of turf horses, however.

The most impressive run of the day was by Theregoesjojo, who closed a lot of ground, and passed up a lot of Grade 2 horses.

Trained by Kenneth McPeek, Theregoesjojo began his career in May as a 2 year old, winning at Churchill Downs. Ordinarily, this would be frowned upon as being too early, but since then, McPeek has not pushed Jojo very hard. He came back to run 4th in a grade 3 at Churchill in July, then rested up.

That's the important part. Instead of being a 2 year old run into the ground with 5 or more races, Jojo finished last year with just those two starts. Colts who run five or more races as a 2 year old are less common now, because trainers know that they break down too easy. People watch races and say "He won easy." You know people who say that are amateurs at best. There is no such thing as winning easy. The easier a horse makes it look, the harder it is on him.

Theregoesjojo finds himself in a rosy situation, with the Fountain of Youth Grade 2 stakes second place purse helping to get into the Derby field, and with it being only the fourth race of his career, which is about where a Derby runner should be about now. This being a sprint, he figures to take on one longer race next month, probably a mile and an eighth, and then a tightener after that, ideally leaving a three to five week rest till the Derby, or two weeks if he goes into a race at a mile or less for a tightener.

A grandson of Danzig and Seattle Slew, he is one of the best bred for the Derby distance among the contenders. If he stays healthy, he's sure to be in the next future book, and would be a steal at 20-1 or higher.