Victory Avenue May Provide Restrepo a Road to Derby

For America’s Best Racing, Tom Pedulla is interviewing prominent owners, trainers, and jockeys as they travel the Road to the 150th Kentucky Derby (G1) May 4 at Churchill Downs.

This installment features Ramiro Restrepo, a bloodstock agent who helped to select Mage  , last year’s Kentucky Derby winner, and remained with trainer Gustavo Delgado and his son, Gustavo Jr., as part of the ownership group.

Mage was an unraced 2-year-old who quickly rose to prominence after winning a Jan. 28 debut before finishing fourth in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) and second in the Florida Derby (G1) ahead of his Kentucky Derby upset at 15-1 odds. Restrepo and the Delgados are hoping the same improbable scenario can unfold again with Victory Avenue , who finished second in an impressive Jan. 27 debut at Gulfstream Park.

The son of the late Arrogate is entered in the $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes March 2 at Gulfstream in search of his first Derby qualifying points. The 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth offers points to the top five finishers on a 50-25-15-10-5 basis.

Restrepo discussed the impact of last year’s Derby on his life and career, what drew him to purchase Victory Avenue for $375,000 last year at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales June 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale, and whether the colt might give them a shot at consecutive Kentucky Derby wins during a question-and-answer session conducted on behalf of America’s Best Racing.

PEDULLA: How did the Derby victory change your life?

RESTREPO: From a personal point of view, the journey was fulfilling for myself and my family, and I’m sure all of my partners. Professionally, it increased our profile and gave us the opportunity to purchase horses all over the world in different markets. That’s been a blessing and a dream come true.

PEDULLA: What drew you to Victory Avenue?

RESTREPO: Arrogate, we had seen brilliance in his progeny in a short period of time and he was no longer around. Victory Avenue looked just like his grandsire, Scat Daddy, another sire that was gone way too soon. His breeze (as a 2-year-old in training before the sale) was unbelievable. The consignor (Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds) believed in the horse so much they actually stayed in as a partner. All of that coming together gave us the green light to go after him pretty hard.

PEDULLA: What are the qualities you are looking for when you buy a horse?

RESTREPO: I’m a big believer in bloodlines, pedigree. You want to see that stand out in the physicality when you go and inspect them at the sales. You try to find some kind of connection with the horse as far as class, his personality, his behavior, his way of carrying himself when being put through the rigors of a sale, his movement, his athleticism. Hopefully, all of that comes together and you buy a nice horse.

PEDULLA: Why was Victory Avenue unraced at 2?

RESTREPO: You want to give him a little time to get over the sales. With (progeny of) Arrogate, we’ve seen they mature a little later on. You want to give them more time to mature.

PEDULLA: Is he showing you any similarities to Mage?

RESTREPO: Physically, as far as the morning talent in his breezes and how he gallops, there are similarities. Good horses work fast. Mage mentally was a lot further along than this horse. Mage was incredibly mature mentally. This colt is a little more of an immature personality. I think when that catches up to his physicality, you’ll really have the makings of a potentially special horse.

PEDULLA: How did you evaluate Victory Avenue’s debut? Were you encouraged even though he lost to Speak Easy, another promising colt?

RESTREPO: A 97 Beyer Speed Figure, that is going to win 99 out of 100 times. It was a fantastic effort. He never quit. He put distance between himself and the third-place finisher. He came out of the race so great; that’s what encouraged us to take this leap to the Fountain of Youth.

PEDULLA: Does it take a lot of courage, faith to take this leap off a defeat?

RESTREPO: This is where you trust Gustavo. Gustavo has been down this road before, so this doesn’t scare anyone. We have a talented horse. We know the importance of potentially gaining Derby points. Last year, we got points in the Fountain of Youth and that’s what got us into the field. It only makes sense to try to take two shots to get points. Does he have to win on Saturday? No. We’ll keep moving forward and see if we can get into the Derby field if the horse takes us there.

PEDULLA: What do you need to see to go on to the Florida Derby on March 30?

RESTREPO: It’s a race-to-race deal with our team. As long as you see a horse continue taking forward steps, you go on to the next stage. That’s how you get to the bigger dances. Wherever Victory Avenue may go after this one, he’ll take us there.

PEDULLA: Is the experience with Mage last year helping you now?

RESTREPO: Experience is everything. It makes you confident in your training program and your regimen. It gives you that much more confidence to trust in what you are seeing, trusting your eyes.

PEDULLA: Do you have other young horses that fans should look for?

RESTREPO: We have a nice big colt named Juventus. He’s a 3-year-old Into Mischief that we nominated to the Triple Crown series. He needs more experience. We’re very excited about our 2-year-olds. We have 16 2-year-olds, which is the biggest group we’ve taken on. We’re very excited to have all of these babies. Hopefully, they’ll be debuting at Saratoga or wherever that may be.

PEDULLA: Exciting times, for sure. Do you think Victory Avenue could take you to a second straight Derby and maybe even make some noise there?

RESTREPO: I know we have a talented colt. I know he will be handled with the utmost care. I know that, with the proper development, at some point he will be making some major noise on the 3-year-old landscape. It’s just a matter of when. We’ll let him take us wherever that may be.