Free Drop Billy skips Fountain of Youth, to run in Gotham Stakes

Rather than run in Saturday's Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes, Free Drop Billy logged a workout this morning toward another 2018 Kentucky Derby prep.

Trainer Dale Romans is now pointing the colt, who was second last out in the Holy Bull going 1 1/16 miles, to next weekend's Grade 3 Gotham Stakes in New York. That race will run around a one-turn mile, backing Free Drop Billy up in distance, but appears open for the taking at this point.

Recent graded stakes winners Kanthaka (Santa Anita) and Strike Power (Gulfstream) have opted to stay home rather than ship to New York for the Gotham. The race awards Derby qualifying points on a 50-20-10-5 scale, same as the Fountain of Youth, which was on by Romans-trained Promises Fulfilled.

“That was just a strategy play," Romans told XBTV. "We thought this race was a lot tougher than what’s coming up in New York. He’s already a Grade 1 winner, and we just want to get as easy of a race as we can heading into the last round of preps.”

A son of Union Rags, Free Drop Billy turned in an easy five furlongs Saturday in 1:02.73 at Gulfstream. The previous Grade 1 winner, who took the Breeders' Futurity last fall at Keeneland, is campaigned by Albaugh Family Stable.