“We just decided to stop on him for a while,” Tagg said. “He’s still immature and he’s hard on himself. He has a little wear and tear, and we’ll do a nuclear scan on him just to check him out, although we haven’t been able to pinpoint any specific problem.”
The son of El Prado, out of Dreams, by Silver Hawk, finished 11th in the Florida Derby (gr. I) as the 5-2 second choice after sweating badly going to the gate and returning with an elevated body temperature.
“The pony rider kept fighting him for some reason and it really got him worked up,” Tagg said. “I don’t understand it because he’s great in the paddock and is like a puppy dog, so I don't know why he kept fighting him.”
Elysium Fields broke his maiden by eight lengths at Gulfstream Jan. 19 after having blinkers added, and then finished second, beaten a half-length in the Fountain of Youth, battling back in the final sixteenth.
Tagg said his two stakes-winning 3-year-olds, Tale of Ekati, winner of the Wood Memorial (gr. I), and Big Truck, winner of the Tampa Bay Derby (gr. III), are doing well and are on course for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).
Tagg said Big Truck, who finished 11th in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I) over Polytrack, came out of the race “a little body sore,” but is doing fine now.
“He’s happy, acting good, and is full of himself, so we’re still looking at the