By Alan Carasso
Repole Stable and St Elias Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Mindframe (Constitution) was his own worst victim in last year's GI Belmont Stakes and GI Haskell Stakes, his inexperience costing him victories in both of those marquee events for the 3-year-old generation.
He got the monkey off his back, at least to some extent, when proving best in a thrilling four-way go in the GI Churchill Downs Stakes on the Kentucky Derby undercard, and in the $1-million GI Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs Saturday afternoon, cemented his position as one of the top handicap horses in the country with a one-length defeat of fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner). The victory earns Mindframe, who retires to Claiborne Farm once his racing days are over, a guaranteed spot in the field for this year's Classic at Del Mar, the same race won en route to a championship by Sierra Leone last fall.
'TDN Rising Star' First Mission (Street Sense) was ridden positively by Luis Saez from gate one and was quickly joined by Mindframe to his outside. Mystik Dan (Goldencents), the recently rejuvenated 2024 GI Kentucky Derby hero, enjoyed the run of the race hugging the fence from just behind the pace, while Sierra Leone was unsurprisingly void of early speed, waiting for the second half of the race to deliver his best.
First Mission continued to show the way down the back, but Flavien Prat asked Sierra Leone for some mid-race acceleration and the duo were up into third, three wide and outside of Mindframe into the second turn. Positions were unchanged nearing the stretch and when First Mission rolled away from the inside, there was room to thread the needle for a rail-skimming Mystik Dan, if good enough. He peaked on his run, but Mindframe still had more to offer, and even though he wanted to lug in–again–at the eighth pole, he fought on bravely for the victory. Sierra Leone looked like he was under a full head of steam approaching the stretch before appearing to idle a bit from third. He, too, lengthened his stride nicely inside the final furlong and was getting to the winner. First Mission outfinished the 2024 Derby winner for third for a noteworthy 'TDN Rising Star' trifecta.
A no-brainer 'Rising Star' when accounting for a seven-furlong Gulfstream maiden by nearly 14 lengths last March, the Maryland-bred added a 7 1/2-length allowance victory on race three of the Kentucky Derby undercard to launch Triple Crown trail aspirations of his own. He appeared to have the Belmont in the bag, leading into the final eighth of a mile before shying out and allowing Dornoch (Good Magic) to come back at him. It was deja vu all over again in the Haskell at very much the same juncture of the race and bone bruising spelled the end to a what-might-have-been season.
He found a fairly soft return engagement in the GII Gulfstream Park Mile Mar. 1, scoring by 1 1/4 lengths while looking every bit a horse that was short of peak fitness. A 7-2 chance in a wildly deep renewal of the Churchill Downs Stakes last month, he raced in the latter half of the field for the better part of the opening six of seven furlongs, but found his best stride in the final sixteenth of a mile to prevail over the dead-heating 'Rising Star' Nysos (Nyquist) and Banishing (Ghostzapper), with Grade I winners Book'em Danno (Bucchero) and Mullikin (Violence) right there in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Pedigree Notes:
Mindframe single-handedly honors the tremendous Maryland-based program of his late breeder Larry Johnson.
A son of Pink Ribbon Stakes winner Walk of Stars and a half-brother to MSP Hollywood Walk (Animal Kingdom), Mindframe is out of a half-sister to another tremendous Johnson homebred, Strike The Moon (Malibu Moon), winner of the 2011 Charles Town Oaks and placed no fewer than five times at the graded level. The second dam also produced MSP What Time It Is (Partner's Hero), the dam of dual stakes winner Never Enough Time (Munnings). The deeper female family includes Johnson luminary Street Magician (Street Cry {Ire}).
Walk of Stars is also responsible for the 3-year-old colt Lonesome Road (Maclean's Music), a yearling colt by Jack Christopher and a full-sister to Mindframe foaled May 11.
Click here for more on Larry Johnson's journey with the Mindframe family.
Mindframe takes the G1 Stephen Foster at @churchilldowns under @iradortiz for trainer Todd Pletcher! 🏆 @RepoleStable
🎥 TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/8XAz8KEsYd
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) June 28, 2025
Saturday, Churchill Downs
STEPHEN FOSTER S.-GI, $940,000, Churchill Downs, 6-28, 4yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:47.48, ft.
1–MINDFRAME, 124, c, 4, by Constitution
1st Dam: Walk of Stars (SW, $154,944), by Street Sense
2nd Dam: Star Kell, by Star de Naskra
3rd Dam: Special Kell, by Parfaitement
($600,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables LLC; B-R. Larry Johnson (MD); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr.. $552,420. Lifetime Record: 7-5-2-0, $1,844,580. *1/2 to Hollywood Walk (Animal Kingdom), MSP, $392,731. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Sierra Leone, 124, c, 4, Gun Runner–Heavenly Love, by Malibu Moon. ($2,300,000 Ylg '22 FTSAUG). 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Peter M. Brant, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg and Brook T. Smith; B-Debby M. Oxley (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $198,200.
3–First Mission, 124, h, 5, Street Sense–Elude, by Medaglia d'Oro. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. 'TDN Rising Star'. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $99,100.
Margins: 1, 1 1/4, NK. Odds: 1.88, 2.06, 2.53.
Also Ran: Mystik Dan, Hit Show, Ashcroft. Scratched: Skippylongstocking.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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