Thoroughbred Daily News Sunday, August 31, 2025
With multiple Grade I winner and second choice Mindframe (Constitution) wiped out at the break, it was Centennial Farms’ longshot Antiquarian (Preservationist) holding favored Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) at bay late to win the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga Sunday, earning an automatic berth in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic in November.
Just a day after Fierceness (City of Light) overcame an adventurous beginning of his own making to win the GI Pacific Classic at Del Mar, stablemate Mindframe was less lucky at Saratoga, catching the worst of it when Phileas Fogg (Astern {Aus}) made an abrupt left out of the gate, crowding the horses to his inside and causing jockey Irad Ortiz to fall from Mindframe.
“From the start of the Pacific Classic to this, welcome to the world of a horse trainer,” said Todd Pletcher, who trains Fierceness, Mindframe and Antiquarian.
While Mindframe ran loose through the field, Contrary Thinking (Into Mischief)–entered as a pacemaker for the favorite–was alone on the lead through fractions of :23.00, :46.96, and 1:11.92, with his stablemate Sierra Leone, who had swerved to avoid the fallen Ortiz, trailing the strung-out field.
Phileas Fogg was first to challenge the pacesetter and quickly assumed control midway on the far turn, but Antiquarian was making steady progress just to his outside and Sierra Leone was floated out to the center of the track for the stretch run. Antiquarian ground his way past Phileas Fogg and was pulling away as Sierra Leone tried in vain to reel him in late.
Phileas Fogg, who started a chain reaction when coming over on Contrary Thinking, who bumped with White Abarrio (Race Day), who went into Mindframe, was disqualified from his third-place effort and was left unplaced in the race. Ortiz, who at one point after being dislodged from Mindframe looked as though he was on the back of White Abarrio before falling to the track, was taken to the hospital for evaluation.
Irad Ortiz falls to the track early in the Jockey Club Gold Cup | Sarah Andrew
Shortly after the race, Mike Repole, owner of Mindframe, tweeted out, “Mindframe seems to be okay. My biggest concern is Irad. I went on there to check on him. He’s an incredible kid. He’s in a lot of pain. Right forearm, maybe thumb. And his rib. A lot of pain on the left side on his rib.”
Antiquarian, winner of last year’s GIII Peter Pan Stakes, was runner-up in the May 31 GIII Blame Stakes and missed Phileas Fogg by a head when second in the July 4 GII Suburban Stakes last time out.
“It seemed like he [Antiquarian] was getting better and better,” Pletcher said. “We always expected him, as he got older, to get better. It seemed like the last couple times he got going just a little too late. So, he was able to get there a little sooner this time. The last two times he had the best last 100 yards of the race, but he just hung a little bit from the top of the stretch to that point. Today, he got himself in a little better position to polish it off.”
Pletcher said Mindframe appeared uninjured in the mishap.
“It appears as though he pulled up fine,” Pletcher said. “He kind of slowed down and the outriders looked like they caught him safely. Our initial inspections back here are fine. We’ll obviously go over him very closely at the barn like we always do. Luckily, I think he’s OK.”
Sierra Leone, coming off a win in the GI Whitney Stakes, lost ground while attempting to avoid the prone Ortiz early in the race.
“Obviously we lost quite a bit of ground with the incident, so we recovered and he made a run, but you can only make up so much ground on those good horses,” jockey Flavien Prat said of the runner-up.
Chad Brown, trainer of Sierra Leone, added, “I hope Irad is OK. That’s my main concern. Our horse is the one that went over the top of him and my concern is for him. Sierra lost his action there for a moment and you could see Flavien looking around to see what happened. As far as the race goes, we lost a considerable amount of ground. He had to use him to try and regain where he should have been and it certainly played a role in the finish. That’s horse racing and it’s just unfortunate on a big day–both for my horse, for Mindframe, who was poised for a big effort; and most importantly for Irad, who we just hope can escape from this without any injuries.”
Kendrick Carmouche, aboard the disqualified Phileas Fogg, said, “My horse broke a step out, and I reached and grabbed him and pulled him back in to make him switch the leads to straighten up course, and then I went out. I thought I was clear. I came over a little, but then Dylan [Davis, aboard Contrary Thinking] went more. I don’t think I had anything to do with it.”
Commenting to TDN‘s Tim Wilkin later in the afternoon, Repole was critical of the role pacemaker Contrary Thinker played in the incident.
“It’s not about highs and lows,” Repole said. “This is more of an issue with the sport. Not evolving, sticking with the same thing. Rabbits were used in 1982 and the NFL does not play with leather helmets anymore.
“We had a great race with great horses. The seven horse [Phileas Fogg] and Kendrick wanted the lead and wanted to stop the rabbit that should never have been in the race. Shame on Kendrick. I like Kendrick a lot, but that was a mistake. I like Dylan [Davis, aboard Contrary Thinking], too. He had one job and that was to go as fast as he could for five furlongs. He bumped into White Abarrio, who bumped into Mindframe and the race is ruined. It’s a shame. By the way, the rabbit came in last, people lost money, and the rabbit ruined the race. How does everyone feel now? And Sierra Leone did not win.”
Pedigree Notes:
Antiquarian is one of two graded winners for his sire Preservationist, who passed away in Korea in July, and is the stallion’s first top-level winner. He is the first foal out of Lifetime Memory, who is also the dam of this year’s GIII Delaware Oaks winner Fondly (Upstart). The 9-year-old mare, a daughter of graded winner Silver Reunion and a half-sister to graded winner Speaktomeofsummer (Summer Front), has a yearling colt by Happy Saver and a weanling filly by Mage. She was bred back to Not This Time.
Sunday, Saratoga
JOCKEY CLUB GOLD CUP S.-GI, $1,000,000, Saratoga, 8-31, 3yo/up, 1 1/4m, 2:02.16, ft.
1–ANTIQUARIAN, 126, c, 4, by Preservationist
1st Dam: Lifetime Memory, by Istan
2nd Dam: Silver Reunion, by Harlan’s Holiday
3rd Dam: Silver Comic, by Silver Hawk
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($250,000 Ylg ’22 KEESEP). O-Centennial Farms; B-Brereton C. Jones (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-John R. Velazquez. $550,000. Lifetime Record: 9-4-3-0, $944,100. *1/2 to Fondly (Upstart), GSW, $389,200. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Sierra Leone, 126, c, 4, Gun Runner–Heavenly Love, by Malibu Moon. ($2,300,000 Ylg ’22 FTSAUG). ‘TDN Rising Star‘. O-Peter M. Brant, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg and Brook T. Smith; B-Debby M. Oxley (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $200,000.
3–Highland Falls, 126, h, 5, Curlin–Round Pond, by Awesome Again. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $120,000.
Margins: 1HF, 1 1/4, 3HF. Odds: 13.00, 1.15, 7.70.
Also Ran: White Abarrio, Disarm, Contrary Thinking, Phileas Fogg, Mindframe. Scratched: Banishing.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
