The PIM Special – (Grade lll)

Purse $250.00 – For Three Year Olds And Upward

1 3/16 Miles – Dirt

Laurel Park – May 15, 2026

Gymnast, who was the only colt in the field, took a huge step forward and surged late to capture the 18th edition of The PIM Special! This marked the third graded stakes win for the son of Great State and first victory over a mile and an eighth. Coming off a career-high 100 speed figure, there’s no question this four-year-old is hitting on all cylinders heading into the summer. Gymnast stopped the clock in 1:53.74 for the one mile and three sixteenths, establishing a new track record at Laurel Park as the distance was contested there for the first time in history. Neither Noblepark nor jockey Arnaldo Bocachica found success in The PIM Special prior to this performance, so a big congratulations to them. Career earnings for this California-bred now jump to 767.60 with six career wins. It definitely looks like the longer the better for this colt, and the connections should be in for a fun summer campaign. Hats off to Noblepark for campaigning Gymnast to another graded stakes victory!

Winner: Gymnast – (Noblepark, Ar. Bocachica) It was a great trip from the start as this colt settled in the second flight of horses about three lengths off the pace. He was racing two-wide the entire way around the first turn and down the backside. Jockey Arnaldo Bocachica started asking Gymnast to go at the ⅜ pole, and little by little he started making up ground. At the top of the stretch, he was still a couple of lengths back from the pacesetter, and the 1/16 was where his presence was felt. Berlin was yielding late and Gymnast came up the inside to win in the final strides to win by a head. It was a close photo finish and another exciting edition of The PIM Special. A job well done!

Second Place: Berlin – (The Sidley Stud, P. Lopez) There were no surprises from this eight-year-old as he dictated the terms upfront. However, it wasn’t easy out of the gate, as Individuation also wanted to take the lead. Berlin traded punches with the favorite into the first turn and all the way down the backstretch. The fractions they set were: 47.05, 1:10.96, and 1:35.30. Things started to change at the ⅜ pole as Berlin started to pull away and had a one-length advantage heading into the stretch. Jockey Paco Lopez was asking his horse to go, and it seemed like he was going to pull away, but Gymnast was just too strong in the final stages. With forty career starts, this guy is still in top form.

Third Place: Individuation – (Mb Stables, J R. Velazquez) This was the post-time favorite and ended up being my top pick, and had all the ingredients to win. Straight out of the gate, Johnny Velazquez went straight on the rail to save as much ground as possible heading into the first turn. Individuation settled to the inside of Berlin, and they were setting the pace together upfront. You can tell heading into the far turn that this gelding was starting to lose ground, and the horses that were sitting off the speed were starting to close in. He didn’t fade too much in the stretch and held his position well to finish third by a length. Individuation continues to pick up checks as his career earnings now sit at $8605.62.

Fourth Place: Classic Look – (Nakamura Stables, R. Bejarano) Breaking from the gate, this New York-bred stayed glued to the rail. He broke relatively sharply, but gave up the lead to sit in the second flight of horses about two lengths off the lead. There wasn’t much change running down the backstretch as all horses were just trying to get into a comfortable rhythm. Classic Look didn’t start to make a move until the 5/16 pole, where the eventual winner got the jump on him. He was left chasing Gymnast in the stretch and was unfortunately not able to keep up. It was a fourth-place finish, but I think the connections have realized a cutback in distance is needed for this five-year-old.

– AJM

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES