Florida Derby
It’s 1-2 for trainer Nick Zito, as High Fly wins the Florida Derby and Noble Causeway runs second. High Fly, the favorite at 6-5, stalked pacesetter B.B. Best, as expected, with Mighty Mecke and Vicarage not too far behind. Moving into the the stretch turn, High Fly zipped to the lead and Noble Causeway moved from fifth to third to second. With a second win at 1 1/8, High Fly proves he’s a legitimate Derby prospect, but there is the nagging question of how he’ll do on May 7 coming off a five-week layoff. Same for Noble Causeway, who showed he can hold his own in stakes company. I was surprised to see B.B. Best hang on for third, as he did in the Fountain of Youth, a race in which he earned a 97 Beyer. That figure was 10 better than his previous best, and 25 better than the race he ran before the FOY, and it didn’t seem possible that he’d come close to repeating his FOY performance. Vicarage, involved in the early pace, faded to sixth; maiden Papi Chullo was never involved, which must have been disappointing to owner Greg Norman, who dubbed his horse “the one to beat.” The one sure conclusion that can be drawn from this race is that whatever’s next for Papi, it’s not the Kentucky Derby.
