Jerkens prefers options other than Belmont Stakes for Unified

ELMONT, N.Y. - Having passed his distance exam Saturday at Belmont Park, Unified will likely be tested around two turns for his next start, though the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on June 11 is not likely to be that spot, trainer Jimmy Jerkens said Sunday morning.

Jerkens said Sunday that Unified came out of his three-quarter-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes “real good.” While there is no official decision yet on where Unified - a perfect 3-for-3 - will make his next start, Jerkens would like to run him around two turns and at a similar 1 1/8-mile distance as the Peter Pan. Races like the Grade 3, $150,000 Pegasus Stakes, going 1 1/16 miles, on June 19 at Monmouth Park, or the $500,000 Ohio Derby, at 1 1/8 miles, on June 25 at Thistledown seem like potential candidates.

The Belmont Stakes, at 1 1/2 miles, however, is not foremost in Jerkens’s thoughts.

“This is one of those years where it doesn’t look like the Peter Pan is a stepping-stone to the Belmont, at least for our horse anyway,” said Jerkens, who trains Unified for Centennial Farms. “We’ll have to see what they have on their minds. I’d like to see if he can do the two turns.”

Jerkens left the door open a crack for a start in the Belmont pending what happens in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes and how the Belmont Stakes field develops.

“It seems what he’s done in a short period of time, he must be something special,” Jerkens said. “You just can’t rule anything out especially now … the way horses are now, they disintegrate in 24 hours.”

Unified was making just the third start of his career in the Peter Pan while stretching out from seven furlongs to 1 1/8 miles. Outfooted for the early lead by Singleton, Unified found himself stalking a horse for the first time. He raced in tandem but outside of Supah Czech for a half-mile before moving into a clear second and right off of Singleton’s flank entering the far turn.

Unified made the lead at the three-eighths pole, opened up a three-length advantage in midstretch, and then held Governor Malibu at bay in the final furlong. Jerkens liked the fact Unified didn’t allow Governor Malibu by him past the wire.

“He seems to be very gritty,” Jerkens said of Unified. “He pulled away. I don’t know if he was getting so much tired or started to loaf but as soon as that horse got close enough to him it looked to me like he spurted away a little bit at the very end. That horse was gaining and then he wasn’t.”

Unified, a son of Candy Ride, ran the 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.14 - the fastest Peter Pan since Charitable Man won it in 1:47.13 in 2009 - and earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure. Charitable Man, whose profile is similar to Unified at this point in their careers, ran fourth in that year’s Belmont.