First-time starter Verrazano gave notice that he could be a force to reckon with in coming months when he drew off powerfully in the Gulfstream Park homestretch to win a 6-1/2 furlong maiden special weight on New Year's Day by 7 3/4 lengths.
Trained by Todd Pletcher, Verrazano was well-regarded entering the race, and was sent off as the second choice at odds of 1.90-1. But he ran more like a 1-10 shot, tracking early leader Acclaim through fractions of :22.39 and 45.01 before romping away in the final eighth of a mile to win in spectacular fashion under jockey John Velazquez. The final time was a very sharp 1:16.48 seconds.
Interestingly, the six-furlong fraction of 1:09.93 was 1.46 seconds faster than Merit Man ran in winning the $100,000 Spectacular Bid Stakes one race later.
Acclaim stayed on well to finish second, five lengths clear of the late-running Coin Broker. River Boss, Retreive, Utmost Intensity, Honduran, Character Zero, Carson City Brew, Hardest Core, and Cruises Creek completed the order of finish.
The winner, a son of More Than Ready - Enchanted Rock, by Giant's Causeway, is owned by Let's Go Stable and was bred by Emory A. Hamilton.
-Keelerman
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