Imperial Hint continues to wow Carvajal

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Imperial Hint is known as the “little rocket,” but trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. thinks the 6-year-old may have had a growth spurt over the weekend at Saratoga.

“To me he looked a little taller than yesterday,” Carvajal joked Sunday morning. “I don’t know, maybe that’s just my imagination.”

Imperial Hint surely raised his profile in the Sprint division with a track record-setting performance in capturing Saturday’s Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap, a race he won for the second consecutive year.

Imperial Hint not only beat Mitole – a winner of seven straight races entering the Vanderbilt – he did so while setting a track record of 1:07.92 for six furlongs. He earned a career-best 114 Beyer Speed Figure, equaling the biggest number assigned to any horse this year. Come Dancing also earned a 114 for her victory in the Grade 3 Distaff at Aqueduct in April.

Imperial Hint came out of the race in good order, Carvajal said, and will likely make his next start in the Grade 1, $300,000 Vosburgh at Belmont on Sept. 28. Imperial Hint won last year’s Vosburgh before finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Churchill.

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Saturday, Carvajal was impressed by Imperial Hint’s performance considering he thought the horse might be short entering the race. Imperial Hint hadn’t run since finishing third in the Golden Shaheen at Meydan in March and he missed a work the week of the race.

“When he came around that turn and showed that quick turn of foot it was a flashback to last year,” Carvajal said. “When he did that around the turn, it was hard to describe.”

Carvajal was also heartened by the response Imperial Hint received from the Saratoga crowed after the race.

“Coming back to the winner’s circle for me to have a horse that people are cheering and clapping for … it felt better than winning the lotto,” Carvajal said.

Meanwhile, Mitole lost for the first time since he finished second in the Gazebo Stakes at Oaklawn in February of 2018. Breaking from the rail, he was part of an early duel with Strike Power, and he finished third, beaten 7 1/2 lengths.

Trainer Steve Asmussen said Mitole came out of the race in good order, but added “I don’t know what I’ll do” next with him.