Unitarian closes strong to win Elkhorn Stakes

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Ken Ramsey extended his hand to Todd Pletcher as the trainer made his way to the winner’s enclosure on Keeneland’s turf course.

“Keep bringing in them longshots!” Ramsey said, with his characteristic cackle.

The longshot Ramsey was referring to was Unitarian, a 4-year-old colt who took the Grade 3 Elkhorn Stakes on Keeneland’s closing day with a surprising show of speed, beating 12 closely matched rivals by a widening margin after 1 1/2 miles on Keeneland’s turf course.

Ridden by J.J. Castellano, Unitarian won by 1 1/4 lengths over War Dancer, the winner of last year’s Virginia Derby. Favored Temeraine was third, back another 1 1/4 lengths. Time was 2:32.60 over a course rated good.

Unitarian went off at 18-1 in the Elkhorn, but even the favorite was relatively long at odds of 9-2. Not that you could blame the betting public for having a hard time figuring the race out. The 13 horses in the race had run an average of 21 races each, and most of them were the kind of hard-knocking types that do a bit of running in nearly every race they appear in.

Bred and owned by Robert S. Evans, Unitarian was actually one of the least successful of the entrants in the race. It took the horse eight starts to break his maiden, and it wasn’t until his 14th start that Pletcher felt he deserved a shot at a stakes after winning two conditioned allowances in a row. The stakes was the Fair Grounds Handicap Feb. 22 in New Orleans, and the best Unitarian could do was seventh after running wide around the turns.

“Mike Smith was on him that day, and he said that he just didn’t handle the grass,” Pletcher said. “That Fair Grounds grass can be quirky.”

Still, Pletcher had enough confidence in Unitarian to put him back in stakes company in the Elkhorn, largely because of how well the horse had performed prior to Fair Grounds and because of his belief that age was only making the horse better.

“I told Mr. Evans that I felt like he’d be a better 4-year-old than a 3-year-old, just like he’d be a better 3-year-old than a 2-year old,” Pletcher said.

During the Elkhorn, Unitarian was unhurried under Castellano for the first full mile, and he only started picking up horses around the far turn. With an eighth of a mile to go, he still had three lengths to catch the three horses ahead of him, but with clear sailing in the middle of the track, the horse kept his head down and motored, Castellano said.

“He’s a come-from-behind horse, so I took my time,” Castellano said. “Once I got him out in the open, he just cruised.”

By Pulpit out of the Dynaformer mare Minimalist – and therefore very cleverly named -- Unitarian paid $38.80 to win, and capped a $551.80 exacta. The trifecta was $4,379.80. The payout on the $2 super, with 27-1 shot Suntracer in fourth, was a whopping $82,793.80.

With the $150,000 winner’s share of the purse, Unitarian pushed his career earnings to $331,480. He has now won four of his 15 lifetime starts, and he’ll be pointed to longer grass races in New York this spring and summer, Pletcher said.