Longer distances planned for Unanimous Consent, Consumer Spending

ELMONT, N.Y. – Coming off their weekend stakes wins, Unanimous Consent and Consumer Spending will both be stretched out a little farther in distance for their next start.

Unanimous Consent, who won Saturday’s 1 1/16-mile Woodhaven Stakes for 3-year-olds by 1 3/4 lengths, will most likely make his next start in the Grade 2, $200,000 Pennine Ridge at 1 1/8 miles on June 4. Unanimous Consent, a son of More Than Ready, improved his record to 3 for 3. He earned an 80 Beyer Speed Figure.

Brown said Unanimous Consent reminds him of Big Blue Kitten, a horse he trained for Ken and Sarah Ramsey in the early 2010s who won at shorter distances but ultimately proved better going long. Big Blue Kitten won the Sword Dancer, Joe Hirsch, and two runnings of the United Nations – all Grade 1 marathon stakes – and earned $2.9 million.

:: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures

“He’s trained like him, he runs a bit like him,” said Brown, who trains Unanimous Consent and Consumer Spending for Seth Klarman. “I’ve thought that for a while now. I hope he can have a similar career to him.”

Brown said the Pennine Ridge would be a stepping-stone to the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Derby at 1 1/4 miles on July 9.

On Sunday, Consumer Spending beat Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Pizza Bianca by three-quarters of a length in the 1 1/16-mile Memories of Silver Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. Consumer Spending had finished 1 3/4 lengths behind Pizza Bianca in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, but turned the tables Sunday.

Consumer Spending, who improved to 3 for 5 and earned an 85 Beyer Speed Figure, will be pointed to the Grade 2, $200,000 Wonder Again at 1 1/8 miles on June 9 and then perhaps the Grade 1, $700,000 Belmont Oaks on July 9.