Commissioner bosses Pimlico Special rivals

"This was awesome," Pletcher said. "I'm very happy. I loved the position he

was able to get into. Once he gets into that rhythm, you can keep on cruising."

"He was very strong today," Castellano said. "He minded so well. I was able

to tuck in around the first turn and he was just galloping along. He can go :24

and :48, that's him. I didn't ask him until we turned for home. The more

distance the better for him."

Page McKenney was brave to finish so well for second, considering that he was

banged up in the race.

"He has a pretty bad cut on his ankle and it's bleeding pretty badly,"

trainer Mary Eppler said. "We have the vet coming over to the barn now. He's hit

the board in all of his stakes races. I'm very pleased with the way he ran

today."

Cat Burglar (Unbridled's Song) checked in third in the Pimlico Special for

the second straight year. Top Billing (Curlin), a long-way last early, worked

his way into fourth in the field of seven. The deep closer wasn't helped by the

scratch of Albano (Istan), who would probably have added more heat to the pace.

Also scratched were Tapiture (Tapit) and Kid Cruz (Lemon Drop Kid).

Commissioner's scorecard now stands at 12-4-3-2, $797,237. A prominent face

on the 2014 Triple Crown trail, the bay beat Top Billing in a hot Gulfstream

allowance before underperforming in three preps. He bookended a troubled third

in the Sunland Derby (G3) with sixths in the Fountain of Youth (G2) and Arkansas

Derby (G1). Commissioner put forth a more encouraging effort when second to

Tonalist (Tapit) in the Peter Pan (G2), and came within a head of defeating him

at 28-1 in the Belmont. Sidelined for the remainder of his sophomore season,

Commissioner took a couple of starts to reach peak form this year, but has now

responded with back-to-back Grade 3 victories.

"Right after the Skip Away, we talked about it and decided to go to the

Pimlico Special," Pletcher said. "We'll see how he comes out of it. It's 22 days

to the Brooklyn H. ([G2] on June 6), so that's possible.

The Kentucky-bred is a half-brother to Canadian Grade 3 winner Laugh Track

(Distorted Humor), runner-up in the 2013 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1). They were

produced by multiple stakes heroine and Grade 3-placed Flaming Heart (Touch

Gold), who comes from the further family of Grade 3 scorer and classic-placed

Blumin Affair (Dynaformer).

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