Mindframe clear of his rivals in the Gulfstream Park Mile (Coglianese)
David Joseph/Gulfstream Park
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s Mindframe – one of 2024’s darlings whose season was cut short by bone bruising – made his return a winning one Saturday, charging to victory as the prohibitive 1-9 favorite in the $215,000 Gulfstream Park Mile (G2).
The 81st running of the one-mile Gulfstream Park Mile was the sixth of nine stakes, eight graded, worth $2.15 million in purses on a blockbuster 14-race program headlined by the $415,000 Coolmore Fountain of Youth (G2) for 3-year-olds.
Off since July, the 4-year-old Maryland-bred son of Constitution made his 2025 bow with a 1 ¼-length victory over Steal Sunshine. Lightning Tones was third, another ¾-length further back.
Mindframe was led into the winner’s circle by Mike Repole, Tom Brady, and others.
Ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., Mindframe settled comfortably behind the early pace before pouncing in the turn, taking clear advantage, and holding off late-closing Steal Sunshine in a time of 1:36.25.
“I had a very good trip,” Ortiz said. “I was sitting third and he was in the clear. I decided to go for it. I had the best horse, so I tried to give him the best trip and not have any excuse, and he did the rest. He was very, very good today.”
The win was the fourth on the card for Ortiz, with three of those coming in stakes, and more mounts remaining.
As a 3-year-old in 2024, Mindframe won his first two races by wide margins before running a close second behind Dornoch in the Belmont Stakes (G1). Another second-place finish followed in the Haskell (G1) before the colt landed on the shelf and missed the remainder of the year.
“He’s been training really well,” said winning trainer Todd Pletcher. “You’re always concerned when you’re coming off a layoff and drawing the 1-hole at a one-turn mile. It’s demanding. But Irad was able to maneuver himself into a good spot. I thought he might have got a little tired the last sixteenth.”
