Susie Raisher Photo

Unmatched Wisdom remains unbeaten in $135K Curlin

by Christian Abdo

Klaravich Stables’ Unmatched Wisdom went wire-to-wire to remain undefeated in Friday’s Listed $135,000 Curlin, a nine-furlong main track test for sophomores who had not won a graded sweepstakes at one mile or over in 2024, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by four-time Eclipse Award winner Chad Brown, the Cairo Prince dark bay was making his third career start after a pair of impressive showings versus elders at Belmont at the Big A, winning by 6 1/4 lengths going one mile in his May 10 debut and 5 3/4 lengths in a nine-furlong allowance on June 22.

Brown said his newly-minted stakes-winner is a likely candidate for the Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers on August 24 here.

“I'd say so, if he comes out of the race good. He's only run three times, but as he's playing catchup you have other 3-year-olds that are accumulating a lot of races and a lot of workouts, and a little bit of wear and tear,” said Brown. “If he can keep developing and playing catchup and a few of the other top ones regress just a bit, he could be in the mix.”

Seth Klarman of Klaravich Stables was in agreement with Brown regarding the “Midsummer Derby.”

“It’s the logical step, but let’s see how he’s doing and who else is in it – it’s probably a good fit,” said Klarman. “Chad and I would love to win the Travers, cross that off the bucket list.”

Piloted by Flavien Prat, Unmatched Wisdom broke from post 1 and was immediately hustled to the front. He held a clear lead over his five rivals with longshot Catire Vizcaya tracking 1 1/2-lengths back from second position through an opening quarter-mile in 23.58 seconds over the fast footing.

“He broke a little sluggish and after that, the trip was good,” said Prat. “It was very comfortable and turning for home, he made a good run.”

Unmatched Wisdom continued to show the way in the first turn and into the backside with a comfortable advantage over Catire Vizcaya, as the Hall of Famer Javier Castellano-piloted Corporate Power crept into third position with Timeout advancing along the rail and Elephants Ear to the outside after a half-mile in 48.37.

Entering the far turn, Catire Vizcaya relinquished his stalking position and it was Corporate Power, last-out Sir Barton winner on May 18 at Pimlico Race Course, to challenge the pacesetter as three-quarters elapsed in 1:12.66.

Prat kept a tight hold on the reins coming to the top of the stretch as Castellano urged Corporate Power to make his run. With a 2 1/2-length advantage at the stretch call through one-mile in 1:37.43, Unmatched Wisdom kept running on the front end, but a pesky Corporate Power would not go down without a fight.

Unmatched Wisdom was given his toughest test to date from a game Corporate Power, but he had enough in reserve to win by one length in a final time of 1:50.70.

It was three lengths back to Timeout who closed for show-honors, with Django and Elephants Ear completing the order of finish. Catire Vizcaya was eased to the finish.

Brown said he thinks today’s experience will be beneficial to the lightly-raced Unmatched Wisdom as he steps up in class.

“He had some more seasoning today. I think he got that final piece of fitness that he's going to need as he's playing catch up with this very deep 3-year-old crop,” said Brown. “If he's going to step up to the Travers from here, he's going to have to get considerably faster again. But he got a good, hard race out of it. I like that it was a close race at the end, and he had a blow out of it.”

Prat, who led the Saratoga jockey standings in terms of earnings entering Friday in part thanks to a win in the Grade 1 Diana aboard the Brown-trained Whitebeam, said he had plenty of horse underneath him late.

“From the eighth pole to the wire, he was a bit confident. He was playing around, and he won two races pretty easily, so I never really asked him to run down the lane,” said Prat. “I went after him a little bit just to keep him focused, but I felt like I had plenty underneath me.”

Castellano said that the Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey-trained Corporate Power may appreciate some added distance.

“I think the dynamic will completely change next time with more distance and more speed to challenge that horse,” said Castellano. “I had to encourage my horse a little bit early and it might have cost me the win, but hey, we were second best today. I look forward to the next race against the winner.”

Out of the Pure Prize mare Glide On By, Unmatched Wisdom, who was bought for $25,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, was a $450,000 purchase at the 2023 OBS March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training.

Bred in Kentucky by Estate of Harvey A. Clarke, Paul Braverman, Sebastian Murat, et al., Unmatched Wisdom banked $74,250 in victory while improving his record to 3-3-0-0. He returned $2.80 for a $2 win bet as the 2-5 mutuel favorite.

Live racing resumes Saturday at Saratoga with a 12-race card, featuring the Grade 1, $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks [Race 11], along with the Grade 3, $175,000 Lake George [Race 10]. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

Saratoga Live will present live coverage and analysis of the Saratoga Race Course summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.