Breeders' Cup winner Fire At Will (Declaration of War) tuned up for his 3-year-old debut Saturday at Gulfstream Park with a five-furlong move in 1:02.75. He is slated to start in the Feb. 27 GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S.
“Everything went smooth,” said trainer Michael Maker of the Three Diamonds Farm's runner's work. “He's ready to go.”
Fire At Will broke his maiden over a sealed but sloppy main track at Saratoga in the With Anticipation S. in September, then captured the GII Pilgrim S. over the Belmont lawn the next month. He was a three-length victor of the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf in November in Keeneland, but connections are aiming toward a return to the dirt in the Fountain of Youth. It will be his first start on a fast main track.
“It's a tough task, whether he's a dirt horse or a turf horse, but he's earned the chance,” said Maker.
The Fountain of Youth is to be contested at 1 1/16 miles, a half-furlong further than Fire At Will's Breeders' Cup score but the same distance as his Pilgrim win.
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