Unified Stays Perfect in Peter Pan

Company on the front end? No big deal.

Stretch out to nine furlongs? Check.

Centennial Farms' Unified showed a new dimension May 14 in the $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes (gr. II) at Belmont Park. First, after winning both of his prior races on the front end, he came from just off the pace after letting 70-1 shot Singleton show the way. Then he sailed clear under jockey Jose Ortiz Jr. and had enough left to stymie the late charge of rival Governor Malibu in his first try at a longer distance. 

"It wasn't my Plan A, but it was my Plan B (to sit off the lead)," Ortiz said. "I saw the 2 horse sent (to the lead), so I got a good position and (settled off) him because I didn't want to get into trouble with that horse. The first quarter-mile, he relaxed nicely and then the 1 horse came out (and) got between us. He got a little bit edgy on me. By the half-mile pole, I put the 1 horse away and he then he settled back down and when I asked him to go, he was there."

The victory—a third in as many starts for the Candy Ride   colt—left trainer Jimmy Jerkens pleased, but not necessarily dreaming of carnations. The 1 1/8-mile Peter Pan is one thing; the race it traditionally leads to is quite another.

"It's improbable but not impossible," Jerkens said of a Belmont Stakes (gr. I) bid at a mile and a half over Big Sandy. 

Winner of the April 9 Bay Shore Stakes (gr. III) going seven furlongs last time out, off an impressive Feb. 21 maiden win over six panels at first asking, Unified completed the Peter Pan in 1:47.14 on a track rated fast, and held off Governor Malibu by three-quarters of a length. He was favored at odds of 1-2 in the field of eight, and returned $3.10, $2.70, and $2.20. It was a fourth win on the card for his rider.

"I thought it was great," Jerkens said. "I thought he rated as good as you could expect for only having two races. I was happy to see that. Jose did a good job of keeping his hands down and keeping him out off the fence.

"We wanted to give him a little test. We didn't have to completely turn him around (because) it was one turn. He's got quality. We trained him hard for this race, and he took it like a man. He didn't miss an oat. He actually looks like he's carrying more flesh than he did when he ran the last time. Only the good ones do that.

"I don't know (about the Belmont). There would have to be a lot of horses going by the wayside for that to happen. But you'd be an idiot nowadays to rule anything out, because things change overnight."

Centennial's managing partner Don Little echoed Jerkens' thoughts.

"After the Bay Shore, we weren't really sure where we were going and Dr. (Steve) Carr and Jimmy talked about it, and felt that if we were going to try (to stretch out), now was the time to do it," he said. "It's another step accomplished. Jose said he didn't want the horse in front of him to get away, so he said he may have used him a little bit too soon, but the way he got away from them at the stretch, you could see he was getting a little tired at the end, so Jimmy and Steve will talk about it.

"Everything is very open. But he's a talented horse, he always tries. I think he's got the competitive spirit you want to see."



Governor Malibu, closing from far back with a rail-skimming move before shifting out in deep stretch, brought $6.70 and $3.80 at odds of 12-1. Trainer Christophe Clement, who used a Peter Pan victory in 2014 to send Tonalist   to a Belmont win, said a similar path for Governor Malibu may still be on the table.

"I thought he ran well—second best," he said. "I've got to see how he comes out of this race and think about (the Belmont) before I make any plans. Everything is wide open, but I'm very happy. I would have loved to win the race but that's just how it goes.

 

"He's a stayer for sure, he's always showed us that he was going to stay. The two factors we know are that he has some ability and he wants to go long. Now people might stop saying that he's a New York-bred and instead say that he's a nice New York-bred.

"At the quarter-pole to the eighth-pole I thought we had a chance (to catch Unified), but the winner is a nice horse."

Recent maiden winner Wild About Deb, shipping in from Southern California for trainer Phil D'Amato, paid $2.80 to show at odds of 5-1. Adventist, who came off a third in the Wood Memorial (gr. I), finished fourth, followed home by Decorated Soldier, Singleton, Lost Iron, and Supah Czech.

Unified was bred in Kentucky out of the Dixie Union mare Union City by Blue Devil Racing Stable, and was a $325,000 purchase by Centennial from the Lane's End consignment to the 2014 Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga select yearling sale. He improved his earnings to $324,000.