The Puma found in the blinkers the change he needed to make it to the Classic

A suggestion from Javier Castellano following the Travers Stakes (G1) prompted Gustavo Delgado's team to adjust his equipment. The son of Essential Quality responded by winning the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) and will now aim to pull off a major upset at Keeneland, where he will break from post position 4

Sometimes a minor change can make a massive difference. The Puma had been putting together a more than respectable campaign among the top 3-year-olds in the United States, but his connections harbored the feeling that there was still something left to uncover—a surge in performance waiting to emerge that could propel him to another level.

The answer came courtesy of Javier Castellano following the Travers Stakes (G1) on August 29 at Saratoga. The experienced Venezuelan jockey suggested trying the son of Essential Quality in blinkers, convinced that the colt possessed more to offer than he was currently showing on the track.

The equipment modification was made for the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) in September at Parx Racing, and the result was instantaneous: The Puma secured a half-length victory, logging the biggest win of his career and stamping his ticket to the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).

“We believe he is much more focused now. Before, he wasn't giving us everything he had. It was like he would make a move, pause, move again, and lose momentum once more,” explained Gustavo Delgado Jr., assistant to his father,Gustavo Delgado, who conditions the colt.

The option of equipping him with blinkers had been considered earlier, but connections never enacted the change because his race results were far from poor.

In fact, The Puma had captured the Tampa Bay Derby (G3), lost by a mere nose in the Florida Derby (G1), and finished fourth in both the Haskell Stakes (G1) and the Travers Stakes (G1)—two of the most grueling midsummer tests for 3-year-olds in the country.

Even so, Castellano remained adamant that the colt could deliver even more: “Javier told us he felt he had a lot more horse underneath him, but that he wasn't utilizing all his potential. Once we put the blinkers on him, that shifted and helped him immensely,” Delgado Jr. noted.

The victory at Parx Racing validated that assessment and opened up an entirely new horizon for the Delgado stable representative, who now faces the premier test of his career.

At Keeneland, he will square off against stars of the highest magnitude, including Forever Young (Real Steel),Sovereignty (Into Mischief), and Knightsbridge (Nyquist), among others, in a $7-million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) field bringing together the finest bloodstock on the planet.

The Puma is listed at 10-1 on the morning line and will break from post position 4, a placement that should afford him a smooth trip into a early tactical position.

For Gustavo Delgado and his son, who know full well what it takes to perform on the highest international stages, the main objective will be seeing whether that leap forward in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) can hold up against even stiffer opposition.

The Puma never needed to be taught how to win—he had already accomplished that. What he lacked, it seems, was the focus required to tap into his full ability. The blinkers appear to have provided that extra edge, and now he gets his chance to prove it on American racing's grandest stage.