Mindframe bested an ultra-tough field of older males in Saturday’s $1 million Churchill Downs S. (G1) to give the 4-year-old Constitution colt his first Grade 1 win.
Constitution, who is in the top-10 on this year’s General Sire List, now has 12 lifetime Grade 1 winners worldwide.
Entering Saturday’s seven-furlong contest, Mindframe had raced just once since finishing second in last year’s Haskell S. (G1), that being on March 1, when he won the Gulfstream Park Mile (G2).
Mindframe came out of the gate well and actually had the lead briefly before dropping all the way back to eighth by the time the field had gone three furlongs. On the turn, Mindframe and jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. had no choice but to go some six-wide for the stretch run. With a host of horses surging through the stretch, Mindframe came from seventh in the final furlong to hit the wire a neck in front of Banishing and Nysos, who finished in a dead-heat for second, and Book’em Danno just another head back in fourth.
“I told Irad just to ride with confidence and it looks like he did exactly that,” said winning trainer Todd Pletcher. “He’s such a versatile horse. From just missing last year in the Belmont and now winning a Grade 1 going seven-eighths. It just shows how special of a horse he is.”
Mindframe is owned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables LLC and, after the big payday, now has earned $1,292,160. As Pletcher mentioned, Mindframe was second in the Belmont and is now 4-2-0 in six starts.
Mindframe sold to his owners for $600,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling sale and was bred by R. Larry Johnson.
