Weekend Watch: All eyes on Good Magic, Fountain of Youth

Photo: Eclipse Sportswire

With the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth marking champion Good Magic's return, all eyes will be on Gulfstream Park this weekend. And in addition to the 2018 Kentucky Derby prep, the South Florida track offers up an Oaks points race race as well a full complement of additional graded stakes. Here's a glance at those races, plus stakes action around the country.

All listed times are in Eastern Standard Time.

Derby and Oaks happenings

There are four prep races this weekend in all for the 3-year-olds, with Good Magic’s champion status doing little to deter rivals in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes. He will face nine other contenders, including graded stakes winners Free Drop Billy and Strike Power, the impressive winner of the Swale (G3) on the Holy Bull (G2) undercard last month.

For the fillies, the headliner is the showdown involving Dream Tree and Midnight Bisou in the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel Stakes at Santa Anita. Dream Tree is undefeated in four career starts, but two of those came by slim margins over her top rival here, who's now a graded stakes winner herself.

Meanwhile, Take Charge Paula will continue her march toward a possible start in the Kentucky Oaks when she faces seven in the Grade 2 Davona Dale Stakes. The dominant winner of last month’s Forward Gal (G3), Take Charge Paula could be unseated by new shooters Fly So High or Alter Moon.

Midnight Disguise won the Busanda at Aqueduct in January and will likely be one of the favorites in the Busher Stakes. However, trainer Peter Miller ships in War Heroine, a recent stakes winner on Santa Anita’s downhill turf course, and My Miss Lily returns to Aqueduct, where she broke her maiden at first asking, after running third in the Forward Gal (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

All four races will offer points on a 50-20-10-5 basis to the top four runners.

G2 Davona Dale 3 p.m

Busher 4:56 p.m.

G3 Santa Ysabel 6 p.m.

G2 Fountain of Youth 6:09 p.m.

Turf runners also featured at Gulfstream Park

Unanticipated, but the Kitten’s Joy Stakes back in January has turned into a bit of a key race. Flameaway, the winner that day, came back to win the Sam F. Davis (G3), a points race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Speed Franco, who was sixth in the Kitten’s Joy, won the Dania Beach (G3) in his next start and will be the one to beat in Saturday's Grade 3 Palm Beach Stakes. Post time is 2 p.m.

In the filly division, Thewayiam won last month’s Sweetest Chant (G3) on the Holy Bull undercard. She has won both of her starts at Gulfstream after beginning her career in her native France. Trainer Todd Pletcher has a good prospect in Amertume, who won on debut in January going 8.5 furlongs, and those two will meet up in the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride Stakes, set to go off at 2:30 p.m

Four additional stakes round out Gulfstream's card

In addition to the quartet of races for 3-year olds, Gulfstream Park’s Saturday card also offers four graded stakes for older runners. Last year’s Queen's Plate winner Holy Helena headlines the Grade 3 The Very One Stakes.

March and Hogy will face off in the Grade 3 Canadian Turf Stakes. March drops in class after running eighth in the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap (G1). Meanwhile Hogy steps back up in class having won at Sam Houston.

The Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Sprint came up with both a large and competitive field. The field includes Extravagant Kid, Favorable Outcome, Noholdingback Bear and Mr. Jordan.

Meanwhile Oscar Nominated will try to make it 2-for-2 in 2018 with a win in the Grade 3 Mac Diarmida Stakes but will have to get through Grade 1 winner Sadler’s Joy.

G3 The Very One 1 p.m.

G3 Canadian Turf 4 p.m.

G3 Gulfstream Park Sprint 5:02 p.m.

G2 Mac Diarmida 5:34 p.m.