Good Magic owner e Five's early success 'a huge surprise'
The quick
success Bob Edwards has had with e Five Racing is no secret, with a 2016 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf victory for New Money Honey and a repeat last year thanks to Rushing Fall.
The pharmaceutical
executive's also on the 2018 Kentucky Derby trail thanks to Good Magic's maiden-breaking win in the Juvenile.
Good Magic, who broke his maiden in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, returns to the races in Saturday’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes, which awards points on a 50-20-10-5 basis toward a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate. The Curlin colt, co-owned with Stonestreet Stables, currently has 24 from his Breeders’ Cup win and runner-up finish in the Champagne Stakes, both Grade 1 races.
In an interview with Thoroughbred Daily News, Edwards said he is focused on the present with Good Magic and tries not to think too far ahead, though staying busy with his job helps distract him from Derby stress.
Good Magic is currently stabled at Palm Meadows Training Center
with trainer Chad Brown, and Edwards lives close enough to watch his colt train
at least once a week. The Derby contender returned to the work tab Jan. 21 to
prepare for the Fountain of Youth.
“Indeed, yes it is a stepping stone,” Edwards told Thoroughbred Daily News of Saturday's race. “It’s getting him back on the track, getting him back on the track in
great company. He’s in good form right now, but he’s not going to be at his
best on day one -- he’s coming off a nice rest. We rested him and that was the
plan after the Breeders’ Cup. Chad has done a great job managing him.
"He went
up to Stonestreet where Ian Brennan and his crew took very special care of him.
When he came back down he looked unbelievable. After a month with Chad he looks
phenomenal. Everybody’s seen him breeze. He looks like he’s the part. He’s
getting bigger and he’s getting stronger. He looks like a champion and he’s
expected to be a champion because he won the Eclipse Award.”
Rushing
Fall, the undefeated Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner, also took a
rest at Stonestreet to recover. She returned to the work tab last month at Palm
Meadows.
As
for the quick success Edwards has seen as an owner, “It’s
a huge surprise," he told The TDN. "It’s not supposed to happen this way. I’ve been told this a
lot.
"Maybe it’s just we’re getting
hooked so we can stay in longer. It’s a lot of fun, but it obviously makes it
more fun to have winners. To win any race is very exciting as an owner. It’s
the same energy when they come out of the gate and when they come past the
finish line. The same adrenaline is there. So yes, we are winning at the
highest level and it’s very exciting, but any time we win is exciting.”