McLaughlin's Darley Pair Top Pegasus
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Le Bernardin, who last raced in the Grade 2 Peter Pan Stakes
at Belmont Park, and Unbridled’s Way, an eye-popping 11 ½ length winner in a
maiden special weight at 1 mile 70 yards here in his last start, are both
scheduled to arrive on the grounds on Sunday and run in the Grade 3 $100,000
Pegasus Stakes in the afternoon.
Although the three-year-old colts are owned by Darley
Stable, horses with common ownership are allowed to run uncoupled in races with
purses of $100,000 or more in this jurisdiction.
“They are both going to run.” said trainer Kiaran McLaughlin
when reached by phone at his Belmont
base. “Unbridled’s Way was a late entry because of the short field, and with
the way he won his last race, I thought we should take a look at this. He’s
still eligible for a one-other-than (allowance race) and this is a step up, but
he really liked that track and ran such a good race over it that he’s getting
this opportunity.”
Unbridled’s Way has made just three starts to date, all in
maiden specials, and has been stabled at Darley’s private Greentree Training
Center in Saratoga Springs, New York. The son of Unbridled’s Way out of the
Dixieland Band mare Away has been working well over the artificial surface
there while preparing for the Pegasus, which will be run at
one-mile-and-a-sixteenth on the main track.
Le Bernardin, who was sired by Bernardini and is named for
the award-winning and upscale restaurant in New York City, got caught in a
unfavorable pace scenario in the Peter Pan. Although third and in striking
position in the far turn, he had been asked early and had nothing left by the
time he hit the quarter-pole. The $325,000 yearling purchase backed up and
finished last in the field of 10, almost 40 lengths behind the winner.
“We’re throwing out his last race for a variety of reasons
and going on from there,” McLaughlin said.
Mike Luzzi, who rode Le Bernardin in all three of his other
starts prior to the Peter Pan, will be reunited with the colt and is part of
the 116 impost. Angel Serpa rode Unbridled’s Way when he broke his maiden and
will retain the mount when the colt also carries 116 pounds.
Midnight Serenade and Speeding Again are the Monmouth-based
entries in the field of seven. In two career starts, Speeding Again broke his
maiden at first asking and then finished fifth when he stepped up into an
allowance race for non-winners of one other than on June 12.
“This race is pretty salty, but they usually are when it’s a
graded stakes,” said Patrick McBurney, who trains the son of City Zip for BDL
Stable, Donnely and Phantom House. “It’s a short field so we figured we should
give him a try.”
C.H. Marquez gets the return call on Speeding Again, also
weighted at 116.
Easter Gift, trained by Nick Zito, and Innocent Man,
conditioned by Patrick Biancone, complete the field for the Pegasus.
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