Constitution, who recovered from a slow start to take his seven-furlong debut
Dispatched as the 2-1 favorite in the salty field, Constitution had no
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Tonalist moved to within a half-length of Constitution through six furlongs
in 1:11, but the pacesetter had plenty in reserve. Constitution found another
gear turning for home, shook free of his pursuers, and stopped the teletimer in
1:42.
“It actually played out really well,” Pletcher said. “I just wanted to make
sure we got to the first turn in a good position. I don’t know why he broke as
poorly as he did first time because he’s not a bad gate horse, but he broke
cleanly today and Javier was able to get to the position we wanted to be in, and
he ran really well from there.”
Tonalist, who was shortening up from his nine-furlong maiden romp, kept on
doggedly and finished best of the rest by 2 1/4 lengths. A Tapit colt like the
winner, he capped the exacta for their hot sire.
Mexikoma motored late to grab third, relegating Wicked Strong to fourth.
We’re All Set, Big Guy Ian, Solemnly Swear, Sea of Faces, Rhythm Blues and
Pletcher’s other runner, Matterhorn, concluded the order under the wire.
Constitution paid $6.60 to win, and his bankroll stands at $49,350. He now
figures to chase much bigger prizes on the Kentucky Derby trail.
“He’s certainly very talented,” Pletcher said. “The issue that we have with
all of these that are only making their second start and didn’t start until this
year, historically, I think we’re trying to buck a trend, but I think we have a
horse that’s talented enough to keep moving in the right direction.”
Bred by Grapestock and Fox Hill Farms in Kentucky, Constitution brought
$400,000 as a yearling at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga. The bay colt is out of Baffled,
who placed in the six-furlong Albany at Royal Ascot in 2007. Baffled is a full
sister to current Dubai performer Surfer, runner-up in last year’s Maktoum
Challenge Round 2, and a three-quarter sister to Grade 1-winning juvenile
Awesome Humor. Baffled is also a half-sister to Grade 1-winning sprinter Emcee,
victorious in the 2012 Forego at Saratoga, and to stakes scorer Spring Party.
Pletcher and Castellano had combined for two wins earlier on the day, both
with Triple Crown nominees. Let’s Go Stable’s Divine Oath rallied from midpack
to capture the
1ST race, an entry-level turf allowance, as the 8-5 favorite. The son of
Broken Vow extended his mark to two-for-two, having broken his maiden over the
same 7 1/2-furlong trip on this course January 18.
Unlike in his debut victory, where he argued a slow pace, Divine Oath
encountered much faster fractions here and bided his time as far as 10 lengths
back early. He advanced on the far turn and closed with a flourish, just
parrying the even later thrust of Big Bazinga by a neck. Divine Oath finished in
1:28 1/5 on the firm course.
A $200,000 Keeneland September yearling, Divine Oath has earned $49,350. The
well-bred colt was produced by the winning Forestry mare Rejoicing, from the
immediate family of Grade 2 turf hero Interactif, himself a Pletcher trainee by
Broken Vow. Divine Oath’s second dam is Pennant Champion, a winning full sister
to Grade 1 scorers Miner’s Mark and Traditionally, as well as multiple Grade
1-placed Our Emblem.
Divine Oath’s third dam is unbeaten Hall of Famer and Broodmare of the Year
Personal Ensign. Aside from Pennant Champion and her siblings, Personal Ensign
is also responsible for multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire My Flag (the dam of
champion Storm Flag Flying) and Grade 2-placed Salute (dam of current Dania
Beach winner Mr Speaker). Personal Ensign is the ancestress of Grade 2 victor
Parading and Grade 3 queen Seeking the Title.
In the
5TH race, Pletcher and Castellano successfully teamed up with Stonestreet
Stables’ Global Strike, who justified 3-5 favoritism in his maiden. Despite
stumbling at the break, the son of Smart Strike and Argentinean Group 1 vixen
Misty Lady regrouped adroitly to set the pace through fractions of :23 4/5, :47
2/5 and 1:11 4/5. I’mbetterthangood accosted him in midstretch, and appeared to
put his head in front, but Global Strike came again and edged away by 1 1/4
lengths.
“It was gutsy,” Pletcher said. “He kind of put himself into a bad spot when
he didn’t behave very well in the gate. They had a tail on him and I think that
caused him to get away like he did. I’m always happy to win, but I think there’s
more there than we saw today.”
By negotiating 1 1/8 miles in 1:52, Global Strike improved his resume to
3-1-1-1, $34,740, all at Gulfstream. The Kentucky-bred, who RNA’d for $70,000 as
a yearling at Keeneland September, was third in his career debut on turf
December 7. He switched to dirt last time and finished second, beaten four
lengths, by Tonalist.
Pletcher and Castellano later won the Grade 2 Davona Dale with Onlyforyou,
making it four wins for the trainer and five for the jockey Saturday.
Castellano’s other scores on his banner six-win day came courtesy of the Chad
Brown-trained Normandy Invasion in the 4TH, and the Shug McGaughey-trained
Reload in the Grade 3 Canadian Turf. He fell just a head short of a seventh win
when General a Rod missed to Wildcat Red in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth. Had
General a Rod prevailed, Castellano would have tied retired Hall of Famer Jerry
Bailey’s Gulfstream record of seven wins on a single day.
There was one smashing three-year-old maiden winner representing other
connections — Rontos Racing Stable Corp.’s Social Inclusion, who bolted up by 7
1/2 lengths in his unveiling in the
2ND race. Trained by Manuel Azpurua and piloted by Luis Contreras, the 9-1
chance rattled off splits of :22, :44 3/5 and :56 3/5 en route to a final time
of 1:09 1/5 for six furlongs.
Social Inclusion, who is nominated to the Triple Crown, was sold for $60,000
as a Keeneland September yearling. The May 1 foal became the latest budding star
from the first crop of Pioneerof the Nile, and his dam is the Grade 2-placed
Saint Ballado mare Saint Bernadette.
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