Trainer Todd Pletcher reported that Discreetly Mine,
front-running winner of the Grade 1 King’s Bishop, came out of his 1 ¼ -length
victory in good order and would most likely train up to the Breeders’ Cup
Sprint.
“He came out of it very well,” said Pletcher. “We felt kind
of handcuffed the way we were going to approach the race, based on the way the
track seemed to be playing, so it was a pretty courageous effort to go as fast
as he did and keep going.”
The trainer also said that while Phola and Katy
Now exited their 8th- and 4th-place finishes in the
Grade 2 Ballston Spa and Grade 3 Victory Ride, respectively, in good shape, he
remained puzzled and disappointed with Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver’s
10th place finish in the Travers.
“We’re going to do some diagnostics, either here or at a
clinic,” said the trainer. “Obviously that was not up to standards. Maybe there
is something going on that we can’t see. He seems OK this morning, nothing
dramatically wrong, but maybe there is something underneath that we are not
seeing.”
Pletcher added that he was very happy with the performance
by Uncle Mo, an eye-catching 14 ¼-length winner
of his debut in Saturday’s fifth race.
“It was pretty exciting,” he said of the 2-year-old son of
Indian Charlie, owned by Repole Stables. “He had trained really, really well
all summer and we were encouraged by some of his workmates running well, and we
expected him to run well, but that was even more than we anticipated or hoped
for.”
Pletcher said Uncle Mo would likely be pointed to the Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont Park.
Sunday morning, Pletcher had Quality Road breeze five
furlongs over the main track with jockey John Velazquez aboard as he put the
finishing touches on the colt’s preparations for Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000
Woodward.
The 4-year-old Elusive Quality colt went in 1:00.05, fastest
of 15 at the distance.
“We were looking for 1:01,” said Pletcher. “He worked well,
and galloped out strongly, so we were pleased.”