Photo:

Gary Johnson / Eclipse Sportswire

The connections have emphasized a race-by-race approach since they purchased Ferocious for $1.3 million as a 2-year-old in training in March. They want their fast and talented young horse to show them what the next step should be.

The son of Flatter burst onto the national scene when he overcame a poor start from the rail on a muddy, sealed track at Saratoga and roared off by 7 3/4 lengths in his six-furlong debut. That indicated he was ready to take the huge step up to the Grade 1 Hopeful on Sept. 2 at Saratoga.

He was, indeed, ready for that seven-furlong contest. Despite losing a shoe and displaying greenness, he showed plenty of fight in missing by only a half-length to Chancer McPatrick.

Given the circumstances, there was plenty to like about that defeat, enough to give Ferocious his first two-turn test in the 1 1/16-mile Breeders’ Futurity (G1) on Saturday at Keeneland. That outcome will determine whether they go on to the season-culminating Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

Although the Juvenile has been on their radar almost from the time the colt was purchased, Gustavo Delgado Jr., who assists his father as trainer, said a strong performance in the Futurity is a must if the Breeders’ Cup is to remain in their plans.

“He has to be right there,” Delgado said. “It won’t make sense to keep going based on just what we think. We can all have opinions. But in the end, the horses have the facts.”

That saying, often heard in racing circles, especially applies to young horses just finding their way. Ferocious arrived at Keeneland on Monday after shipping from Saratoga. His ability to handle travel and adjust fairly quickly to new surroundings is an important element in his development.

“The shipping is key in these cases, change of weather, change of track,” Delgado said.

The Futurity was chosen over the one-turn mile Champagne (G1) at Belmont at the Big A on the same day, partly to see how Ferocious will respond to two turns. It is a very different game from the one the colt played so well in his first two starts.

“First experience going longer, you don’t know what to expect. They give you everything, but they don’t know where they are going sometimes,” Delgado said. “The tempo is key, the tempo they have to run in the first stages.”

Luis Saez is set to become the third jockey to go to the starting gate with Ferocious. Javier Castellano, who handled him so well in his scintillating debut, is still recovering from a broken hand suffered in late August. Irad Ortiz Jr., an emergency replacement for Castellano in the Hopeful, is committed elsewhere.

If Ferocious is to handle the increase in distance, Saez’s ability to get him to rate will be key. “Nine of 10 trainers want to see their horse relax because you don’t win races on the backstretch,” Delgado said. “Most trainers want to see their horses start to run at the three-eighths pole.

“He’s got some speed. He can place him well, where he feels comfortable, and then make one sustainable move that will bring him home in a nice fashion. It’s not a horse you have to push all the way. He usually responds pretty quickly. That’s a nice thing for a horse to have.”

Ferocious worked three times at Saratoga after the Hopeful. A four-furlong move designed to merely stretch his legs Sept. 14 was followed by a pair of five-furlong drills at seven-day intervals. In his most recent breeze, he turned in a bullet on Saturday. He blazed five furlongs in 59.20 seconds, swiftest of 11 workers at the distance.

According to Delgado, the work went faster than intended. But he hopes it was merely an indication of what the Futurity will bring.