Cairo Prince targets Florida Derby

By: SPORTS NETWORK

Hallandale Beach, FL (Sports Network) - Holy Bull Stakes winner Cairo Prince will have his training geared toward starting in the $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.

Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin may have his 3-year-old colt train up to the 1 1/8- mile stakes on Saturday, March 29 without entering the Fountain of Youth Stakes five weeks earlier.

"The plans right now are to probably just point for the Florida Derby," McLaughlin said. "The Holy Bull was a huge effort, and they're not machines. It's hard to run every four weeks and run your best. We'll still look at (the Fountain of Youth), but we might very well skip it."

Cairo Prince went off as the 2-1 favorite in the 11-horse Holy Bull field last Saturday at Gulfstream. The gray colt sat off the pace before taking the lead entering the stretch and securing a 5 3/4-length victory and 10 points toward a start in the Kentucky Derby.

"Cairo's doing great and eating up well," McLaughlin said. "He's just doing real well. He's back to the track training. The Holy Bull was such a huge effort, and we have to look down the road to the first Saturday in May."

The colt, owned by Namcook Stables, Paul Braverman, Harvey Clarke and Craig Robertson, has won three of four starts with a second for $512,000.