WinStar Farm's Skip Away Stakes (gr. III) winner Commissioner will look to claim his second graded event in a row in the $300,000 Sagamore Racing Pimlico Special Stakes (gr. III) May 15 at Pimlico Race Course.
The Pimlico Special is the finale on a 14-race Black-Eyed Susan Day card at the Baltimore track.
Commissioner, who scored his first graded stakes with the Skip Away at Gulfstream Park and was second to Tonalist in last year's Belmont Stakes (gr. I), is trained by Todd Pletcher and will break from the outside in the 10-horse field with jockey Javier Castellano. The 4-year-old son of A.P. Indy will carry the top weight at 120 pounds.
NOVAK: Commissioner Edges 'Quisqueyano' in Skip Away Pimlico Race Course, Friday, May 15, 2015, Race 14
Beyond Commissioner is a group of 4-year-olds and up with ample back class, but all will be seeking their first graded wins of 2015.
Tapiture and Vyjack are both multiple graded stakes winners.
Winchell Thoroughbreds' Tapiture, a son of Tapit trained by Steve Asmussen, has four graded scores on his résumé, including three during his 3-year-old season last year—the Southwest Stakes (gr. III), Matt Winn Stakes (gr. III), and West Virginia Derby (gr. II). He hasn't won in four starts since those, however, but was second in the Pennsylvania Derby (g. II) and Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (gr. I). He'll break from the rail with jockey Ricardo Santana Jr.
Pick Six Racing's Vyjack last won in the Kelso Handicap (gr. II) at Belmont Park in September. Prior to that he won early-season 3-year-old tests in 2013—the Jerome (gr. II) and Gotham (gr. III), both at Aqueduct Racetrack. The son of Into Mischief , coming off a fourth-place finish in the Charles Town Classic (gr. II), will break from post 7 with Jose Ortiz.
Other graded winners in the field are Albano (2014 Pegasus, gr. III) and Kid Cruz (2014 Dwyer, gr. III).
Graded-placed runners Encryption, Page McKenney, Top Billing, and Cat Burglar; along with allowance winner Transparent, complete the field.
Entries: Pimlico Special S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Tapiture (KY) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 118 Steven M. Asmussen - 2 2Transparent (FL) Julien R. Leparoux 118 Kiaran P. McLaughlin - 3 3Encryption (KY) Paco Lopez 118 Kelly J. Breen - 4 4Albano (KY) Kerwin D. Clark 118 J. Larry Jones - 5 5Page McKenney (PA) Horacio Karamanos 118 Mary E. Eppler - 6 6Kid Cruz (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 118 Linda Rice - 7 7Vyjack (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 118 Rudy R. Rodriguez - 8 8Top Billing (KY) Joel Rosario 118 Claude R. McGaughey III - 9 9Cat Burglar (KY) Victor Espinoza 118 Bob Baffert - 10 10Commissioner (KY) Javier Castellano 120 Todd A. Pletcher -
