HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Dale Romans has so much depth to his 3-year-olds this spring that he was able to scratch the best of his three runners entered Saturday in the Grade 2, $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes, yet still win the race while turning back last year’s divisional champion. At the end of a long, long day at Gulfstream Park, Romans stood tallest of all in the winner’s circle after the last of 14 races, basking in the glow of the 18-1 upset pulled off moments earlier by his colt Promises Fulfilled. But he was exhausted. “It’s been a long day,” Romans said. “I’m going to bed.” Romans more than nine hours earlier had scratched free Free Drop Billy from the race, then worked him for next week’s Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct. He went with a pair of longshots, Promises Fulfilled and 9-1 Storm Runner, both of whom had to take on the Eclipse Award winner, Good Magic. Promises Fulfilled, starting from the outside post in a field of nine, benefitted from aggressive early handling from jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., and the odd strategy employed by some of his rivals. It added up to Promises Fulfilled being able to make the top while being able to slow the pace to a manageable rate. Machismo, who seemed as if he’d be part of the early pace, was not sent, and Storm Runner ran into more traffic down the backstretch than motorists encounter here at rush hour on I-95. Strike Power was allowed to stalk Promises Fulfilled, a move that avoided a pitched early battle and allowed those two to be at the forefront throughout. Promises Fulfilled ($38.40) turned back Strike Power’s bid in upper stretch, and was coming away at the end of the race. He won by 2 1/4 lengths, and it was another 2 1/4 lengths back to third-place Good Magic, who was heavily favored at 3-5 in his first start since winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and, with it, the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male. The victory was the fifth on the card for Ortiz. Machismo was fourth and was followed, in order, by Marconi, Gotta Go, Storm Runner, He Takes Charge, and Peppered. Promises Fulfilled picked up 50 points on the system used by Churchill Downs for the May 5 Kentucky Derby, which is enough to put him in the race. Strike Power got 20 points, and Good Magic another 10 to add to the 24 he earned last year. :: ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays Promises Fulfilled covered 1 1/16 miles on the fast main track in 1:44.17. The race ended at the first finish line, owing to running a race of this distance at a track that is nearly 1 1/8 miles in circumference. “This is a big stepping-stone,” said Romans, who said Promises Fulfilled would return in the Florida Derby here in four weeks. “When horses like this racetrack, you stay on this racetrack.” Promises Fulfilled won twice in three starts last year. He won a maiden race at Churchill Downs first time out Sept. 17, then an allowance race at Keeneland on Oct. 13, before finishing third Nov. 25 in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, a race in which he tried to lug out the whole race. “He should be undefeated,” Romans said. “He popped a splint in that race.” That injury, to the left front leg of Promises Fulfilled, required some time off but no extensive therapy, and certainly not surgery, Romans said. Upon arrival at Gulfstream for the winter, “he started training like a Derby horse,” Romans said. Romans admitted, though, that owner Robert Baron “pushed me to run in a stakes right off the bat, and he was right.” The draw necessitated decisive action, and Ortiz provided it. “I told the jock to push the pedal and try to open up,” Romans said. “And a lot of times when people see what they think is a lot of speed on paper, they take back.” Promises Fulfilled made the lead with a 23.80-second opening quarter, then slowed the pace down. He went the second quarter in 24.59 seconds, and third in 24.21 seconds, to reach the six-furlong mark in 1:12.60. He earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure. “He was galloping along easily, with his ears up,” Romans said. “When his ears were up on the backside, I knew he’d be tough to get by.” No one could. Strike Power was trying two turns for the first time after a pair of sprint wins. “I thought he ran well,” said his trainer, Mark Hennig, who said his rider, Luis Saez, chose not to sprint with Promises Fulfilled leaving the gate because he was afraid of getting into a duel. “Like Luis said, they were dead set on being there,” Hennig said. “Hopefully he’ll keep moving forward.” Chad Brown, who trains Good Magic, said his horse “got a good trip there.” “Had good position early, the latter part of the race he didn’t have it,” Brown said. “My horse got a little tired. He came back blowing pretty good, like he needed the race. Hopefully he got what he needed out of it and will go on to the next step.” The next step for Promises Fulfilled is the Florida Derby. He will go into that race with 3 wins in 4 starts, and earnings of more than $325,000 with the more than $238,000 he earned Saturday. Promises Fulfilled, a son of Shackleford – whom Romans trained to a Preakness win – was purchased as a yearling for just $37,000. Whatever promises there were for a horse of that price, he’s fulfilling them. – additional reporting by Mike Welsch