A year ago at Gulfstream Park, trainer Wesley Ward sent out Ken and
Sarah Ramsey’s Pleasant Prince to finish second in the $750,000 Florida
Derby (G1) as a 29-to-1 longshot, beaten a heart-breaking nose by Nick
Zito-trained Ice Box with favorite Rule third.
Ward took the tough beat in the Florida Derby as a positive
that could lead him to a berth in the Kentucky Derby (G1), but a dull
performance finishing seventh in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland
on Polytrack and third-place finish in the Derby Trial (G3) at
Churchill left the chestnut colt by Indy King short on earnings to get
intro the Derby.
Pleasant Prince is back to work for another campaign at
Gulfstream Park, breezing a half-mile in 52 flat Wednesday morning in
his second recorded workout since finishing ninth with trouble in the
Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Churchill Downs on Nov. 6 as Blame and
Zenyatta battled to the wire.
Between the Derby Trial and Breeders’ Cup Classic, Pleasant
Prince ran four times, finishing 11th in the Preakness (G1) at Pimlico,
winning the Ohio Derby (G3) at Thistledown, third in the Smarty Jones
Stakes at Philadelphia Park and winning the Oklahoma Derby at Remington
Park.
“He’s come back eager to train,” said Ward late in the
morning. “I’m trying to get him to go as slow as possible right now, but
the rider has had a hard time keeping him from doing more. We found out
last year in the Blue Grass that he doesn’t care for the synthetic
track, but we were just trying to get him enough earnings to get in the
Derby. When he’s ready we’ll probably be looking at dirt races at
Churchill or New York.”