Commissioner delivers as favorite in Pimlico Special
BALTIMORE – Commissioner displayed enough precocity early in his 3-year-old year to be given a shot at the Triple Crown races, and he came awfully close to winning one of them. But trainer Todd Pletcher always thought he’d be better as he got older, and Commissioner is seemingly in the best form of his life right now at age 4, with consecutive stakes wins, including a dominant victory Friday in the Grade 3, $300,000 Pimlico Special at Pimlico.
Commissioner ($4.60), the favorite, stalked the early pace of Encryption while benefiting from his outside draw, moved to take the lead on the far turn, drew away in upper stretch, and was never threatened thereafter en route to a 2 1/2-length victory in the 1 3/16-mile race for older horses.
“I loved the position he was able to get into,” Pletcher said.
Page McKenney rallied for second, finishing 2 3/4 lengths in front of Cat Burglar. Four others ran after the scratches of Albano, Kid Cruz, and Tapiture.
Commissioner, under Javier Castellano, completed 1 3/16 miles on the fast main track in 1:56.09.
The win was the fourth in 12 starts for Commissioner, who won the Grade 3 Skip Away at Gulfstream in his last start. He lost last year’s Belmont Stakes by a head to Tonalist.
“He’s getting better and better,” Pletcher said. “He’s by A.P. Indy, so we always felt he’d only get better, though we did have one of the nastiest of beats with him in the Belmont.”
Commissioner has raced twice at Belmont Park – he also finished second to Tonalist in the Peter Pan Stakes last year – and he will race there next in either the 1 1/2-mile Brooklyn on June 6 on the undercard of the Belmont Stakes or the 1 1/4-mile Suburban on July 4.
“We’ll look at the Brooklyn, though it’s 22 days back. If not that, the Suburban,” Pletcher said.
The win was the second major stakes of the day here at Pimlico for Pletcher, who also won the Allaire duPont Distaff with Stopchargingmaria.
Commissioner was bred and is owned by the WinStar Farm of Kenny Troutt.