Imperial Hint impresses in Vanderbilt

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – As good as he was as a speed horse, Imperial Hint may be even better coming from off the pace.

After winning last month’s Grade 2 True North at Belmont Park from off the pace, Imperial Hint was even more impressive with that style on Saturday, cruising to a 3 3/4-length victory in the Grade 1, $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga.

Sitting behind a three-ply speed duel under Javier Castellano, Imperial Hint, made a four-wide sweep around the turn, made the lead turning for home, and cruised to an easy victory over Warrior’s Club. It was 2 3/4 lengths back to longshot Sweetontheladies in third.

Mr. Crow was fourth, followed by Switzerland, Petrov, and Done Deal.

It was the first Grade 1 victory for Imperial Hint, a 5-year-old son of Imperialism who improved his record to 11 wins from 17 starts. It was also the first Grade 1 victory for trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. and owner Raymond Mamone.

“When he runs I always expect him to do this well,” Carvajal said. “Winning here at Saratoga, this kind of race, my first Grade 1 for me and my owner, it’s just fantastic. I have a good group of people who work with me. This is great, I can’t put into words how happy I feel.”

Imperial Hint was wrapped up in the final sixteenth or he could have won by a bigger margin and potentially threatened the track record of 1:08.00. As it was, he ran six furlongs in 1:08.98 over a track rated good and had plenty left in the tank. He returned $3.60 as the 4-5 favorite.

“He doesn’t have to dictate the pace, he’s now able to sit back a little bit and find that late kick,” Castellano said. “Very impressive performance the way he did it today. I could have opened up by 10.”

Imperial Hint finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint last November. The goal is to return to the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs.

Carvajal said he would like to keep Imperial Hint running at six furlongs, which means he will likely skip the Grade 1 Forego, a seven-furlong race here on Aug. 25, and point to the Grade 1, $350,000 Vosburgh at Belmont Park on Sept. 29.