Burnham Square wins the Holy Bull (G3) Feb. 1 at Gulfstream Park (Coglianese)
River Thames, Gate to Wire Breeze in Company; Keep It Easy Breezes
David Joseph/Gulfstream Park
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Whitham Thoroughbreds LLC’s Burnham Square, who captured the Feb. 1 Holy Bull (G3) drawing away, breezed five furlongs in 1:01.05 Saturday morning at Palm Meadows in preparation for next Saturday’s $415,000 Coolmore Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream Park.
The Ian Wilkes-trained son of Liam’s Map finished the workout at Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County on even terms with stablemate Into Champagne, who finished second in the Davona Dale (G2) and third in the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) at Gulfstream last year, before galloping out with energy.
“It was a solid five-eighths in 1:01. He galloped out good. I loved the gallop-out. He galloped out really well,” Wilkes said. “All good! He came off the track happy.”
The 1:01.05 clockings earned by Burnham Square and Into Champagne were tied for second of 13 breezes recorded at the distance.
Edgard Zayas was aboard for the breeze. Zayas and Burnham Square will seek their third straight victory during the Championship Meet in the 1 1/16-mile prep for the March 29 $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1). They teamed for a nine-length maiden-breaking romp Dec. 26 at 1 1/16 miles before scoring a rallying 1 ¾-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull to establish himself as a prominent player on the Road to the Triple Crown
Burnham Square had run twice previously, finishing second in his debut at Keeneland Oct. 26 and third at Churchill Downs Nov. 30, before being equipped with blinkers for his two most recent starts.
At Palm Beach Downs, CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm LLC’s River Thames and Donegal Racing’s Gate to Wire breezed a half-mile in company in 49.50 seconds Saturday morning for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. River Thames, who is scheduled to make his two-turn debut in the Fountain of Youth after launching his career during the Championship Meet with two dominating victories at six furlongs and a mile, respectively. Gate to Wire is also set to make his two-turn debut next Saturday after upsetting the seven-furlong Swale by nine lengths on the Holy Bull undercard.
St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Thoroughbreds’ Keep It Easy tuned up for the Fountain of Youth with a half-mile breeze in 48.72 seconds at Gulfstream Park. The Dale Romans-trained son of Hard Spun is slated to make his 2025 debut next Saturday after concluding his 2-year-old campaign with a victory in the 6 1/2-furlong Ed Brown at Churchill Downs Nov. 30.
