Commandment Takes Florida Derby Thriller Over The Puma

Widely touted as the best Kentucky Derby (G1) prep race this year, the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park March 28 did not disappoint as Wathnan Racing's Commandment edged OGMA Investments, JR Ranch, and High Step Racing's The Puma by a nose. In a dramatic renewal of the Florida Derby at 1 1/8 miles, Commandment, a bay son of Into Mischief trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Flavien Prat, surged widest of all in the stretch to nail The Puma in the final stride, hitting the wire in 1:49.99 over a fast track. Breaking from post 4, Commandment settled near the back of the compact six-horse field. The race unfolded with moderate early fractions of :24.10 and :48.80, allowing Baalbek Corp.'s Wayne's Law and Centennial Farms' Nearly to dictate terms before the closers came into play. Commandment, unhurried early, capitalized on the pace scenario with a wide, determined finish. Prat tipped him out entering the stretch, and the colt responded with a sustained rally to overhaul The Puma at the wire. "I thought I had a chance at the eighth pole," Prat said. "He's straightforward, and he's a fighter. He showed some guts down the lane." Cox admitted the finish left him guessing. "I thought he had a shot. I couldn't tell," the trainer said. "At the sixteenth pole, with the ground he was making up... I thought he responded well. "My mindset was already, this is a good race and it's going to set him up for the (Kentucky) Derby, win or lose. I'm glad we came out on the right end." Bred in Kentucky by Lee Pokoik, Commandment stamped himself as a leading Kentucky Derby contender with the victory, which earned him 100 qualifying points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. He paid $5.80 to win. The Puma, a colt by Essential Quality trained by Gustavo Delgado and ridden by Javier Castellano, ran a career-best race in defeat. After settling off the pace, he launched a sweeping move, took command near the quarter pole, and fought gamely to the wire. "We thought we had him," Gustavo Delgado Jr., Delgado's son and assistant trainer, said. "But other than that it was really exactly what we wanted to see before the Derby." Castellano added, "He ran a huge race. I'm very satisfied. Perfect trip. That's what we were looking for today. He gave me a very good run. I thought I had it." Chief Wallabee, a homebred son of Constitution trained by Bill Mott for owners Michael and Katherine Ball and ridden by Junior Alvarado, finished third, earning 25 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. Saving ground early, he angled out in upper stretch and rallied evenly between rivals. "I felt like I was very loaded," Alvarado said. "I figured when I asked him he'd give me a kick, but he didn't. He just kept the same pace." Mott saw it similarly. "The trip was OK. We were saving ground. He tipped him out and he just felt like, as easily as he was traveling, he would probably accelerate a little quicker than what he did," the trainer said. "I mean, he came on but maybe not as quick. "As well as he was traveling on the bridle, when he released him, he thought he would probably quicken a little more. But, you know, it's only his third race and they've got to learn to do that. He's getting more experience, and it wasn't a bad race. It was a good race." Nearly, a son of Not This Time trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by John Velazquez, finished fourth and collected 15 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. Nearly pressed the pace and took over briefly before weakening late. "Maybe he needed this to move forward. We'll see," Pletcher said. "We've got time to see how he comes out of it, train here a little bit, survey the complexion of everything." Velazquez said his colt was not helped by the track. "The track was playing pretty slow. The track was against us today," the jockey said. "I might have had him a little too tight. The track was not in our favor. His style before, he was off the pace. "Now he was a little too keen, and the way the track was playing, it was not the way you wanted to be there." Wayne's Law, a son of Tiz the Law trained by Amador Sanchez and ridden by Marcos Meneses, rounded out the top five to earn 10 points after setting the pace and fading. Timeless Victory, trained by Edward Plesa Jr. for Leon Ellman, Glassman Racing, and Laurie Plesa and ridden by Jose Morelos, completed the order of finish. With 150 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, Commandment sits securely atop the leaderboard heading toward Churchill Downs, while The Puma (106) and Chief Wallabee (50) also strengthened their positions. For Cox, the victory continued a strong run in major Kentucky Derby preps and reinforced his belief in the colt's stamina. "I think he put to bed the question of how far he wants to go," said Cox, a Louisville, Ky., native who won the 2021 Kentucky Derby with Mandaloun following the disqualification of Medina Spirit for a medication violation. "With the right trip, he can get it done at a mile and an eighth and a mile and a quarter." Commandment was one of two grade 1 winners Saturday by leading sire Into Mischief, who was also represented an hour later by Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Renegade. The seven-time leading sire stands at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky for $250,000.