Touted as one of the best prelude to the Kentucky Derby hosted by Woodford Reserve to this point this yr, the $1 million Grade 1 Curlin Florida Derby hosted by Hill & Dale Farms at Zalapa at Gulfstream Park on March 28 didn’t disappoint, with Comanment defeating The Puma by a nostril in an in depth photograph end.
In a dramatic replace to the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby, Commandment went widest within the straight and nailed Puma within the ultimate stride, ending in 1 minute, 49.99 seconds over the quick discipline of coach Brad Cox, ridden by Flavien Prat. He paid $5.80 to win.
Commandment, who slipped out of the quantity 4 put up, had Wayne’s Regulation in his favor and the race was virtually decisive earlier than the arrival of the nearer, and after a average first half of 24.10 seconds and 48.80 seconds, he settled unhurriedly close to the again of the compact six-horse discipline.
Puma began a large, sweeping transfer and was in command for a lot of the leg, preventing gamely to the tip, but it surely wasn’t sufficient. Pratt made a remark within the lane and the colt responded with a sustained rally to overtake Puma on the wire.
“I assumed I had an opportunity on the No. 8 pole place,” Pratt mentioned. “He is outspoken, he is a fighter. He confirmed guts within the lane.”
With this win, Commandment established himself as a number one Kentucky Derby contender and earned 100 qualifying factors on the street to the Kentucky Derby.
Regardless of shedding, Puma ran one of the best race of his profession and settled for second place behind coach Gustavo Delgado and rider Javier Castellano.
“We knew we had him,” assistant coach Gustavo Delgado Jr. mentioned. “Aside from that it was precisely what we needed to see earlier than the derby.”
Castellano added: “(Puma) ran an excellent race. I am very blissful. It was an ideal journey. That is what we have been searching for right this moment. He drove very nicely. I assumed he might win.”
Commandment, with 150 Kentucky Derby qualifying factors, sits firmly on the prime of the leaderboard heading into the primary Saturday in Could, whereas The Puma (106 factors) and Chief Wallaby (50 factors) additionally improved within the standings.
Chief Wallaby held floor early on, then angled within the upperstretch and regained an excellent spot between his rivals, however coach Invoice Mott settled for third. He earned 25 Kentucky Derby qualifying factors.
“It felt like plenty of stress,” mentioned jockey Junior Alvarado. “Once I requested him, I assumed he would give me a kick, however he did not. He simply stored the identical tempo.”
The horse, largely educated by Todd Pletcher and ridden by John Velasquez, completed fourth and earned 15 Kentucky Derby qualifying factors.
“Possibly he wanted this to maneuver ahead. We’ll see,” Pletcher mentioned. “We’ve time to see how he bounces again from that and we’ve to coach just a little bit right here and see how the whole lot goes.”
For Cox, the win continued his sturdy run in the important thing Kentucky Derby lead-up and strengthened his confidence in Commandment’s stamina.
“I believe he put apart the query of how far he needed to go,” Cox mentioned. “With the best strikes, he can do it in eight minutes a mile, or 1 / 4 mile.” — Charlie McCarthy
