Calibrachoa –
winner of four Grade 3 stakes at Aqueduct, including Saturday’s Toboggan
– will aim for a fifth as the 5-year-old has been pointed toward the
$200,000 Tom Fool Handicap on March 3, the Todd Pletcher stable has said.
Owned by Mike Repole, Calibrachoa won the Toboggan for the second
straight year, improving his inner-track record to 4-for-4. The son of Southern
Image prefers having ample time between starts, but the Pletcher stable
believes the four weeks between the Toboggan and the Tom Fool will provide
sufficient rest. Like with the Toboggan, Calibrachoa won the Tom Fool in 2011.
“I’m telling you what, he looked great yesterday,”
said Whit Beckman, assistant to Pletcher. “With the way Todd explained
it, the [Tom Fool] would be the plan.”
Caixa Eletronica,
who finished third in the Toboggan for Pletcher and Repole, exited the race in
good shape and remains on target for a start in the Grade 2 General George
Handicap on February 20 at Laurel Park, Beckman said.
“The horse has showed in the past that he doesn’t need much
space between races,” the assistant explained.
Beckman said the barn discovered How
Do I Win, fourth in the Grade 3 Withers, grabbed a quarter at some
point on Saturday.
“He looked good this morning,” said Beckman. “He must
have grabbed a quarter on the outside of his right front foot, either before or
after the race, maybe when he dropped [jockey] Cornelio [Velasquez] in the post
parade.”