Unbeaten Timeline kicks clear late to win Peter Pan

With storms in the forecast and conditions on the ground less than ideal, Belmont moved up its post times for Mother’s Day Saturday to try to stay ahead of Mother Nature. A sloppy race track did little to deter Timeline, however, as he kicked clear inside the final sixteenth of the 1 1/8 mile Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes to win by a decisive 3 ½-lengths in a final time of 1:51.62.

Breaking forwardly placed, Timeline immediately went out to press pace-setting Meantime for a furlong. When that rival increased the tempo, Timeline and jockey Javier Castellano smartly relaxed, settling a couple of lengths behind Meantime. Impressive Edge, Master Plan, Take Your Guns, and Lookin At Blessing took up positions three through six behind them with only about 7 lengths covering the field at the half-mile call.

With no real pressure from Timeline, Meantime set comfortable splits over the sloppy going. The opening quarter went up in :24.02, with the first half up in a quicker :47.68, and the three-quarters up in 1:12.99.

Approaching the quarter pole, Timeline picked up his own tempo, gunning for both Meantime and the lead. As that duo exited the far turn, Meantime drifted way out toward the center of the track, giving Timeline plenty of room to utilize his momentum and turn it into more of a ground-saving trip than what Meantime was currently enjoying.

Meantime then straightened back out and dove back toward the rail to engage Timeline side-by-side, and the two hit the eighth-pole together. The stride-for-stride battle did not last long, however, as Timeline lost no time in putting Meantime away for good, hitting the wire 3 ½-lengths clear.

Meantime finished 1 ½-lengths ahead of third place Impressive Edge. Take Your Guns was another 2 ¼-lengths back in fourth. Master Plan and Lookin At Blessing were both well beaten.

As the heavy favorite, Timeline paid $2.90, $2.30, and $2.10. Third betting choice Meantime returned $4.20 and $2.70, and fourth betting choice Impressive Edge returned $3.30 for the show. The $2 exacta paid $9.20, the $2 trifecta paid $32.60, and the $2 superfecta was worth $68.50.

Winning trainer Chad Brown said afterwards, "The horse ran great. There's was a little anxious moment on the turn there. I couldn't really see if he lost the bridle a little bit or what. Javier [Castellano] said he kind of ran in spots a little bit at the end of the race. He kind of had to use him a little bit out of the gate to get his footing and then felt good. Then at one point in the race, again, he felt like he maybe he should've went with the going just a touch. Then he cut the corner and got on better footing and the horse gave him another good kick.”

"I thought it was a good move at the time, because where the other jockey [Jose Ortiz, aboard Meantime, No. 3] was attempting to put Timeline was way in the center of the track and I didn't want to see him out there. I figured that was a good move, let's see what he's got,” Brown continued, referencing Meantime’s drifting to the center of the track and Timeline’s cut to the rail entering the stretch. “It's seemed like in earlier races, on the rail and on the lead was good. It looked like as good of footing as you could find today was right there.”

Winning jockey Javier Castellano did not have as much to say as Brown but was also full of praise for Timeline. "He's a really nice horse and the way he did it today was amazing,” he stated. “This kind of horse is very straight forwarded. All you have to do is push a button and he goes forward. The track was a good condition for him. He was really professional. I think he can improve a lot, too."

By Hard Spun and out of the Empire Maker mare Azorina, undefeated Timeline was bred by Alexander, Groves & Matz and is owned by Woodford Racing, who picked up the colt for $500,000 out of the Keeneland 2015 September Yearling Sale. The Peter Pan was the chestnut’s stakes debut and improved his record to 3-for-3 for total purse earnings of $183,000.

"I'll speak to Bill Farish, who manages this horse, and we'll go from there,” said Chad Brown on where Timeline will be placed next. “We had spoken earlier in the day that if we had some success here, the Haskell is a race that we have a lot of interest in, with maybe one race between now and then. He doesn't strike me as a mile-and-a-half horse, but I'm not going to declare him out of the race. I'll discuss that with Mr. Farish, but that wasn't really my plan going in here. We're still in the developmental stage with this horse."

Perhaps Brown should also speak with Castellano concerning a potential Belmont Stakes start, as Javier said in reference to that particular race, "I think he can [go 1 ½ miles]. The way he galloped out and stay strong; he can run all day. But it's up the owner and trainer. But he can handle the slop."