Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park : Bet Twice Out to Win Once More

Trainer Jimmy Croll and jockey Craig Perret are confident that Bet Twice will live up to expectations in today’s $500,000 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.

The 1 1/8-mile test, a major prep for the May 2 Kentucky Derby, drew a field of nine 3-year-olds, with Talinum considered Bet Twice’s chief rival.

Bet Twice was listed at 8-5 in the morning line; Talinum, to be ridden by Angel Cordero Jr., was 5-2.

“This is not going to be a match race between Bet Twice and my horse,” said Jeff Lukas, who trains Talinum. “There are other good runners in the field.”

Bet Twice, the biggest money-winner in the field with $799,047 in nine starts, is coming off an impressive 2 1/2-length victory in the Fountain of Youth Stakes here March 22.

Talinum’s only win in three starts this year was in the Flamingo Stakes at Hialeah Feb. 28.

Bet Twice, a son of Sportin’ Life, is expected to be on or close to the lead, while Talinum, a son of Alydar, is a late runner.

While Talinum has gone 1 1/8 miles in the Flamingo, Bet Twice hasn’t run more than 1 1/16 miles.

“His breeding indicates that he should go on (for longer races),” Croll said. “He might be the best horse I’ve ever had. He’s right on schedule with only two races this year. He’s a fresh horse, and that’s what you need for the Triple Crown races.”

Perret, who has ridden Bet Twice in five of his six wins, said, “Bet Twice is coming into his own now. He has won by coming from behind; he has won on the lead; he has won from the middle of the pack. He has come between horses to win. What happens, happens.”

Scotty Schulhofer, who trains 4-1 choice Cryptoclearance, said Bet Twice “is definitely the one to beat. Whoever beats him will win the race.”

Cryptoclearance won the Biscayne Bay and the Everglades and was second in the Bahamas and the Flamingo. In the Flamingo, Cryptoclearance lost to Talinum by 1 1/2 lengths.

Mohr Silver, 8-1, will be trying for his second win in six days at Gulfstream.

Conquistarose has been a big disappointment for trainer Woody Stephens. The well-bred son of Conquistador Cielo-De La Rose had two stakes wins in 1986 but ran ninth in the Flamingo and fifth in the Fountain of Youth.

The winner’s purse is worth $300,000.

ABC will televise the race on “Wide World of Sports,” preceding coverage of the Santa Anita Derby. (The two races will be shown delayed on Los Angeles’ Channel 7 at 5:15 and 5:43 p.m., which is three hours after they take place. San Diego’s Channel 10 will show the races an hour earlier.)

The field in post position order with weights, jockeys, odds: Proudest Duke, 122, Julio Pezua, 15-1; Well Constituted, 118, no rider, 20-1; Conquistarose, 122, Robert Lester, 12-1; No More Flowers, 118, Walter Guerra, 12-1; Avies Copy, 118, Jean Cruguet, 20-1; Talinum, 122, Angel Cordero Jr., 5-2; Bet Twice, 122, Craig Perret, 8-5; Mohr Silver, 118, Jose Velez, 8-1, and Cryptoclearance, 122, Jose Santos, 4-1.