Stat made huge strides in his development while winning Saturday’s
fourth race at Gulfstream Park by 6 ¼ lengths. The Todd Pletcher-trained
colt had previously finished a troubled fourth over a sloppy track at
Gulfstream on Feb. 9.
“It was a big improvement from last time. We were happy to catch a fast
track. His last two races were on a sloppy track,” trainer Todd
Pletcher said. “We were happy to get him on a fast track and it looked
like he ran much better.”
Stat stalked favored Scatter Joy, an impressive winner in his debut
last time out, before taking the lead on the turn into the stretch and
drawing away.
Pletcher said he had no immediate plans for the son of Unbridled’s
Song, who captured his debut at Belmont Park over a fast track before
finishing second behind Union Rags in the Saratoga Special on a sloppy
track.
“We’ll see how he bounces out of this race and go from there,” Pletcher
said. “I think he might (stretch out), he’s still learning and this was
a big improvement for him.”