TDN RISING STARS

January 11, 2014 - Gulfstream Park, Race 4, Msw, USD $47,000, 7f

Constitution, c, 3, 2011 by Tapit

1st Dam: Baffled (GSP-Eng), by Distorted Humor
2nd Dam: Surf Club, by Ocean Crest
3rd Dam: Horns Gray, by Pass the Tab

Owner: WinStar Farm LLC & Twin Creeks Racing
Breeder: Grapestock LLC & Fox Hill Farms (Ky)
Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Constitution entered this hot-looking maiden with quite the reputation, and though the even-money shot's debut started off inauspiciously, it ended with plenty of promise. Last from the gate, the $400,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling tugged his way up a wide-open rail all the way into second to press Juba (Tapit) through splits of :22.63 and :44.82. That pair hit the top of the stretch on even terms, and while Juba hung in gamely until the final sixteenth, he was the first to blink, allowing Constitution to inch clear and graduate by a length. The more experienced Greyfell (Roman Ruler) was third. "Sometimes, with first-time starters you never know how they're going to break," jockey Javier Castellano offered. "He's been showing speed in the morning. Today he was the second horse loaded in the gate in a big field of horses, and I think he waited too long. When they opened the gate, he was surprised. After that, when he saw the daylight he ran off. He wanted to run today and he wanted to put on a good show. I would have liked to cover up a little more behind horses, but I couldn't find it because half of the rest of the field was outside." Constitution is out of a half-sister to 2012 GI Forego S. winner Emcee (Unbridled's Song) and out of a full-sister to Surfer, Group 2-placed in Dubai. His third dam produced GI Spinaway S. winner Awesome Humor (Distorted Humor). Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $25,200.