NEWS
Pletcher looking to close Saratoga meet with bang
Posted: Thursday, August 30, 2007 8:36 PM
by Phil Janack
Although disappointing by his standards, trainer Todd Pletcher is in position to end the Saratoga Race Course meeting with a flourish.
Pletcher has several stakes horses lined up for the final weekend, including Lawyer Ron and Magna Graduate in the Woodward Stakes (G1), Passion in the Spinaway Stakes (G1) and Ready's Image in the Hopeful Stakes (G1).
Lawyer Ron is coming off a track record-setting performance in the Whitney Handicap (G1) on July 28, two days after Ready's Image won the Sanford Stakes
(G2) for two-year-old males.
Pletcher's only other stakes victories came with Wait a While in the Ballston Spa Handicap (G2) on August 23, and Featherbed in the $80,000 Weekend Surprise Stakes on August 6.
"It's had it's highlights with Lawyer Ron and Ready's Image and Wait a While, and a lot of blanks in between," Pletcher said. "We're going to try to improve on some things that maybe we can do differently next year.
“We'll see how this last week goes. We still have some live horses to run, hopefully."
Pletcher has been the leading trainer at Saratoga six times since 1998, and last summer became the first to claim five consecutive outright titles. He averaged 27 wins during that span, including a meet-record 35 in 2003 and ‘04.
With five days remaining, Pletcher was tied for second in the standings with 11 wins from 100 starters. Only three of those came with two-year-olds, normally a strength.
He endured an 0-for-30 drought between August 11 and August 23, and was 1-for-45 before Prom Party won Wednesday's sixth race at Saratoga.
"Obviously, these training titles up here are hard to win for a reason," Pletcher said. "You have to come in here with realistic expectations. A lot of our success depends on how our two-year-olds run, and those are unknown commodities until you start running them.
"No matter how good you're doing, when you're winning 25% of the time, you're losing 75% of the time. I'll be satisfied if I come up here and go 100-for-100 one year. That's when I'll be completely satisfied."
Adding to the frustration was a pair of setbacks to Belmont Stakes (G1)-winning filly Rags to Riches, the first costing her a start in the Alabama Stakes (G1) on August 18.
A fever on Monday forced Pletcher to cancel a work and put Rags to Riches's next start in doubt. He will attempt to get the filly another breeze this weekend, and decide between the Ruffian Handicap (G1) on September 8 or the Gazelle Stakes (G1) on September 15, both at Belmont Park.
"She went to the track today and did very well," Pletcher said. "She galloped about a mile and a quarter and seemed fine, and came back good. We'll wait to see what happens this weekend."
Phil Janack is a New York-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent
