By Bill Finley
Patrick Biancone pulled off the improbable last Saturday in the GII Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream, winning a major prep for the GI Kentucky Derby with a horse who cost relatively little at the sales and appeared headed for a career on the grass. Now, can he do it all over again?
A week after Ete Indien (Summer Front) won the Fountain of Youth, Sole Volante (Karakontie {Jpn}) will look to emulate his stablemate with a win in the GII Tampa Bay Derby. The similarities with the two are remarkable. Not only are they both trained by Biancone, both made two career starts on the grass before trying the dirt, both have won stakes on the main track and appear to be legitimate contenders for the Derby. Sole Volante is coming off a victory in the GIII Sam F. Davis S.
Biancone explains that he likes to start most of his horses off on the turf, even if he believes their futures may be on the dirt.
“At Palm Meadows, we have a beautiful turf track,,” he said. “Most of my works there will be on the turf because I think it is kinder on the legs. I like to start off on the turf, even if they look like dirt horses because I think those races are less stressful and they get them ready for the next step.”
In Sole Volante's case, his early training didn't indicate immediate success. Biancone said the horse was at first uncomfortable when training because of a twisted testicle. He had to geld him to solve that problem.
Sole Volante was originally sold for $8,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September sale. Biancone bought him out the 2019 OBS April 2-Year-Old Sale for just $20,000 as a birthday present for his daughter and assistant, Andie.
“What caught my eyes? Two things. He worked really well and he was a beautiful mover,” Biancone said. “And the second thing, he looked like a horse I trained named (1984 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner) Sagace. Not the same color, but the same kind of build. Sagace is one of the best horses I trained. It was my daughter, Andie's birthday, so I said 'Okay, I will buy you a horse for your birthday.'”
Sole Volante showed immediate promise on the grass. He won his first start, an Oct. 12 maiden special weight race at Gulfstream by three lengths. The next start was even more promising, a win in the Pulpit S., also on the grass. Knowing that he could always go back to the turf with Sole Volante, Biancone decided to give the dirt a try.
If he could handle that surface as well as he was handling the grass, there was no limit to what he could accomplish.
“We're in America, where dirt is the story of the racing here,” Biancone said. “It was a no-brainer. When you have a good turf horse, all the big races for them are in July, August, September. There's nothing to run in except a few smaller stakes at Gulfstream. Like everybody else, I had Derby fever.”
His first start on the dirt was encouraging. He finished third behind an undefeated colt in Chance It (Currency Swap) in the Mucho Macho Man S.
“The Mucho Macho Man was the wrong race to run him in because he's bred to go a-mile-and-a-quarter, a mile-and-a-half, “Biancone said. “I ran him at a mile in a race at Gulfstream that is more for sprinters. The key was to just know if he would accept the kick back because he's a come-from-behind horse. In fact, when he had to take the kickback on the turn, he became very aggressive. He loved it and he ran very well. I was very happy with that effort.”
Next up was the Sam F. Davis, where all the pre-race attention was going to Independence Hall (Constitution). Sole Volante would likely need to improve to beat the favorite, and he did. In surprisingly easy fashion, he drew off from Independence Hall to win by 2 ½ lengths.
With Sole Volante faring so well on the dirt and wanting to take some money off the table, Biancone has sold interests in the gelding to Limelight Stables and a controlling interest to Reeves Thoroughbred Racing.
The trainer has won major races all over the world and finished second in the 2004 Kentucky Derby with Lion Heart (Tale of the Cat). He knows that virtually everything must go right to win a race as difficult as the Kentucky Derby.
“Slow down. Slow down. We're not there yet,” said Biancone. “It's still a long time to go and they have a race before them.”
But he's almost there, with a Fountain of Youth winner and one of the favorites for the Tampa Bay Derby-two “grass” horses who have flourished on the dirt.
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