by Mike Curry

Einstein (Brz) has provided his connections with many thrills and on Saturday at Churchill Downs he delivered again with a one-length victory in the $548,300 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic Stakes (G1) on the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) undercard on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

The six-year-old Spend a Buck horse has shown no signs of slowing down with age, posting his third career Grade 1 victory and second of the season for trainer Helen Pitts and owners Patricia Cunningham and Melissa Green.

“He means the world to me, he’s very special,” Pitts said of the winner of the 2006 and ’08 editions of the Gulfstream Park Turf Stakes (G1). “He’s won three Grade 1s, and he’s gotten better with age. He loves the game. I’ve never had a horse that loves his job and loves the game as much as he does. He thrives on running, he thrives on training.”

Einstein, who entered off a runner-up finish in the Maker’s Mark Mile Stakes (G1) on April 11 at Keeneland Race Course, broke alertly under jockey Robby Albarado and stalked pacesetter Thorn Song from second through a leisurely half-mile in :49.13 and six furlongs in 1:12.97 in the 1 1/8-mile turf race.

“It set up ideally starting out, but then he had to drop back a little on the backstretch,” Pitts said. “I figured Robby knew what he was doing and obviously he did.”

Einstein inhaled Thorn Song on the final turn as he launched his winning bid along with Out of Control (Brz). He drove clear to a two-length advantage in early stretch and powered to a one-length score as the 2.20-to-1 favorite.

Einstein completed the distance in 1:50.50 on turf rated as good to improve to eight wins in 18 career starts and boosted his earnings past the $1-million plateau to $1,107,931. He is out of multiple Group 1 winner Gay Charm, by Ghadeer.

“We’ll just see how he comes out of this, it’s a long year,” Pitts said of his next start. “The Arlington Million [Stakes (G1)] I guess would be an ultimate goal.”

Out of Control was one length clear of third-place finisher Artiste Royale (Ire).

For an Equibase chart, click here.

Mike Curry is Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor