Oaklawn winner We the People romps in $200K Peter Pan at Belmont

We the People, a two-time Oaklawn winner, put on a show in Saturday’s Grade 3 $200,000 Peter Pan, a nine-furlong prep for the June 11 Belmont Stakes.

Coming off a seventh-place finish in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby April 2, the Constitution colt took command early and sailed home by 10 1/4 lengths in 1:48.27 over a good and sealed track on Long Island. Trainer Rodolphe Brisset, who also entered Western River in the race, said he was confident We the People would regain the form that carried him to Oaklawn victories of 5 3/4 lengths in a Feb. 12 maiden race at one mile and in a $106,000 entry-level allowance March 12 at a mile and one-sixteenth.

“We know how good he is; he’s just his own enemy sometimes just because he’s a little cocky. Today was good,” Brisset said. “He got a little warm in the paddock and we gave him a shower and you could see he kind of relaxed and was drying up. I thought the warm-up was good compared to Arkansas. Of course, if we bring one all the way here it’s because we thought he had a shot to do that. He can run on anything. He’s one of those kind.”

Jockey Flavien Prat said a wide trip hampered the colt’s chances in the Arkansas Derby, won by Cyberknife, but that he lived up to expectations Saturday.

“Before (the Arkansas Derby) I thought we had a good draw. Everyone broke well and all sent (for the lead) so I found myself wide and had to take back, drop in, and he didn’t understand what I wanted from him from that point on,” Prat said. “Today, he broke well and got me into the race. I wanted a clean trip and to be in the clear and see what he could do from there. He responded really well.”

We the People joined Secret Oath (third) as next-out graded winners from the Arkansas Derby. The Arrogate filly, a three-time local winner for Hall of Fame trainer Wayne Lukas, won the May 6 Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs and is pointing for another run against males Saturday in the Preakness at Baltimore.

Brisset trains We the People for a group including WinStar Farm, CMNWLTH and Siena Stable. He said Western River, fourth Saturday after a slow start, might also enter the Belmont Stakes, 12-furlong Test of the Champion, which is the next scheduled start for Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike. Western River, a Tapit colt, won a mileand-sixteenth Oaklawn maiden race by 3 3/4 lengths on the Arkansas Derby undercard.

“We (brought) both here to see if we could consider the Belmont. Obviously, We the People passed the test and I think I’ll have to watch the replay and take my time and wait 10 days to decide on Western River,” Brisset said. “He only got beat (less than) a half-length for second. … We know the two turns may be the key, too, for Western River. We’ll see what happens. I can’t commit now.”

Brisset scored his biggest victory of the just-completed Oaklawn meeting with filly Yuugiri in the Grade 3 Fantasy Stakes April 2. The French-based trainer worked for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott for more than a decade. His biggest previous Oaklawn victory came with Quip in the 2019 Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap.

Tonalist, upsetter of Triple Crown aspirant California Chrome in 2014, is the last horse to complete the Peter Pan-Belmont double. Sir Winston finished second in the 2019 Peter Pan before capturing the Belmont.