Zaikov, a TDN Rising Star for Distorted Humor when breaking his maiden by 14 lengths in March, returned to Gulfstream Park, the site of his flashy maiden win on Friday, zipping to another impressive win.
The margin of 2 1/2-lengths may not have been as large as March’s race, but with the way the 3-year-old colt toyed with his competition and stopped the timer at 1:08.73 for the six furlongs, the result had his trainer thinking about bigger things.
“We’ll have to look at all of our options. He’s probably ready to run in a stake,” Todd Pletcher said. “We’ll just have to decide which one is right for him.”
The final clocking netted the colt a Beyer Speed Figure of 106, one of the highest numbers of the year for the distance.
Zaikov, an Arindel Farm homebred, is out of their champion mare Wait a While, who won $2.1 million and 10 graded races during her illustrious career.
