Todd Pletcher has already won six Saratoga training titles, and a deep barn
will help his chances of garnering his seventh crown in 2010. Saratoga will offer six graded stakes between
July 28 and August 2, and Pletcher will have leading contenders in five of
those races.
Pletcher will get things started on Wednesday, July 28 in
the Grade 3 Lake George, a turf test for 3-year-old fillies, with Caminadora,
who upset the Grade 3 Regret at Churchill Downs at 32-1.
“The allowance race [at Churchill May 13] came back a better
race than it initially looked, and she ran a good number on the Ragozin
Sheets,” said Pletcher of the decision to enter Caminadora in the Regret. “The Lake George was something we thought of after winning the
Regret.”
Pletcher will be represented in both graded stakes on
Saturday, July 31, the Grade 1 Diana for fillies and mares on the turf and the
Grade 2 Jim Dandy, Saratoga’s traditional prep for the Grade 1, $1 million
Travers.
His Diana hopeful, Phola, won the Grade 2 Churchill
Distaff Turf Mile in May before finishing second in the Grade 1 Just a Game in
June.
“I thought she ran a big race,” said Pletcher of Phola’s
Just a Game performance. “She was probably affected more than anyone by the
slow fractions. I think Proviso is clearly the filly to beat, but we hope with
a little more pace that we might be able to turn the tables.”
Aikenite, who last year broke his maiden on debut at Saratoga before finishing third in the Grade 1 Three
Chimneys Hopeful, will enter the Jim Dandy off a two-length allowance victory
at Belmont June
19.
“How he does in the Jim Dandy could clarify where we might
go next, either the Travers or the [Grade 1] King’s Bishop,” said Pletcher. “He
seems to like the surface here, and he trained here a lot as a 2-year-old.”
The following day Pletcher will send out Malibu Prayer,
winner of last year’s Grade 2 Chilukki at Churchill and the Lighthouse Stakes
at Monmouth most recently, in the Grade 1 Ruffian Handicap for fillies and
mares.
“Last year as a 3-year-old, she really found herself in
one-turn miles, but I think her race at Monmouth last time out was her best
effort yet,” said Pletcher.
The featured event on Monday, August 2, will be the Grade 2
Amsterdam for 3-year-old sprinters, and Pletcher has a formidable contender in Discreetly
Mine, who won the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby in March. Thirteenth in the
Kentucky Derby, Discreetly Mine returned with a pair of strong efforts in
sprints, finishing second in the Grade 2 Woody Stephens at Belmont and winning the Grade 3 Jersey Shore
at Monmouth.
“I was encouraged by his workouts at Palm Meadows over the
winter and I really thought distance wouldn’t be an issue, but his family does
seem to be more on the miler side,” said Pletcher of the half-brother to the
2006 Grade 1 Hill ‘n’ Dale Cigar Mile Handicap winner Discreet Cat.
Should Discreetly Mine run well in the Amsterdam, he’ll likely return in the King’s
Bishop August 28.
“That’d be the logical progression,” said Pletcher. “The
King’s Bishop would be a big mark on his resume.”
Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver and leading older
male Quality Road
are scheduled to breeze on the main track Sunday morning, Pletcher added.