Reprinted from Bloodhorse.com. The Grade 2 Commonwealth Derby headlined a card of 8 turf stakes at Laurel on September 24th. Five were Virginia-bred stakes; the other trio were graded stakes that had been held at Colonial Downs — the Derby, Turf Cup and Oaks. Total handle on the Commonwealth Day card was $4.2 million.
Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence’s Deeply Undervalued made the best of his stakes debut Sept. 24 with a closing score in the $200,000 Commonwealth Derby (gr. IIT) at Laurel Park. Watch Video
The Kitten’s Joy colt, who ran second by a neck to fellow Commonwealth Derby entrant Revved Up last time out in a conditional optional claiming allowance Aug. 27 at Saratoga Race Course, trailed by as many as eight lengths early under jockey Manuel Franco, but unfurled a rally to win by a length to finish off the 1 1/8 miles in 1:46.63.
Off at 6-1, the Chad Brown trainee finished clear of Isotherm, who edged He’ll Pay by a head for second. American Patriot, favored at 8-5, was another nose back in fourth and Revved Up came in fifth.
“It was a nice win,” Brown said. “I’m really proud of (Franco) and the way he rode this horse. We’ve been really high on this horse and it’s nice to (get) this win following up his summer campaign. He got a great trip and a patient ride.”
Deeply Undervalued got off to a slow start, but settled into eighth place, behind fractions of :23.58, :47.69, and 1:11.94 through six furlongs set by Franklin Towers. After a three-wide move in the final turn, however, the colt found room on the outside and surged by the frontrunners.
“I just let him be comfortable after he stumbled a little bit,” Manuel said of the trip. “I tried to be covered up, but when it was time to move, I took him to the outside and he made a big run.”
The winner paid $15.40, $7.60, and $4.80 across the board. Isotherm brought $5 and $4.20, and He’ll Pay delivered $8 to show.
Bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, Deeply Undervalued now has a 2-3-0 record from six starts with $213,132 in earnings.
Earlier in the card, Stuart Janney’s homebred My Impression put together one of the more impressive performances of the day with a 3 1/4-length victory in the $150,000 Commonwealth Oaks (gr. IIT). Watch Video
The Sky Mesa made an inside move in the stretch and pulled away to win late under jockey Jose Ortiz. It was her first graded win, second stakes victory, and fourth score overall in seven starts.
