The Blue Grass Could Be Next for The Puma

[Wandering Eyes]

The Puma (Essential Quality) returned to his base at Gulfstream Park early Sunday morning after his win a day earlier in the GIII Tampa Bay Derby, and his connections reported that he came out of the race in good order. Though no firm plans have been made regarding his future schedule, Gustavo Delgado Jr., who is the assistant trainer to and son of trainer Gustavo Delgado Sr., said the GI April 4 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland is one option the team is definitely considering.

“We're still undecided,” the younger Delgado said. “Let's see how he comes back when he hits the track again. Right now, eight weeks is a long time between races from here to the Derby, so we might go to the Blue Grass. That's what would make sense right now. It's a good feeling that we don't need the points anymore. We have secured a spot in the big race. That's a big relief. Basically, we have more room to do whatever we feel is the best, always having the Kentucky Derby in mind. Eight weeks is a lot, so we will definitely be aiming for another race between now and the Kentucky Derby.”

The Puma earned 50 points for his win at Tampa.

The Puma came into the race as a maiden and off a third-place finish in the Sam F. Davis Stakes, the major prep for the Tampa Bay Derby. He ran a much-improved race Saturday, winning by three-quarters of a length over GII Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes winner, Further Ado (Gun Runner).

“These horses continue to learn,” Delgado said. “They are so young. The last race was a learning experience.”

He also gave credit to jockey Javier Castellano. Castellano rode The Puma in his first start, a second-place finish behind the highly regarded Chief Wallabee (Constitution) in a Gulfstream maiden, but Edwin Gonzalez had the mount for the Sam F. Davis.

“Javier made a huge difference,” Delgado said. “He has been coming to the barn and breezing him and getting to know more about the horse and his running style and how to make him more effective. My dad and I told him to just let him get his rhythm, make one move whenever you feel like it is the right thing to do. Basically, that's what he did. He was last in the beginning of the race, but that turned out to be a good thing. He was a good last because you could see that he was in a good rhythm and grabbing the bit properly and making a steady move little by little.”

Should The Puma make it to the Derby, he will be the second horse the Delgados have sent to the race since 2023. The first was Derby winner Mage (Good Magic). The Puma was purchased for $150,000 at last year's OBS April sale. Mage was bought for $250,000 in 2022 at Fasig-Tipton's 2-Year-Old Midlantic Sale.

“The main thing for us is that we want to go to the Kentucky Derby,” Delgado said. “It is not easy. It's a very difficult thing to do, especially with the kind of operation that we have. We don't get good horses sent to us. We have to go to the sales and scout the horses and sometimes invest in the horses ourselves with our own money.  To be in this position again is gratifying. We were in the paddock yesterday and we saw the Coolmore guys, the Spendthrift guys, Mike Repole. I was thinking, 'Look at how much money these guys spend on their operations.' Going back to the Derby with a horse we developed and selected at the sales is a good feeling.”

Delgado said that the horse was named after his father, whose nickname is “The Puma.”

“We call my dad The Puma all the time,” Delgado said.  “When we saw that the horse was talented and showing progress and we couldn't find a name that we all liked we decided to name him The Puma. It's a good thing that when we named a horse after my dad that he turned out to be a graded stakes winner going to the Derby. We could have named a horse after him and the horse could have turned out to be a $5,000 claimer.”

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