Trainer Todd Pletcher said he wants to survey weekend workouts before
he plots paths for many of his Belmont graded
stakes contenders, but did confirm 4-year-olds San Pablo
and Stay Thirsty for the Grade 1,
$1 million TVG Jockey Club Gold Cup at 1 ¼ miles on September 29.
“They are as definite as you can be in this business,” said
Pletcher, who added that both runners will breeze at Belmont on Sunday.
San Pablo has won two
straight, the Birdstone on August 2 at Saratoga
and the Grade 3 Iselin on August 18 at Monmouth Park.
“I think his last two races have been an improvement,” said
Pletcher, who trains San Pablo
for Burning Sands Stable. “His Birdstone was a good effort, and the Iselin was another step forward off short rest. He needs
to make another slight move forward. He has closed that gap from where he was
in January and February towards where some of the better horses are. If he
makes another move forward, I think that puts him right there. He’s
always been a horse who has shown talent and consistently runs well, and he
seems to be putting it all together.”
Mike Repole’s Stay Thirsty, fifth in Saratoga’s Grade 1
Woodward on September 1, seeks his first win since the 2011 Grade 1 Travers. He
was third to Flat Out and Drosselmeyer in last year’s TVG Jockey Club
Gold Cup.
“It seems like a division where nobody has really taken over, so
it’s sort of looking for someone to step up and win more than one in a
row,” said Pletcher of the group of top older males. “It seems like
a competitive, open race on paper.”
Caixa Eletronica,
another Repole Stable representative, will compete in either the Grade 1,
$400,000 Vosburgh at six furlongs or the Grade 2, $400,000 Kelso Handicap at
one mile on September 29, according to Pletcher.
“It will be an entry-day decision,” he said.
Pletcher added that he is considering the Grade 1, $400,000 Beldame
Invitational for Disposablepleasure,
In Lingerie, and Maristar and that he will decide who will
run after they breeze over the next few days.
Stonestreet Stables’ Grade 2 Adirondack heroine Kauai Katie will breeze on Monday for the
Grade 2, $200,000 Matron, a seven-furlong race for 2-year-olds on September 30,
Pletcher said. The Matron will be contested the same day as the Grade 2,
$200,000 Futurity, a six-furlong dash open to all 2-year-olds.
“I’m not sure what we’re going to do in the Futurity,”
said Pletcher. “It’s open for discussion after some works this
weekend.”
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