Promises Fulfilled Faces Elders in Phoenix

[Wandering Eyes]

Having already established himself as the clear leader of the 3-year-old sprint division, Robert Baron’s Promises Fulfilled (Shackleford) will take on older rivals for the first time while trying to punch his ticket to the GI TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Sprint in Friday’s opening-day GII Phoenix S. at Keeneland, a Win and You’re In qualifier for the World Championships.

Put on the GI Kentucky Derby trail after a wire-to-wire upset of the GII Xpressbet Fountain of Youth S. Mar. 3 at Gulfstream, the chestnut faded to finish last in the GI Xpressbet Florida Derby and set the pace in Louisville before backing up to 15th. Turned back to sprinting after that, the $37,000 Keeneland September graduate ran huge to be third after setting one of the fastest paces of the year in the GII Woody Stephens S. June 9 at Belmont and truly blossomed up at Saratoga, annexing both the GIII Amsterdam S. and GI H. Allen Jerkens S. Back home in Kentucky with trainer Dale Romans, he tuned for up for this engagement with a five-furlong bullet in :59 3/5 (1/23) Sept. 21 at Churchill.

Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) already secured his spot in the Breeders’ Cup starting gate with an upset victory in the GI Forego S. Sept. 25 at Saratoga and will look to defend his Phoenix title. Gutting out the win in a three-way photo last year, he made no impact when eighth in the Sprint, but bounced back with a pair of victories in the Hot Springs S. and GIII Count Fleet Sprint H. at Oaklawn to begin this campaign. Winless in his next three, the gelding rebounded with a ground-saving trip to take the Forego. Third that day was Katherine Ball’s Limousine Liberal (Successful Appeal), who has cracked the trifecta in his last dozen outings. Victor of both the GII Churchill Downs S. and GII Belmont Sprint Championship S., he returns to the scene of two narrow misses in the past year, running second by a neck in the GIII Commonwealth S. here Apr. 7 and finishing third by the same margin in Whitmore’s 2017 Phoenix win.

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