Dr Post Successful in First Route in Unbridled
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Ryan Thompson
Dr Post wins the Unbridled Stakes at Gulfstream Park
Dr Post entered the 1 1/16-mile Unbridled Stakes April 25 at Gulfstream Park short on experience, having made just two starts, both in sprints.
He's now a more seasoned colt exiting it, and a richer one at that. Despite a trip in which he was shuffled back and jostled, the 3-year-old Quality Road colt somehow managed to prevail, securing room leaving the second turn and out-finishing Attachment Rate by 1 1/2 lengths in the $75,000 race.
Dr Post looked to be in trouble during much of the race, particularly over the second half of the contest as Irad Ortiz Jr. looked to motivate his mount and secure room. Positioned between rivals in the second flight of horses, in fifth and a couple of lengths off pacesetting Americanus, who set splits of :24.07,:47.47, and 1:10.79, Dr Post came under the whip entering the second turn and only then did he pick up the pace.
Moving in tandem with wide-racing Attachment Rate, the two advanced on the leaders, and after exchanging bumps, Dr Post gradually pulled away. The St. Elias Stable-owned 3-year-old finished in 1:43.07, paying $4.20 as the public choice.
"He was able to overcome all that and, in the end, came to the wire with his ears pricked,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “That’s exciting.”
He has been favored in all three of his races, including a seven-furlong maiden win at Gulfstream March 29 at even money and a fourth-place finish in his debut July 4 at Belmont Park at 1-2 when racing 5 1/2 furlongs.
“He's still such a young horse," Ortiz said. "I think when he grows up a little bit in his mind, it will help him a little bit more."
The victory in the ninth race was Ortiz's fourth of the day following consecutive wins aboard The Mighty Judge in race 4, Basquiat in race 5, and Catharsis in race 6. Saturday was his first day in competition since he opted to stop riding March 19, citing concerns for his family amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and serve a riding suspension issued for whipping infractions in Saudi Arabia.
Frontrunning Americanus held third, 1 1/4 lengths behind runner-up Attachment Rate, and was followed by Necker Island in fourth. Relentless Dancer and Soros completed the field in the six-horse race, which was added to the Gulfstream racing calendar this spring.
Gulfstream is one of a handful of tracks still racing amid COVID-19, doing so without spectators.
Dr Post did what his dam, the Hennessy mare Mary Delaney, could not: handle a route. Though she won three stakes, including the Vinery Madison Stakes (G2) on Polytrack at Keeneland, she never won beyond seven furlongs.
Dr Post showed no such limitation, drawing clear late, though only with a final sixteenth in :6.61. Bred in Kentucky by Cloyce Clark, he is the third winner for his dam and her first stakes winner. Mary Delaney also has an unraced 2-year-old filly by Super Saver and a yearling filly by Klimt .
Dr Post was a $400,000 purchase from the Hunter Valley Farm consignment at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
“I was concerned that we were going from a seven-furlong maiden to a solid field of experienced racehorses. I was concerned that I was throwing too much at him in just his second start of the year. But he trained so impressively—his last two breezes were so good,” Pletcher said.
Due to racing schedules around the country still being determined, no firm plans have been established for Dr Post going forward.
“Like everyone else, we’ll wait and see what options we have," Pletcher said. "Hopefully, we’ll find out some news from New York when they’re thinking about reopening, hopefully this week. By the time he’s ready to run, we’ll have a better idea what our options are, but I was very, very encouraged by (this win).”
Dr Post (green silks) gets underway in the Unbridled Stakes