LAUREL, Md. – There have been a half-dozen opportunities in the past eight months for Saffie Joseph Jr. to finally give Navajo Warrior his first shot in stakes company. The trainer waited until he was sure, and his patience paid off in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special Stakes on Friday at Laurel Park. Coming off the best race of his career in a second-level allowance at Gulfstream Park, the 5-year-old gelding strolled along on the front end under Flavien Prat, unchallenged and leisurely. When it came time to take care of business in the 1 3/16-mile race, he powered away with ease to win by 2 3/4 lengths. “In this race, you had two unknown variables,” Joseph said. “Is he coming back off a too-fast race? He didn't show any regression, but you question that, and then he's going a mile and three-sixteenths. He's never done it before. “But he handled it well, and he's a horse that, as I said, if he continues to do well, he'll be running Grade 1 races soon.” :: Get Preakness Betting Strategies for exclusive wagering insights, contender analysis, and more Despite being the only runner in the field of seven without stakes experience, Navajo Warrior received bullish treatment from bettors, who made him the 6-5 favorite in unfamiliar territory. He paid $4.60 to win. Prat’s plan aboard the ever-improving Candy Ride gelding was clear from the beginning. With a clean break, he took early command without issue, and after walking through an opening quarter-mile in 24.60 seconds, he continued ambling through a half-mile in 48.40. “On paper, it didn't look like there was a whole lot of speed, so I wanted to break clean, see what the other riders were doing,” Prat said. “He jumped very well and he found himself on the lead. When we hit the first turn, I was pleased with the way things were going.” Awesome Aaron, the Pimlico Special winner last year, and Yo Daddy both approached the pacesetter on the backstretch, but they suffered the consequences of those early bids and faded to sixth and seventh. “I got a little pressure down the back side, but he kind of got away from it, and then after that, he did the rest,” Prat said. Maclean’s Rook, an 8-1 outsider returning to stakes company for Michael Trombetta, made a huge move under Ismerio Villalobos while traveling wide around the far turn. The Maryland-bred was the only one to pose a serious threat to the leader, defending his home track with a furious rally into the stretch. But despite his best efforts from sixth, the rest of the field simply did not do enough in the early going to allow for a late-running score. Navajo Warrior had never tackled 1 3/16 miles, but he had plenty left to repel his lone challenger and complete the distance in 1:37.67. Maclean’s Rook finished three-quarters of a length clear of third-place San Siro, who stalked from fourth and kept on for trainer Brendan Walsh. In late 2024, Navajo Warrior was running in maiden-claiming company on the West Coast for trainer Tim Yakteen, who kick-started his rise in an improved 4-year-old campaign. By the time he reached Joseph’s barn through a private sale, he was a rip-roaring contender coming off three straight victories in California. He rattled off another four in six starts for Joseph before his graded stakes debut. :: Get ready for Preakness with DRF past performances, picks, and betting strategies! “We got that ownership group together,” Joseph said. “We got four people, so that if it didn't work out, nobody took such a big loss. We figured we'd roll the dice and trust the numbers. He had a lot of conditions, and once we started running him, we realized that the horse was going to become a graded stakes-level [horse], and we just waited for our time to try it. Here he is.” Navajo Warrior is currently owned by BAG Racing Stables, Miller Racing, Dr. Derek K. Paul, Mathis Stable, Paul Braverman, and Timothy Pinch. Joseph said the Pimlico Special was always the target for his gelding, and he said has no definite follow-up in mind. There are bigger whales on the horizon, however. The trainer is already dreaming of a trip to the $20 million Saudi Cup next year, where even a minor prize could be a career-changing result. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.