Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby, Gulfstream Park, 1 1/8 miles, March 29 (100 Derby qualifying points for a win, 50 for second, 20 for third, 10 for fourth) Cairo Prince was supposed to confirm his status as one of the top contenders for the 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby, but he turned in a relatively flat performance, finishing fourth to a new rising star, Constitution. Constitution is a well proportioned son of Tapit who now has won all three of his races—all this year. With the 100 Derby qualifying points he earned on Saturday, he is assured of a starting berth in the 140th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 3. A bit rank early under Gulfstream’s leading jockey Javier Castellano, Constitution settled into third along the inside behind front-running Wildcat Red and pace-pressing General a Rod through moderate splits of 24.01, 48.19 and 1:12. But, when Castellano was ready, Constitution responded with an aggressive move on the final bend through a narrow opening along the rail to get into a prolonged stretch duel with Wildcat Red. [ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays] Wildcat Red, a determined colt, held a slim advantage until the final few strides to finish a sharp second, beaten just a neck. He was 1 1/4 lengths in front of General a Rod, who remained a strong pace pressing challenger until he grudgingly gave ground through the final furlong. Constitution and Wildcat Red reached the mile marker together in 1:36.46. At the wire, Constitution was clocked in 1:49.16 to earn a 99 Beyer Speed Figure.  Wildcat Red essentially ran the same time and number, give or take a few hundredths of a second. As for Cairo Prince, everything seemed to be set up for him to deliver a winning late rally, given his position behind the top three and the promise he showed winning the Grade 2 Holy Bull Stakes by 5 3/4 lengths over this track Jan 25. He even made a threatening, albeit brief, move on Saturday, while swinging wide on the final bend. But, he never could gain an inch on the top three through the final quarter-mile. Perhaps this lack of finishing punch might have been due to the seven weeks since the Holy Bull. But trainer Kiaran McLaughlin and jockey Luiz Saez were making no post-race excuses. With the 10 Derby qualifying points Cairo Prince earned for fourth, he now has 24 and is in 16th place. This is a potential problem as it may not prove to be enough to rank among the top 20 who will be given post positions in the Derby starting gate. “We’re almost shocked at the results, McLaughlin admitted. . . . "We’d like to go on if we can, but the points situation isn’t favorable.” The connections of Wildcat Red do not have such worries, having 90 Derby points, and the same is almost true for the people behind General a Rod, who has 40. At the very least Wildcat Red showed once again that he is a courageous colt with a lot of speed, a strong combination for any horse. Mike Maker, (who also trains Louisiana Derby winner Vicar’s In Trouble), thought well of General a Rod’s third-place finish on Saturday and believes we have yet to see the colt’s best. “We’re going to make some adjustments with him,” Maker said. “He’s run well at Gulfstream ... and at Churchill.” Meanwhile trainer Todd Pletcher has every right to believe that the lightly raced Constitution is in line for another forward step. Actually, the limited racing career of the 2014 Florida Derby winner is both a positive and a potential negative.  The positive is linked to how much this colt has accomplished since his winning debut at seven furlongs over the Gulfstream track on Jan 11. Now a bona-fide Grade 1 stakes winner at nine furlongs, Constitution handled dirt kicked back into his face and gamely rallied between Wildcat Red and the inner railing to win a tough stretch duel. The negative side of his three-race campaign is just that: He was not mature enough to start his career as a 2-year-old. As many Derby researchers have pointed out, no horse since Apollo in 1882 has managed to win the Kentucky Derby without having raced at least once as a 2-year-old. We will see if that issue plays out against Constitution, or if he runs through it just as he ran through that narrow opening to win the $1 million Florida Derby. At the bottom line, he was an impressive performer in his first stakes appearance.