Constitution’s ultra-consistent colt Never Surprised scored a commanding gate-to-wire 6 ¼-length victory in Sunday’s Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream Park. The 3-year-old took the Gio Ponti S. a month ago at Aqueduct by the exact margin and is now a three-time stakes winner.
Never Surprised shot to the lead right out of the gate and was confidently handled by Luis Saez. He was pressured through a half-mile in :46.66, then began to edge clear. Up two lengths after six furlongs, he kicked into high gear in the stretch to leave the field far behind.
The final time for the “about” 1 1/16-miles on the firm turf was good for an excellent Beyer Speed Figure of 95.
“He’s a pretty nice horse. I rode him one time before and he was a little bit green, but today he was good. Todd has done an amazing job,” Saez said. “He broke from the gate really fast. I was excited about the way he ran today. I had a lot of horse. I didn’t have to overdo it. It was an easy race for him.”
The winner is trained by Todd Pletcher for Repole Stable. In seven career starts, Never Surprised has four victories, as well as three second-place finishes in graded-stakes – Kitten’s Joy (G3) at Gulfstream, Saranac (G3) at Saratoga, and Hill Prince (G2) at Belmont. His earnings now stand at $378,960.
Never Surprised, bred by Golden Pedigree LLC, was a $200,000 purchase by Repole at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling sale. Out of Tiz Dixie, Never Surprised hails from the family of millionaire and multiple graded winner Limehouse.
Constitution leads the Third-Crop sire list with $10.4 million in progeny earnings, as well as by stakes horses (31), graded winners (7) and graded horses (17). He’s standing the 2022 season at WinStar for $85,000 S&N.
