America’s Best Racing writer Patrick Reed presents four takeaways from an action-packed weekend highlighted by three 105-point Kentucky Derby prep races: the $400,000 Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park; the $300,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct, both on Feb. 28; and the $1 million Rebel Stakes March 1 at Oaklawn Park.

A happy Ortiz with Commandment. (Lauren King/Coglianese Photo)

1. Command and Control: Commandment came into the Fountain of Youth off of two open-length wins, but the quality of the fields he defeated was suspect. That can’t be said anymore. The Into Mischief colt aced his first Derby prep with a game neck victory over Chief Wallabee, with respected runners Solitude Dude, Bravaro, and Napoleon Solo farther back. He jumped onto Churchill Downs’ Derby points leaderboard with 50, good for fourth after the weekend, and his strong gallop-out after the win convinced trainer Brad Cox that added distance beyond the Fountain of Youth’s 1 1/16 miles will be beneficial in the weeks ahead. Cox plans to point his charge to the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby March 28 at Gulfstream for his final Kentucky Derby prep. “He had to fight to win, and he galloped out well again,” Cox said. “[Jockey] Irad [Ortiz Jr.] said he had to ask him to gallop out past the second wire and he had plenty of horse.  ... [The Florida Derby] is the logical spot. You just want to make sure he comes out of it in good order, and we don’t need another week or something with him. You always put the trainer hat on. That’s where we are.”

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2. ‘Chief’ Contender: Chief Wallabee turned a lot of heads in South Florida when winning his debut, a seven-furlong race, by 1 ½ lengths at Gulfstream on Jan. 10. He was one of two colts trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott to win on that card, and while the other, Thunderously, is off the Kentucky Derby trail, Chief Wallabee is very much in the mix after his courageous second to Commandment in the Fountain of Youth. He’s now positioned in 10^th on Churchill’s leaderboard with 20 points, and Mott, who entered Chief Wallabee in the Fountain of Youth after a Gulfstream allowance race failed to draw enough entries, told Daily Racing Form’s David Grening he would plot out the colt’s Kentucky Derby path as carefully as possible but with the Florida Derby having preference. “He’s run good twice over the track,” Mott said. “There’s something to be said for running here. It’s a Grade 1 [stakes]. For a well-bred colt, it’s really important.”  Mott has yet to win the Florida Derby in his four-decade-plus career; he finished second last year with eventual Kentucky Derby winner and Horse of the Year Sovereignty.

Class President (inside) wins a thriller. (Eclipse Sportswire)

3. Head of the Class? Well, it’s too soon to say that ... but Class President will surely have some more supporters after his thrilling nose win over last-out Southwest Stakes victor Silent Tactic in Sunday’s Rebel at Oaklawn Park. The son of Uncle Mo shipped in from Gulfstream Park, where he had won his debut and then finished second to subsequent Fountain of Youth third-place finisher Solitude Dude in the seven-furlong Swale Stakes. His speed figures were on the upward path through those two starts, and the colt took another jump in the Rebel when facing a two-turn test for the first time. Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, aboard in the Swale, traveled to Arkansas with the colt and gave him a textbook stalk-and-pounce ride to take a short lead at the top of the stretch. After that, Class President showed a remarkable amount of tenacity in just his third start. “Very nice when you ask for everything they can, and they give it to you,” Velazquez said. Pletcher told Daily Racing Form’s Mary Rampellini that he would evaluate several options for the colt’s next start, including training up to the Kentucky Derby.

Iron Honor impresses. (Joe Labozzetta/NYRA)

4. New York Groove: Iron Honor’s win Saturday in the Gotham Stakes was somewhat overshadowed by Derby trail doings at Gulfstream and Oaklawn in the hours to follow, but perhaps it shouldn’t be. The Nyquist colt was only making his second career start after impressively winning a six-furlong maiden race at Aqueduct on Dec. 13, and he was very professional as he moved past pacesetter Crown the Buckeye and then held off that foe’s re-bid late to score by a length in the one-turn mile Gotham. Trainer Chad Brown said afterward that he would keep Iron Honor in the Big Apple, with the April 4 Wood Memorial Stakes as his final Kentucky Derby prep. The Wood is held at 1 1/8 miles and around two turns, which would be Iron Honor’s first race at that configuration. Nevertheless ... “I don't want to ship the horse around too much,” Brown said. “I'll hedge that as bad a winter as we've had in New York, the law of averages will hopefully turn the right way here. ... He's 2-for-2 on the Aqueduct surface racing, so if he comes out of it healthy, he will train in New York and run in the Wood."