Zipse: Can Hades do it again in the Florida Derby?

With attention centered on the smashing Breeders’ Cup Juvenile hero Fierceness, few expected an unbeaten and unheralded Florida-bred gelding named Hades to re-rally on the rail and impressively win the Grade 3 Holy Bull seven weeks ago.

With the rematch set for Saturday at Gulfstream Park in the $1 million Florida Derby (G1), the question becomes whether Hades can do it again.

While the champion Fierceness was sent to post as an overwhelming favorite at odds of 1-5 in his seasonal debut, Hades was let go at 9-1. Those odds on the upstart turned out to be a gift when the son of Awesome Slew rebuked a challenge from the overwhelming favorite at the top of the Gulfstream lane.

In the Florida Derby, which also will include the up-and-coming Conquest Warrior, the odds of Hades and Fierceness should be much closer, but don’t expect Hades to be any lower than the third choice. Respect has come slowly for the Joe Orseno-trained gelding.

A $130,000 2-year-old in training purchase for D.J. Stable, Hades made his career debut at Gulfstream Park on Dec. 9 and showed toughness in that 5 1/2-furlong maiden optional claimer.

Not in for a tag, the bay was squeezed at the start and was away last as the 2-1 second choice. Trailing down the backstretch, he began to rally on the far turn and flew down the stretch to get up by a half-length.

Off that promising debut, he came back three weeks later and showed much more speed in a state-bred allowance race at the same track. Hades dueled early before streaking away from his competition to win the seven-furlong race by eight lengths at odds of 6-1.

That was enough for his connections to take a shot at a returning Fierceness and the rest in the Holy Bull. In both his 3-year-old debut and his first time around two turns, Hades passed the assignments with flying colors.

When Fierceness asked the question at the top of the lane, the Florida-bred gelding responded like a good horse should.

Fierceness, who did not have the best of starts, faded to third, and it was Domestic Product who rallied nicely for second. Hades, under rider Paco Lopez, was still full of run, however, and easily held off the challenge. The performance was flattered when the runner-up came back to win the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) in his next start.

In Hades, Orseno looks to have only his second starter ever in the Kentucky Derby. A 68-year-old Philadelphia native, the veteran trainer finished fourth behind Monarchos in the 2001 edition with Thunder Blitz in his only attempt at the roses.

Despite his inexperience in the Derby, he knows good horses, having trained a Preakness winner in Red Bullet as well as a pair of Breeders’ Cup and Eclipse award winners in Macho Uno and Perfect Sting.

Hades gives every indication of being a very good horse, and as a gelding, he should be on the track for as long as he is going well. His pedigree does not jump off the page at you, but taking a deeper look reveals plenty of class.

Out of unraced Quality Road mare The Shady Lady, Hades has a 4-year-old half-sister named Devious Dame (Girvin). She won her first two starts impressively, including the Astoria Stakes at Belmont Park, before suffering an injury.

Hades's third dam is the Private Account mare Pretty Discreet, who won the 1 1/4-mile Alabama (G1) before producing a pair of very classy runners in Discreet Cat and Discreetly Mine.

As for his sire, Awesome Slew was a durable and talented runner who earned more than $1.2 million while making 23 starts over four seasons. Hades is part of his second crop. In his first crop, he had three-time stakes winner Awesome Strong.

Awesome Slew is a son of the strong distance influence and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Awesome Again, so there is good reason to believe Hades can go longer from both sides of his bloodlines. He will need to stretch out to nine furlongs for his next major test.

With the $1 million Florida Derby looming, it would seem prudent not to dismiss Hades once again. But it will be anything but easy for the unheralded gelding. The Todd Pletcher-trained Fierceness might well prove stronger after the Holy Bull and be the horse to beat on Saturday.

The way Conquest Warrior is finishing off his races for trainer Shug McGaughey, the son of City of Light appears to be a serious Kentucky Derby contender. Saturday will be his stakes debut, but all indications are that he will be ready for the challenge after two impressive wins over the track.

And then you have Hades, a state-bred gelding whom no one saw coming before the Holy Bull. We see him coming this time, and he might just be good enough to give the high-profile colts a serious run for their money once again.