Gigante Draws Away in Commonwealth Turf
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Photo: Coady Photography/Jetta Vaughns
Gigante wins the Commonwealth Turf Stakes at Churchill Downs
Sent to post at long odds once again, Gigante rewarded his backers—for the third time in stakes company—with a win going away in the off-the-turf $257,500 Commonwealth Turf Stakes Nov. 26 at Churchill Downs.
As is the case with Saturday's Mrs. Revere Stakes, which was also taken off the turf, the graded status of the Commonwealth Turf, originally run as a grade 3, will be determined later by the American Graded Stakes Committee.
In a field reduced to eight with the switch to the main track, a newly-blinkered Gigante tracked in third under jockey Luan Machado behind splits of :23.86, :47.86, and 1:12.12. Rallying three wide around the final turn, he motored down his rivals for a 4 1/2-length score.
Gigante ($22.06) raced the 1 1/16 miles on a fast main track in 1:44.46. Northern Invader , the race trailer, closed for runner-up honors while pacesetter Smokey Mandate settled for third.
Campaigned by Iapetus Racing and Diamond T Racing, Gigante, a 3-year-old Virginia-bred son of Not This Time , improved his record to 5-0-1 from 12 starts. Inching closer to the million-dollar mark, the colt boasts earnings of $915,475. Earlier in the year, Gigante collected stakes wins in the Secretariat Stakes (G2T) at Colonial Downs and Caesars Handicap at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
Gigante gave his trainer Steve Asmussen his 19th victory of the Churchill Downs fall meet, giving the conditioner his 27th training title at the Louisville oval.