Trainer John Terranova II believes it's never too early to daydream about the Kentucky Derby.

Or too cold.

All of which explains why there was such a warm, radiant smile on Terranova's face as he spoke on Saturday, his back pressed against a wall of the paddock at Aqueduct Racetrack, trying to make use of a small overhang protecting him from the frigid precipitation falling all around him.

The skies were gray. Temperatures hovered near 40 degrees on this messy, rainy, snowy January afternoon. Yet for Terranova there was indeed a highly valid reason to discuss a surreal day four months down the road, when parkas will give way to suit jackets and the number one tune will center on the sun beaming down on an old home in the Bluegrass State.

"It's never too early to have the Kentucky Derby on your mind, especially if you have a good 3-year-old that's doing well and has a special kind of talent," Terranova said. "It's exciting to dream, yet we all know we have a long way to go."

On a calendar, the gap between Saturday, when Terranova saddled Zayat Stable's victorious El Kabeir in the $200,000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct, and the Kentucky Derby on May 2 amounts to just 119 days. Yet in terms of the numerous twists and turns on the arduous path a talented 3-year-old must follow to arrive in Louisville on the first Saturday in May, that time frame can often feel like years rather than months.

"As long as he stays healthy, we have a runner here … Yet we all know that in this game something good can be taken from you [in] an instant," Terranova said. "So you enjoy these moments."

The moment was both enjoyable and productive as El Kabeir gained valuable seasoning and placed a firm grip on a spot in the Kentucky Derby through a highly professional 4-3/4-length triumph in the mile and 70 yards Grade 3 stakes.

"What you saw today was what we've seen in the morning," the 44-year-old Terranova said. "He's doing everything better. He's more focused."

From a statistical standpoint, the victory gave El Kabeir another 10 points in the Road to the Kentucky Derby points chase. The newly turned 3-year-old now leads the series with 21 points, and since its inception in 2013 that figure would have been enough to garner him one of the 20 starting spots in the last two editions of the Run for the Roses.

Now, with those points in hand, the name of the game becomes staying on course and remaining a viable Derby candidate as the races grow longer, richer and more revealing.

"We'll enjoy this, but you still have to show up in the later races and be in good form," said Terranova, who was uncertain of future plans for the gray son of Scat Daddy, "otherwise you don't belong in the Derby."

Much can -- and will -- change in the coming months, yet on Saturday El Kabeir took another step forward while helping to ease some of the heartbreak his owners experienced in the fall. Back in October, owner Ahmed Zayat's Derby dreams centered on another 2-year-old, the speedy American Pharoah. A two-time Grade 1 winner trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, American Pharoah was a heavy favorite for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile until fate intervened. A sore foot forced him to miss the Breeders' Cup and could impact his 3-year-old campaign.

Thanks to El Kabeir and Terranova, Zayat and his family have a back-up plan that's coming together rather well.

"The Zayats are great supporters of the game," Terranova said. "They have a passion for it and it's great to be around people like them. They take their punches and roll with them. They've had their successes and their failures, disappointments and heartbreak and they deserve a kind of moment like today."

The Jerome marked El Kabeir's first start since his initial stakes win, a front-running victory by a head in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes on Nov. 29 at the home of the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs, and he put a new dimension on display.

Breaking from the outside post in a field of eight, El Kabeir stumbled coming out of the gate and then raced 3-4 wide around the first turn. Stalking in third on the backstretch, the 7-5 favorite ($4.90) drew even with the early leaders, 5-2 second choice Ostrolenka and 5-1 third choice Nasa, at the quarter pole, and then pulled away in the stretch under jockey Chuck Lopez, who inherited the mount when Calvin Borel took time off following the death of his sister-in-law.

The field was not overpowering. The only other 3-year-old to show much ability was runner-up Nasa, from the same owner (Someday Farm) and trainer (John Servis) who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness with Smarty Jones in 2004. He had 7 ¾ lengths on third-place finisher General Bellamy in a strung-out field. The final time -- 1:44.69 over a good racing surface -- was well shy of the track record. Yet El Kabeir's ability to rate could bode well for important days down the road.

"It looks like he'll rate fine," Terranova said. "That's the whole key with these young, fast 3-year-olds, are they going to be able to relax enough to stretch out and carry it? He's certainly bred to, and he trains like he should. We'll see. Hopefully he'll keep progressing. He's gotten bigger and more filled out since the Kentucky race. He's eating like there's no tomorrow."

Of course, there are indeed plenty of tomorrows for Terranova and El Kabeir to ponder, topped by one in particular on a Saturday in early May.

Even on a cold January afternoon, that should be a warming thought.