A very live 5-2 chance from a 9-2 morning line, Mike and Katherine Ball homebred CHIEF WALLABEE (c, 3, Constitution–A La Lucie, by Medaglia d'Oro) traveled into the race strongly approaching the stretch and pounced on favored The Puma (Essential Quality) with just under a furlong to travel and proved a very impressive winner of what appeared to be a very hot Gulfstream maiden Saturday afternoon. The effort makes him the newest 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard.Having hinted at considerable ability in his morning trials, including a bullet half-mile over the testing surface at Payson Park in :48 1/5 (1/48) Jan. 4, Chief Wallabee settled in about fifth position through the opening exchanges of the seven-furlong contest as a four-way battle for the lead ensued on the pointy end.The Puma, off to an awkward beginning from gate five–one to the inside of Chief Wallabee–was hustled up into contention by Javier Castellano for the Mage connections, but as a result of the slow start, he had no choice but to go wide and took the worst of it four deep around the turn. In the meantime, Chief Wallabee was following the move of Nanosecond (Into Mischief) on the swing for home and had first crack at The Puma, who was handled with supreme confidence. In front approaching the eighth pole, The Puma was ultimately no match for Chief Wallabee, who descended on the leader quickly with 150 yards to race and was taken in hand under the wire, scoring by about 2 1/2 lengths.Chief Wallabee is the second 'Rising Star' in three days for Constitution, whose 3-year-old son Touch of Fire won his maiden by seven convincing lengths (81 Beyer) over the Fair Grounds turf course on Thursday.Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0. O/B-Mike and Katherine Ball (KY); T-Bill Mott. CHIEF WALLABEE ($7.00) passes The Puma to break his maiden at @GulfstreamPark with @JuniorandKellyA in the saddle for trainer Bill Mott and owners Michael and Katherine G. Ball. Another winner by @WinStarFarm's Constitution. pic.twitter.com/PCsILGlS99— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) January 10, 2026The post Constitution Firster Chief Wallabee Runs To ‘TDN Rising Star’ Honors appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.