HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - History repeated itself Saturday at Gulfstream Park for trainer Antonio Sano. Five years after his Gunnevera bounced back from a troubled second-place finish in the Holy Bull to win the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth in impressive fashion, Sano did it again with Simplification, who rallied to a convincing 3 1/2-length victory over In Due Time in the key Kentucky Derby prep. The race was marred by a frightening incident on the far turn that involved both of trainer Bill Mott’s entrants, High Oak and Galt. Fortunately neither jockeys Junior Alvarado and Joel Rosario or the horses were seriously injured. Gunnevera, who went on to finish off the board in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness later that spring, ultimately put Sano on the national map during a career that saw him earn in excess of $5.5 million. Now the Venezuelan-born horseman is back in the big picture again with Simplification, a son of Not This Time owned by Tami Bobo who guaranteed himself a spot in the Kentucky Derby with the 50 qualifying points earned with the Fountain of Youth victory. Simplification, wire-to-wire winner of the Mucho Macho Man in his 3-year-old debut, showed he was more than a one-dimensional horse after recovering from a slow start to finish a distant second behind White Abarrio in the Holy Bull. He was ridden that day by Javier Castellano, who had also guided Gunnevera to his easy victory in the Fountain of Youth five years earlier and was slated to have the mount back on Saturday. But less than two weeks before the race, Sano opted to make a change, handing the reins over to Jose Ortiz instead. :: Serious horseplayers use serious products. Get DRF's premium past performances, now free for the first time Ironically, as was the case with Gunnevera in this race five years ago, Simplification also broke from post 2, coming away alertly before being eased back by Ortiz to settle in mid-pack around the opening bend. Simplification steadied along some behind horses in the run down the backstretch, then was angled six wide with his bid approaching the stretch, which fortunately kept him out of harm’s way as the crowding that ultimately caused High Oak to fall was happening to his inside. Simplification was full of run coming off the bend, readily overtaking the tiring leader Dean Delivers before drawing off with complete authority in the final furlong. In Due Time raced within striking distance while near the inside, split horses with his bid approaching the quarter pole, where he appeared to come out slightly, bumping A.P.’s Secret and forcing him into High Oak, which precipitated the spill. In Due Time checked briefly behind Emmanuel in early stretch before recovering to finish with good energy to be second-best while no threat to the winner. O Captain rallied from last to be third. Emmanuel, who came into the Fountain of Youth off two easy, wire-to-wire victories, had an eventful trip following a bit of a sluggish start, racing near the rear of the 11-horse field during the early stages before making a strong run five wide that put him in close contention midway on the second turn. But the effort took its toll down the stretch, with Emmanuel tiring to be fourth, three-parts of a length behind O Captain. Dean Delivers finished a tiring fifth, followed by Rattle N Roll, A.P.’s Secret - who was in close contention when forced into High Oak by In Due Time near the quarter pole - early pacesetter Markhamian and Howling Time. Both High Oak and Galt walked back to their barn under their own power. Simplification was bet down in the final minutes to be the tepid 5-2 favorite over Emmanuel. He paid $7.00 after completing the 1 1/16 miles over a fast track in 1:44.04 and getting a 96 Beyer Speed Figure. “Five years ago Gunnevera had post 2 and won this race and today, I repeat history,” Sano said. “I told Jose this morning there was a lot of speed, that he didn’t need to go to the front. All he needed was a good start and he got it. I also told him to stay outside and stay safe, if he did he wouldn’t have a problem. When the accident happened, I wasn’t worried for my horse. He was outside. I was worried for the jockeys who went down. We had no problem.” Sano admitted the slow start and unlucky trip Simplification had in the Holy Bull may have helped lead to his winning effort in the Fountain of Youth. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports “When he broke bad last time I said to myself, ‘Oh my God, it’s a disaster,' but ideally, after that, we found out he can run from the front or behind. The horse responded for Jose today. It was all very good.” Sano said in all likelihood, Simplification would return in the $1 million Florida Derby on April 2. Trainer Todd Pletcher said Emmanuel was compromised right from the very start. “The break didn’t go as we wanted, we were hoping to get position, the seven (A.P.’s Secret) came out into him, he got squeezed a little bit, dirt started hitting him in the face and he backed up. He ran a long way, he was very wide all around there.  We were ahead of the accident, I don’t think that played a factor in our result. He got a lot of experience, I don’t think it was bad race when you consider the break and the ground lost. He ran better than it looks on paper.” Mott said both High Oak and Galt seemed fine after the race.       “My horses walked off good, all I know is High Oak was in tight quarters,” Mott said.