Grand Tito sharp in Mac Diarmida victory on Gulfstream turf
Holding off a strong stretch drive from Kaigun, Grand Tito sprung the 9-1 upset in Gulfstream Park's 1 3/8 mile Mac Diarmida (Grade 2, turf) to remain perfect in 2016.
Breaking from post position 2, Grand Tito, with Emisael Jaramillo in the irons, took up the second running position, just to the outside of pace-setting O'Prado Ole. All Included grabbed the third spot with the Da Big Hoss to his outside in fourth. Kaigun saved all the ground along the rail in fifth while Twilight Eclipse and Mr. Maybe took up position right behind him. Initially O'Prado Ole and Grand Tito got away from the rest of the field through the opening quarter, but by the 1/2-mile call there was less than 5 lengths covering the lot.
With Grand Tito just a length off him, O'Prado Ole set reasonable splits of :23.89, :48.88, 1:14.28 and 1:38.06 for the mile. Behind him, Da Big Hoss advanced past All Included when asked to pick it up to take up third, but little else had changed as the field hit the third and final turn.
Around the final turn, O'Prado Ole continued to show the way with Grand Tito glued to his outside flank. Da Big Hoss held a narrow advantage over Kaigun, who was moving up the rail. Last year's Mac Diarmida runner-up Twilight Eclipse was being asked for run back in fifth but was showing little. All Included continued to lose ground while race favorite Mr. Maybe was also being asked for his best stride at the back of the field.
At the top of the stretch, Grand Tito easily moved past O'Prado Ole and put that foe away while Kaigun moved off the rail behind him to put in his bid for the win. Though Kaigun was able to make up some ground in deep stretch, it was not enough for him to catch Grand Tito, who crossed under the wire the winner by 1 ¼-lengths. The final time was 2:12.55.
Winning rider Emisael Jaramillo kept it short and sweet after after the race. "He's a very nice horse," he said. "Everything went well. It was nice to win."
Gustavo Delgado, the winning trainer, echoed Jaramillo's sentiments. “After his race at Keeneland we gave him four months and now he’s had two nice races. He’s a very nice horse. We are very proud of him,” he stated.
Mr. Maybe closed nicely to grab third as the favorite, three lengths behind runner-up Kaigun. O'Prado Ole hung around to round out the superfecta. Da Big Hoss raced evenly to run fifth, followed by All Included and Twilight Eclipse, who showed little while finishing 7th and last in his 2016 debut.
Off 9-1 odds, Grand Tito paid $20.40, $8.00, and $5.40 for the win. As the 6-1 fourth betting choice, Kaigun returned $7.40 and $3.80 for the place. Mr. Maybe, the 2-1 favorite, returned $3.20. The $2 exacta paid $128.20, the $1 trifecta returned $228.10 and the $0.10 superfecta was worth $186.55.
By Candy Ride (ARG) and out of the Common Grounds (GB) mare Golden Arches (FR), Grand Tito is owned by Grupo 7C Racing Stable and was bred by Hargus Sexton, Sandra Sexton and Ben P. Walden, Jr. An intact 6-year old, Grand Tito improved his career record to 33: 9-7-4 for total purse monies of $583,867.
For those not familiar with the winning jockey and trainer, both hail from Venezuela where they have had much success as a team. Emisael Jaramillo has piloted three Venezuelan Triple Crown champions: Polo Grounds in 2005, Taconeo in 2007 and Water Jet in 2010. The latter two were trained by none other than Gustavo Delgado, who moved north to South Florida last year. He was followed by Jaramillo, Venezuela's all-time leading rider, who joined him in the Sunshine State for the first time for this meet. Jaramillo will also be making the trek to Dubai later in the month as he has been named to ride Mongolian Saturday and X Y Jet on the March 26 World Cup program.
“That’s the best horse we have in the barn, for sure,” assistant trainer to Gustavo Delgado Jr. said about Grand Tito. “Last year he got beat by some good horses. He had a nice race in Saratoga behind Ironicus when he set the track record. This year he is showing us a little more. We’re very happy.”
No plans for Grand Tito's next engagement have yet been announced.