HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – In discussing strategy for Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Mac Diarmida Stakes with jockey John Velazquez, trainer Todd Pletcher thought the best chance for Capture the Flag to win was to be make the early lead. Velazquez wasn’t sure if that was possible. “I said, ‘I don’t think so, but I can come out running and see if I can make it,'” Velazquez said. "He’s a really tough horse behind horses and real aggressive. If I can make the lead and I don’t have to be in his mouth, that would be great.” Velazquez was able to hustle Capture the Flag to the front, and the 5-year-old son of Quality Road kept on going, holding off his more highly regarded stablemate Grand Sonata by a head to win in the Mac Diarmida, the 14th and final race Saturday at Gulfstream Park. :: Play Gulfstream Park with confidence! DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports available now. The win capped a milestone day for Pletcher, who earlier became the first trainer to surpass the $500 million mark in career purse earnings. Among his three winners on the card was Mindframe, the 2024 Belmont Stakes and Haskell runner-up who made a successful return to the races by winning the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile. Pletcher also sent out the 3-year-old Disruptor to a 9 1/4-length maiden victory. It would have been a great day if not for River Thames getting beat a neck by Sovereignty in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth. Capture the Flag had only two wins from his first 10 starts and was beaten in an off-the-turf second-level allowance race here on Feb. 5. Believing Capture the Flag wanted to run 1 3/8 miles, he put the horse in the Mac Diarmida despite his modest 2-for-10 record. “We’ve always felt like he wants to run this far, let’s give him the opportunity,” Pletcher said. Capture the Flag maintained a one-length advantage over Suogoi through fractions of 24.02, 49.58, 1:14.29 and 1:37.87. Several in the field started to make a run at Capture the Flag, but he repelled all challengers to record the victory. Capture the Flag notched a new top Beyer Speed Figure of 96. “He was in a super gallop, he was moving really well, you could tell he was really happy,” Pletcher said. “Just kind of kept going and going and going. He showed some courage when they all ganged up on him at the top of the stretch. He kicked on again.” In deep stretch, Pletcher thought Grand Sonata had a chance to get there. “I knew it was going to be close. I was going to feel bad for one of them unless we got the lucky dead heat,” Pletcher said. Grand Sonata was second by three-quarters of a length over Cash Equity. Be Like Clint, a 113-1 longshot, finished fourth. Capture the Flag – owned by Joe Allen; the Coolmore connections of Susan Magnier, Michale Tabor, and Derrick Smith; as well as Westerberg Limited and Jonathan Poulin – covered the 1 3/8 miles over firm turf in 2:12.90 and returned $35.80 to win. For Pletcher, who started training in 1996 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021, the Mac Diarmida was career victory 5,821 – sixth all-time – and pushed his career purse earnings to $500,331,004. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.