Constitution got the first of his two stakes winners Saturday on the Gulfstream Park turf course when the flashy 3-year-old colt Annex rallied through the final furlong to win the $100,000 Palm Beach S. by a head over Scarlett Sky.
Annex was making his stakes debut for LNJ Foxwoods and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners after the chestnut won his Jan. 16 debut, also the Gulfstream turf.
The dynamics of the Palm Beach quickly changed when Arzak drew away from the field in the first quarter-mile. He rolled through a half-mile in :44.80, up some eight lengths over Hot Blooded, who in turn was about a dozen lengths in front of the rest of the field.
Arzak was still ahead by eight after six furlongs, but he slowed suddenly and the rest of the field inhaled the top two at the top of the stretch. Annex was still in sixth with a furlong to run, but was moving best of all and hit the wire first in a very good 1:40.62 for the 1 1/16-miles on the firm course.
“Even thought it was a quick pace, it was only one horse,” aid winning rider Junior Alvarado. “There were three or four horses in front of me and we were in a nice rhythm. I had to forget about the horses in front of me and make sure that my horse got in a nice comfortable rhythm the whole way to make sure he finished like he did the first time. He did it again.”
Annex has now banked $84,140 in his two starts. He was bred by William Harrigan & Mike Pietrangelo and is the third foal out of You Make Me Sing, who is a half-sister to $2 million earner and five-time Grade 1 winner You.
Constitution, whose 4-year-old colt Venezuelan Hug took the Canadian Turf (G3) about an hour after Annex’s win, leads the 2021 Third-Crop Sire list by black type horses, graded stakes horses, winners and wins. Last year’s #1 Second-Crop sire, Constitution is standing this season for $85,000 S&N.
