Navajo Warrior wins Pimlico Special in wire-to-wire score

Navajo Warrior, making his 17th career start and first in a stakes, led every step of the way to a 2 3/4-length victory in Friday's Grade 3, $250,000 Pimlico Special at Laurel Park.

Ridden by Flavien Prat for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., Navajo Warrior ($4.60) covered the fast main track in 1:56.61 to give the jockey his second Pimlico Special victory following Ken McPeek-trained Rattle N Roll in 2023.

Owned by BAG Racing Stables, Miller Racing, Dr. Derek Paul, Mathis Stable, Paul Braverman and Timothy Pinch, Navajo Warrior won for the fifth time in seven starts since being purchased privately in summer 2024 and moved to the Gulfstream Park-based Joseph. They entered the Pimlico Special having defeated last year's Preakness Stakes (G1) runner-up, Gosger, in a March 21 optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream.

"We left it up to Flavien," Joseph said. "When he made the lead, we were happy enough that he was there. I thought the 4 [Awesome Aaron] would be on the lead, but left the race to Flavien to ride his own race. He broke well and he made the initiative, the decision to go ahead and make the running. It worked out good." He added: "Once we started running him, we realized that the horse was going to become a graded stakes-level [horse] and we just waited for our time to try it. Here he is."

The 56th running of the 1 3/16-mile Pimlico Special for 3-year-olds and up was the fifth of six stakes, three graded, worth $1.05 million in purses on a 14-race Black-Eyed Susan (G2) Day program, immediately preceding the 102nd edition of the 1 1/8-mile fixture for 3-year-old fillies.

Prat guided Navajo Warrior through fractions of 24.6 and 48.4 seconds with last year's Pimlico Special winner, Awesome Aaron, tracking two wide in second. Yo Daddy raced in the clear in third with San Siro fourth along the rail. Duke of Duval raced fifth with Maclean's Rook and Xcellent Start trailing the field.

"It didn't look like there was a whole lot of speed. I wanted to break clean and see what other riders were doing," Prat said. "He jumped very well and found himself on the lead. I got a little pressure down the backside, but he kind of got away from that and after that he did the rest."

Navajo Warrior remained in front after going six furlongs in 1:12.43 when Maclean's Rook made a powerful sweeping move on the extreme outside midway around the far turn to join the group of challengers. Prat had plenty in reserve to open up once straightened for home with Maclean's Rook giving closest chase through the lane, unable to catch the leader.

"I felt very comfortable all the way around. Saffie has done a great job with him," Prat said. "I do feel the times were decent. It is a track on the slow side and a tiring track for sure. Those were decent fractions."

San Siro finished third, followed by Duke of Duval, Xcellent Start, Yo Daddy and Awesome Aaron. Awesome Aaron sought to join National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame member Challedon (1939–40) as back-to-back winners of the Pimlico Special.

Maclean's Rook's connections embraced the runner-up effort. "We are happy with the effort. We were taking a little bit of a swing jumping into this kind of company, and we are tickled to death with this," trainer Michael Trombetta said. "We were tested going this distance, but he showed up really well against a real good group of horses. It would have been really sweet to win it. I thought for a minute we had a chance to run that horse down, but he just kept on getting it. This kind of opens some possibilities for him. We get the feeling that we are legitimate enough to try different things."

Jockey Ismerio Villalobos echoed those sentiments. "I was very happy for the race. He ran well, but with a nine-horse field and the pace it was tough. The winner is a nice horse."

Brendan Walsh, trainer of third-place San Siro, took a philosophical view. "I thought he ran well. He could have done with a little more pace, maybe. But to be fair to him, he tried hard and he ran his race. And I think eventually he's going to win one of these races."

San Siro's rider, Tyler Gaffalione, agreed the pace played against them. "Everything went very smooth. My horse gave me a really good run and finished up well. I was proud of his effort; I just think the pace scenario went against us today."

Navajo Warrior began his career in Southern California making two starts for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and eight more for his former assistant, Tim Yakteen, before being purchased on the heels of a three-race win streak. He debuted for Joseph with a win at Saratoga in August 2024 and has been off the board once in his last seven starts and four times in 17 career tries.

The Pimlico Special was created in 1937 by Alfred Vanderbilt, the master of Sagamore Farm, as the first major stakes in the United States set up as an invitational, and was won by Triple Crown champion War Admiral. The following year, Seabiscuit upset War Admiral in what Sports Illustrated called the "Race of the Century."

Revived in 1988 by late Maryland Jockey Club president Frank De Francis, the Special's illustrious roster of winners also includes Triple Crown winners Whirlaway, Citation and Assault, and modern-day horses of the year Criminal Type, Cigar, Skip Away, Mineshaft and Invasor.