Union Rags v/s El Padrino – The ultimate showdown at Gulfstream Park’s Florida Derby
It is going to be a tough battle for Todd Pletcher in the Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby as his trainee, El Padrino, will go face to face with the Michael Matz trained 3-year-old sensation Union Rags. Both these colts are present at Gulfstream Park for
tomorrow’s feature race, and when Union Rags comes out to train it sends a brief yet important message to Todd Pletcher reminding him of an uphill task his runner will be facing in the Florida Derby.
However, if El Padrino desires his name to be said in the same breath as Union Rags and Hansen ahead of the Kentucky Derby, then no matter how stiffer a task it is, he will have to overhaul Union Rags, who he has never met before. But the matchup is highly
anticipated.
The Kentucky bred son of Pulpit, out of mare Enchanted Rock by Giant’s Causeway, El Padrino will be running for his hat-trick in the Florida Derby, as the colt has won both of his 2 previous starts. He is armed with a Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes already in
the bag, whilst Union Rags is exiting a victory in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes.
“Anyone who has seen him run or train has to be impressed. It’s a tall order,” Pletcher said Thursday morning. “But our horse is doing well. He’s a big, strong colt. We’re not going to duck anyone. But we have a lot of respect for Union Rags.”
However, the Kentucky bred son of Dixie Union, out of mare Tempo by Gone West, Union Rags has outweighed El Padrino in terms of career wins, and the bay colt has won 4 times in 5 starts, and his only loss was suffered by the hands of Hansen, when Union Rags
was a whisker short of winning the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
Though jockey Javier Castellano has thrown heaps of praise on El Padrino. “He’s very consistent, very steady, not the kind that’s going to get a bullet,” Castellano said. “He’s laid-back. He’s so easy. That’s good for races. You can put him where you want.
He’s not going to be on his toes, he’s not going to get rank.”
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