Highly regarded by trainer Chad Brown, but short on experience, Unmatched Wisdom stated his case to try the Aug. 24 Travers (G1) with a front-running victory in Friday’s $130,950 Curlin S. at Saratoga.
The Klaravich Stables colorbearer did not debut until May 10, but he’s rapidly making up for lost time. Winning his first two starts by a combined margin of 12 lengths at Aqueduct, Unmatched Wisdom progressed from a one-turn mile maiden to a 1 1/8-mile allowance. The son of Cairo Prince accordingly went off as the 2-5 favorite in the Curlin, and he passed his initial stakes test, holding off Sir Barton S. winner Corporate Power by a tidy length.
Unmatched Wisdom lurched inward from post 1 when the gate opened, costing himself position in the opening strides. Regular pilot Flavien Prat quickly got him to refocus straight ahead, and the dark bay sped to a clear lead through an opening quarter in :23.58. The 39-1 longshot Catire Vizcaya gave chase through a half in :48.37, then began to retreat.
Corporate Power advanced to become his nearest pursuer, and loomed up passing six furlongs in 1:12.66. Unmatched Wisdom had more up his sleeve, however, and drew 2 1/2 lengths clear by midstretch. Corporate Power, by race honoree Curlin, stayed on dourly through the final furlong to reduce the gap to one length.
“He (Unmatched Wisdom) broke a little sluggish,” Prat recapped, “and after that, the trip was good. It was very comfortable and turning for home, he made a good run. From the eighth pole to the wire, he was a bit confident. He was playing around, and he won two races pretty easily, so I never really asked him to run down the lane. I went after him a little bit just to keep him focused, but I felt like I had plenty underneath me.”
Javier Castellano, Corporate Power’s rider, noted that the race shape was against him, and in favor of Unmatched Wisdom.
“I think the dynamic will completely change next time with more distance and more speed to challenge that horse,” Castellano said.
“On the backside, I had to chase a little bit given the slow fractions – it would be hard to catch the leader. On the turn, I thought the race was between me and him (Unmatched Wisdom). I had to encourage my horse a little bit early and it might have cost me the win, but hey, we were second best today. I look forward to the next race against the winner.”
Curlin was responsible for the third-placer as well, as his son Timeout churned on another three lengths adrift in third. Django and Elephants Ear came next in the strung-out field, while Catire Vizcaya was eased and walked off.
By negotiating 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.70, Unmatched Wisdom improved his scorecard to 3-for-3 with earnings of $178,750.
“We were very intent,” Brown said of the pacesetting tactics. “I didn’t want to take any chances. He broke just a step slow – probably from standing in the gate for a little bit from the one-hole. Flavien had to use him a little bit that first quarter to get there, and he probably felt that first quarter a little bit by the wire, but I liked the strategy.
“I told him (Prat) to just keep the silks clean and try and stay out of trouble with this horse and just try to pass the next test. I didn’t want such a heavy favorite – although there are some really nice horses in this race, he looked to be the best on paper – to get in a situation where he’s trapped in or they’re riding against him because of the short field.”
Brown also commented on his Travers aspirations. Unmatched Wisdom has so far been behind the developmental curve of accomplished stablemate Sierra Leone, who has had the Travers on his radar all along. The near-misser in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and third as the favorite in the Belmont (G1), Sierra Leone will prep in the July 27 Jim Dandy (G2).
“He (Unmatched Wisdom) had some more seasoning today,” Brown said. “I think he got that final piece of fitness that he’s going to need as he’s playing catch-up with this very deep three-year-old crop. If he’s going to step up to the Travers from here, he’s going to have to get considerably faster again. But he got a good, hard race out of it. I like that it was a close race at the end, and he had a blow out of it. There’s only so much I can do with him in the morning. He’s a brilliant workhorse but he needs to get his final pieces of fitness from the race.”
The horseman added that Unmatched Wisdom’s relative freshness could turn out to be an advantage at this stage of the season.
“He’s only run three times, but as he’s playing catch-up, you have other three-year-olds that are accumulating a lot of races and a lot of workouts, and a little bit of wear and tear. You end up catching horses that are on the other end of the curve and maybe regressing a little bit that started earlier in the year. If he can keep developing and playing catch-up and a few of the other top ones regress just a bit, he could be in the mix.”
Unmatched Wisdom was bred by the Estate of Harvey Clarke, Paul Braverman, Sebastian Murat, et al in Kentucky. The $25,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase was a pinhook home run for Quantum Investments, as he commanded $450,000 from Klaravich as an OBS March juvenile.
“Cairo Prince can get turf horses and can get some dirt horses,” owner Seth Klarman said.” I think that in our heads, that horse might fall through the cracks at the sale a little bit. He didn’t fall completely through the cracks, but fell enough to where it was within our range.”
Out of the Pure Prize mare Glide on By, Unmatched Wisdom hails from the family of Grade 1 scorer Bandini, multiple Group 1 star Lord North, and noted sire Stormy Atlantic. His female line traces to the blue hen *Rough Shod II, via her champion daughter Moccasin, who shared 1965 Horse of the Year honors in the pre-Eclipse era of polling.
