In the game of what have you done for me lately, High Fly once again did enough. With a three-quarter length victory in the grade II Fountain of Youth Stakes Saturday at Gulfstream Park, the 3-year-old colt captured his second major win of the meeting and restored his credentials as one of the top Kentucky Derby prospects on the East Coast. The previously unbeaten Bandini was second in the $300,000 event, three-quarters of a length in front of locally-based B.B. Best.

"He was real impressive," said trainer Nick Zito, who recently took over the conditioning of the son of Atticus from Calder-based trainer Bill White. "Obviously he's a top horse, the way he relaxed and had enough to finish. You've also got to thank Bill White, who got High Fly as a 2-year-old. Bill White is a friend and he has a good reputation. High Fly fell into our system and didn't let us down."

Bred in Kentucky by his owner Charlotte Weber and her Live Oak Plantation, High Fly started his career in South Florida and captured attention by winning the first three starts of his career including the 1-mile Aventura Stakes at Gulfstream earlier in the season. The colt's star fell slightly with his first loss last month in the Holy Bull Stakes, his first try around two turns where he drew an outside post and encountered traffic trouble but still finished third. Shortly after the Holy Bull, the colt was transferred to two-time Kentucky Derby winning trainer Nick Zito, who looks like he now has several Derby prospects once again this year, including High Fly.

"We'll talk to the owners," Zito said when asked about running at Churchill Downs the first Saturday in May. "The Kentucky Derby could be a good way to go. I'd rather get through the Florida Derby before deciding."

Jockey Jerry Bailey, who was riding High Fly for the first time, was equally impressed with his runner's performance. "He broke exceptionally well and was up to the task today. He'll go a mile and a quarter, no question about it. It's just a question of how fast he'll do it."

Favored at post time, High Fly and Bailey sat second throughout most of the Fountain of Youth, just behind longshot B.B. Best and Jorge Chavez. After posting moderate fractions of :46.94 for a half-mile and 1:11.02 for six furlongs, B.B. Best, down on the inside, appeared to tire slightly and was passed by both High Fly and Bandini. The final time for the mile and an eighth was 1:49.70 over a track that did not appear particularly fast nor did it appear to flatter front-runners. The winner returned $4.20.

As for Bandini, who was making only his third start, trainer Todd Pletcher seemed satisfied but will make some adjustments.

"We're gong to breeze him in blinkers to see if an equipment change will make a difference," Pletcher said. "We're very pleased with his performance, but he needs to get a little more focused."

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