Saturday afternoon, before a crowd of 27,297, Commentator came up big again, leading all the way to win the 81st running of the Grade 1, $750,000 Whitney Handicap, the Opening Weekend feature at Saratoga Race Course by four and three-quarter lengths.
Five-time Horse of the Year Kelso, who won his third Whitney at age 8 in 1965, remains the oldest Whitney winner, but Commentator joins him and Discovery, who won this race three years in a row from 1934-36, as the only repeat winners of the Whitney.
“This is one of the greatest feats of all time,” said Zito, after Commentator covered nine furlongs in 1:50.23 on the fast main track. “He gets in that league with Kelso and Forego, which I wanted him to be in so they couldn’t take him out. He’s in that special league. He’s an amazing horse. I think the theme should be, `If you get old, don’t give up.’”
Jockey John Velazquez came up big as well. He won three races on the afternoon, and now leads Saratoga’s jockey colony with six wins.
Even though Commentator, a gelded, New York-bred son of Distorted Humor, had won three of five career Saratoga starts entering Saturday, he seemed up against it. He had drawn the rail, and it seemed almost certain that there would be enough speed to occupy him early.
But rain before the race was to his liking and, under Velazquez, Commentator broke sharply, got position just off the rail and settled him into a comfortable rhythm that produced fractions of 24.16, 47.73, 1:11.80 and 1:37.02. Solar Flare, the Argentina-bred who went off as the post-time favorite, chased the winner early, but gave way in the stretch to finish seventh.
“There is not much to say,” said Solar Flare’s trainer, Larry Jones. “He made a good run at Commentator going around the turn, leveled off and had enough. Right now, everything looks fine, but we’ll get a better look at him once we get back to the barn.”
Student Council made a five-wide rally to get second, but even trainer Steve Asmussen could do not much more than admire Commentator.
“We ran a very good race,” Asmussen said. “Commentator, as usual at Saratoga, was very effective. Everybody made a run at him, but when he cut the corner, he was just gone.”
Right into Saratoga lore.
“This is a 7-year-old gelding winning this kind of race against this kind of field; there were 11 horses in this field,” Zito said. “This was no easy race and he was carrying the top weight (120 pounds). It was a tremendous effort.
“This is a special win for me. This has to be up there with the greatest of them all. I am thankful to have a horse of this caliber.”
WHITNEY QUOTES
Winning trainer Nick Zito of Commentator (No. 1): “This is one of the greatest feats of all time. He gets in that league with Kelso and Forego, which I wanted him to be in so they couldn’t take him out. He’s in that special league. He’s an amazing horse. I think the theme should be, `If you get old, don’t give up.’ This is a 7-year-old gelding winning this kind of race against this kind of field. There were 11 horses in this field. This was no easy race and he was carrying the top weight (120 pounds). It was a tremendous effort.
“This is a special win for me. This has to be up there with the greatest of them all. I am thankful to have a horse of this caliber.”
Winning jockey John Velazquez (third winner of the day): “He broke well and relaxed. He got to the front, and that was it. He ran just as big as he did three years ago.”
Steve Asmussen, trainer of runner-up Student Council (No. 10): “We ran a very good race. Commentator, as usual at Saratoga, was very effective. Everybody made a run at him, but when he cut the corner, he was just gone.
“We are blessed to have two horses (Student Council and Curlin); we were even debating running today up until about a few hours ago because of the options with the handicap horses.”
Shaun Bridgmohan, jockey of Student Council: “I thought he ran a great race. I couldn’t have asked for a lot more from him today. My horse has a particular way in which he runs, and I didn’t want to take him out of it. I thought he simply ran a fabulous race.”
Larry Jones, trainer of beaten favorite Solar Flare (No. 2): “There is not much to say. He made a good run at Commentator going around the turn, leveled off and had enough. Right now, everything looks fine, but we’ll get a better look at him once we get back to the barn.
NOTES: Seven-year-old Commentator, who won the Whitney in 2005, is the second-oldest Whitney winner. Five-time Horse of the Year Kelso won his second Whitney at the age of 8 in 1965. . . The victory automatically qualifies Commentator for the Breeders’ Cup Classic at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita Meet on Saturday, October 25. . . Only three-time winner Discovery (1934-36); Kelso (1961, ’63 and ’65) and now Commentator have repeated as Whitney winners. . . According to on-site veterinarians, Rising Moon pulled up and was apparently sore in the left-front leg. He was vanned off to be taken back to the barn for X-rays.