The third time was the charm again for trainer Todd Pletcher in Saturday’s Florida Derby. Just as he did last winter, Pletcher won the $1 million centerpiece of the Gulfstream winter season with a colt, Materiality, who came to Florida unraced and was making only the third start of his undefeated career. Last year it was Constitution.
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Materiality, who made his second start only 22 days ago, and Upstart, turned the mile and an eighth race into a half-mile match race from the backstretch to the wire. Longshot Jack Frost dashed to the early lead but John Velazquez on Materialty and Jose Ortiz on Upstart didn’t let the 61-1 shot, who wound up last, get away.
Going toward the far turn, Velazquez urged Materiality, the 9-5 second choice, to the lead and Ortiz on the even-money favorite moved with him. By the mid-point of the turn they had moved well away from the rest of the field and began their fierce battle to the finish. Materiality on the inside slowly began to get the best of it. He opened a half-length in early stretch, then a length and finally a length and a half at the wire.
Materiality, owned by Alto Racing, completed a mile and an eighth in 1:52.30, almost six seconds off the track record. But Pletcher said the track was slow and tiring all afternoon. “We had some good horses today who ran slow times.”
It appeared Materiality might have come out slightly into Upstart, the Holy Bull winner who was disqualified from first in the Fountain of Youth for bumping Itsaknockout. “We got very close,” Velazquez said. “But I made sure I didn’t hit him.”
The superiority of the first two finishers, both of whom are expected to go on to the Kentucky Derby, was illustrated by the fact that it was 12 1/2 lengths back to third-place finisher Ami’s Flatter and seven more lengths back to Itsaknockout, who was advanced to first in the Fountain of Youth on the disqualification of Upstart.
Itsaknockout never reached contention Saturday. Pletcher felt the colt might not have handled the tiring surface. “The nature of the track might have worked against him. He was stuck down on the inside. It wasn’t a horrible race.” He remains a possibility for the Kentucky Derby.
If Materiality gets to the Kentucky Derby, he will be the latest horse to challenge the so-called curse of Apollo, who is the last horse to win the Run for the Roses without making a start as a 2-year-old. Asked about this, Pletcher just offered a pleasant smile. It is the least of his concerns.
“Typical baby things” delayed Materiality’s debut until Jan. 11, coincidentally the same date Constitution made his debut one year ago. He won his debut by an emphatic 4 1/2 lengths but many of Pletcher’s young horses do that. Materiality demonstrated he might be special when he came back on March 6 in a small stakes and won by almost six lengths at the Florida Derby distance. “You don’t very often see a horse go from six furlongs to a mile and eighth in his second start and win in a good time,” Pletcher said.
The quality of this effort was underlined about a half-hour prior to the Florida Derby. Stanford, a Pletcher stablemate who was favored over Materiality on March 6, finished a game second to International Star in the Louisiana Derby.
Pletcher said his big concern going into the Florida Derby was the relatively short period between his last race and the Florida Derby. “But he’s a big strong horse and he had a good breeze about a week ago.” The situation turns around now, Pletcher feels. By opting for the Florida Derby, Materiality gets five weeks to recover his strength before the Kentucky Derby.
Velazquez, who rides many of Pletcher’s horses, might be facing a tough decision. He also rides Carpe Diem, another Pletcher standout who will be a solid favorite in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland next Saturday. Asked if he had made a Kentucky Derby commitment to either horse, Pletcher kiddingly butted in to answer for him.
“He’s made a commitment to me, hopefully.”