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Silver Medallion gets up, and stays up, in Ft. Lauderdale
Yummy with Butter had the run of the race, getting away with slow fractions of :24 2/5, :49 1/5 and 1:13 3/5 on the firm turf. Mutual Trust, a French Group 1 winner making his U.S. premiere for Bill Mott, was well positioned in second. Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Flat Out was also in a good stalking spot, but came up empty in his turf debut and faded from view turning for home. Silver Medallion, who had been anchored near the back of the pack early by Javier Castellano, rolled into contention rounding the far turn. Yummy with Butter still had plenty left after his early cakewalk, and looked ready to knuckle down when Mutual Trust ranged up to challenge. But Mutual Trust never got the chance to rally in earnest, for he was bumped hard by the veering Yummy with Butter. Arriving on the premises at that point was Silver Medallion, just in time to be bumped by the ricocheting Mutual Trust. Silver Medallion managed to maintain his forward progress and outduel Yummy with Butter in a final time of 1:43 for 1 1/16 grassy miles. "I didn't want to be that far back," Castellano said of the colt, who has typically been a close stalker. "He's not really an aggressive horse coming from behind, but when I asked him I was like 'wow.' It was such a big pack, and I couldn't go inside, so I had to try and loop the field. He gave me a lot of run and I was very proud of him." "Javier had to make a decision to let him settle (rather than rush up)," Pletcher recapped, "and then he came with a good run for three eighths." Hollinger flashed home late, another neck behind Yummy with Butter, and was ultimately promoted to second. Kindergarden Kid likewise closed stoutly and was awarded third. Guys Reward was placed fourth, followed by Mutual Trust. After the demoted Yummy with Butter came Uptowncharlybrown, Teaks North, Santiva, Mambo Meister, Hoofit and Flat Out, who was experimenting on the turf in preparation for the Grade 1 Donn on February 11. "Guess he didn't fire on the turf," trainer Charles Dickey said of Flat Out. "He just doesn't care for it. (Jockey) Alex (Solis) said he wasn't liking it at all. So I'll make sure he's OK and look for a race on the dirt. We'll definitely be keeping him on the dirt." Silver Medallion, now a three-time Grade 3 winner, advanced his record to 12-5-2-1, $426,123. After his victories in the Eddie Logan Stakes and the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby for trainer Steve Asmussen, a majority interest in the Badge of Silver colt was sold to his current ownership. Silver Medallion didn't have much luck in his final stops on the 2011 Kentucky Derby trail, finishing fourth in both the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and the Grade 3 Lexington. Sidelined for more than five months, Silver Medallion resurfaced with Pletcher, who has decided to keep him on turf. The bay returned with a sharp, if troubled, second to Hollinger at Woodbine, and finished third in the Grade 3 Commonwealth Turf. In his third start off the layoff, Silver Medallion defeated his elders in the Grade 3 Tropical Turf at Calder on December 2, and made it two straight here. The four-year-old was bred by Brereton C. Jones in Kentucky and sold for $150,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. Out of the Stalwart mare Another Vegetarian, he is a half-brother to Grade 1-winning millionaire Sweet Talker, herself the dam of Grade 2-placed Perregaux. Grade 1 heroines Check the Label and Likeable Style are also in the family. Pletcher, who won two maidens earlier on the Gulfstream card with promising sophomores Spring Hill Farm and Ecabroni, has the next logical target in mind for Silver Medallion. "We'll see how he comes out of it, but we'll probably bring him back in the Gulfstream Turf (a Grade 1 on February 11)," the trainer said.
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