First Captain, the only runner in the field of 10 to have a North American graded stakes victory on his resume, rallied late under Luis Saez to win the Grade 3, $300,000 Pimlico Special by a head over even-money favorite Vindictive, with pace-setting Untreated 1 1/4 lengths back in third on Friday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.
Trained by Shug McGaughey, the 4-year-old by Curlin ran 1 3/16 miles on a fast track in 1:56.24 and paid $12 for the win, his fifth in seen starts. He is owned by the partnership of West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm LLC, Woodford Racing LLC, and Bobby Flay. The latter bred First Captain and sold the colt through consignor Stone Farm for $1.5 million at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale.
First Captain was produced from the A.P. Indy mare, America, a graded stakes-winning homebred for celebrity chef Flay, who had a big day on the Black-Eyed Susan day program. Earlier in the afternoon, Flay's homebred Pizza Bianca, winner of the 2021 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, scored her first victory of the year in the Hilltop Stakes and is bound for England's Royal Ascot next month.
Racing with blinkers for the first time and with Saez taking over from Jose Ortiz, who'd ridden him in all of his previous starts, First Captain settled into fifth position and well off the rail in the run down the stretch for the first time.
Untreated, one of two horses in the race along with Vindictive trained by Todd Pletcher, eased his way to the front under Joel Rosario and went the opening quarter mile in a leisurely :24.99 and a half in :49.80. Workin On a Dream was a little over a length behind with Vindictive and Irad Ortiz Jr. getting a ground-saving trip to his inside.
They continued that way down the backstretch, with First Captain still well off the rail and in fifth or sixth position approaching the far turn after six furlongs in 1:14.27. Rounding the turn, Workin On a Dream put added pressure on the front-running Untreated, and Vindictive swung out to pose an even stiffer challenge after a mile was run in 1:38.46.
Saez, meanwhile, bided his time until swinging First Captain to the outside at the top of the lane and took aim at the Pletcher duo, needing the length of the Pimlico stretch to get the job done.
The complete order of finish: First Captain, Vindictive, Untreated, Workin On a Dream, Mohaafeth, Treasure Trove, Mischief Afoot, Excellorator, Capocostello, Forewarned.
First Captain won his first three races last year, beginning with an April 24 maiden race going seven furlongs at Belmont Park. He came back a month later, winning an allowance over a sloppy surface at Belmont, then took the G3 Dwyer going a mile. Favored at 13-10 in the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga on July 30, First Captain finished a well-beaten third and did not resurface until February of this year at Gulfstream Park. He won that optional claiming/allowance event by a head, then was a well-beaten seventh in the G1 Carter Handicap at Aqueduct on April 9.
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