Trainer Todd Pletcher sent out Grade 1 Woodward candidates Stay Thirsty and Rule to work five furlongs this morning in company for
Saturday’s $750,000 race, with the pair firing a bullet 1:00.03 over the
main track.
The move was the fastest of 23 at the distance for the duo, both coming
off disappointing efforts in their most recent starts. WinStar Farm’s
Rule was ninth behind Fort Larned in the Grade 1 Whitney Invitational Handicap
on August 4, while Repole Stable’s Stay Thirsty was fifth in the Grade 2
Suburban Handicap on July 7 at Belmont
Park.
“They both worked well; I’m happy with both of them,”
said Pletcher. “It seemed Rule worked more along the lines of how he
worked prior to [winning the Grade 2 Monmouth Cup] and the way he worked before
he was third in the Woodward last year. It seems like he’s ready to
go.”
The trainer added that Stay Thirsty, who is 3-1-0 in four starts at the
Spa, including victories in last year’s Grade 2 Jim Dandy and Grade 1
Travers, worked “as well as he’s ever worked.”
Saratoga’s
leading rider, Ramon Dominguez, will ride Rule in the Woodward, said Pletcher,
with Javier Castellano aboard Stay Thirsty.