Fly So Free Wins Hutcheson Stakes by a Length

HALLANDALE, Fla. —  Fly So Free’s victory in the $92,455 Hutcheson Stakes at Gulfstream Park Saturday was nothing compared to what trainer Scotty Schulhofer thinks the 3-year-old colt can do.

“The (Kentucky) Derby is our big objective and you want to get there in stages. You don’t want to do too much too soon,” Schulhofer said after Fly So Free raced seven furlongs in 1:23 1/5.

Fly So Free’s next race probably will be either the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth Feb. 23 or the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby March 16, both at Gulfstream.

“If they were ever going to beat him, it would have been today,” Schulhofer said. “He hadn’t run in a long time (three months) and he wasn’t really tight. I’m aiming to have him really tight for the Derby.”

Fly So Free, who won the Champagne Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last year, paid $4.20, $2.80 and $2.60. To Freedom paid $3.60 and $3.20. Sunny and Pleasant returned $6.80.