Mission Impazible- 2010 Derby Contender
Mission Impazible
Pedigree: Unbridled's Song - LaPaz (Hold Your Peace)
Owner: Twin Creeks Racing Stable LLC (Randy Gullatt)
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Side: Twin Creeks Racing Silks
Back: TWIN CREEKS RACING
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Mission Impazible Hits His Mark in La. Derby
Twin
Creeks Racing Stable’s Mission Impazible gave Pletcher yet
another major Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) contender
March
27 when the son of Unbridled's Song overtook a pair of horses in
deep stretch to win the $750,000 Louisiana Derby (gr. II) by three-quarters
of a length at Fair Grounds Races & Slots.
Fourth in the one-mile Southwest Stakes (gr. III) Feb. 20 at Oaklawn Park
and runner-up in his 3-year-old debut in allowance company Jan. 9 at Gulfstream
Park, Mission Impazible broke through in the nine-furlong Louisiana Derby
when running a route of ground for the first time under Rajiv Maragh. It
was the fourth win on the Fair Grounds card for Pletcher, who has a slew
of major Kentucky Derby contenders in his stable.
Mission Impazible picked up $450,000 for the win and seems well on his way
to Churchill Downs for the May 1 classic.
Mission Impazible received the perfect trip under Maragh, who was riding
the gray/roan colt for the first time. Breaking sharply from post 2, he
was never far behind pacesetter A Little Warm while saving ground along
the rail. A Little Warm took the full field of 13 through early splits
of :23.55 and :47.89 with Pletcher’s other starter, 7-2 favorite
Discreetly Mine, racing in second. Also close up were Backtrack, The Program,
Wow Wow
Wow, and Drosselmeyer, who tucked into a nice position after breaking
from post 13.
A Little Warm was still going well with David Cohen aboard through three-quarters
in 1:12.07 and one mile in 1:37.52. As they hit the top of the stretch A
Little Warm and Discreetly Mine were heads apart, but Mission Impazible
was right on their heels from a three-wide path and continued to bare down
on the leaders. Meanwhile, Drosselmeyer was fighting through gamely on the
rail. Mission Impazible finally overtook the two leaders in the final yards
while hitting the wire in 1:50.32 on a fast main track.
A Little Warm was a game second in his first try going two turns, a neck
better than Drosselmeyer, who rallied past Discreetly Mine by another neck
for third under Kent Desormeaux.
"
That was kind of the way we had talked about it,'' Pletcher said. `"We
wanted to secure a little bit of position from the inside and hopefully
come away stalking the leaders. Then he was able to find a little more
down the lane."
Mission Impazible, bred in Kentucky by Summer Wind Farm, was making only
his fifth start. As a juvenile, he broke his maiden at Keeneland going 4
1/2 furlongs in his debut, then was third in the Kentucky Juvenile Stakes
(gr. III) at Churchill in April before being shut down for eight months.
Mission Impazible, who is out of the Hold Your Peace mare La Paz, has now
earned $512,754. He was a $200,000 Keeneland September 2008 yearling sale
purchase.
"
He's got to be ranked among the top 3-year-olds now with a win like this," Maragh
said. "There was a lot left in the tank; there definitely was. He
didn't seem worn out after the race.'"
The winner paid $16.20, $7.20, and $5. The exacta (2-5) returned $123.60
and the trifecta (2-5-13) was $745.40.
