Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher captured three of the four graded stakes carded Dec. 4 at Aqueduct Racetrack led by a personal exacta with Americanrevolution and Following Sea in the featured Cigar Mile Handicap Presented by NYRA Bets (G1).
Pletcher also saddled juveniles Mo Donegal and Nest to respective wins in the Remsen (G2) and Demoiselle (G2) stakes, but the prosperous afternoon did not come without controversy as all three of his stakes winners survived objections and/or inquiries.
"Thankfully everyone stayed up and everyone pulled up well," Pletcher said. "It was an exciting day with plenty of drama. We were optimistic coming in that we had some horses training the way you'd want them to leading up to some big races. I'm happy they all delivered good performances."
Americanrevolution, owned by WinStar Farm and China Horse Club, collared stablemate Following Sea in deep stretch to secure his first graded victory. Pletcher previously saddled 2001 Cigar Mile 1-2 finishers Left Bank and Graeme Hall.
Pletcher said he was delighted to see the 3-year-old Constitution colt display capabilities at various distances, adding that he was much similar to that of his sire, a Pletcher stable alumna.
"There's a lot of good horses that can sprint and route and he seems versatile enough to do that," Pletcher said. "His sire was the same way. They were both talented horses."
Pletcher, WinStar Farm, and China Horse Club also campaign Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Life Is Good , who will point to the Jan. 29 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park.
"(Americanrevolution) will go to WinStar and get a little freshening and we'll come up with a game plan," Pletcher said. "Hopefully things continue to go well with Life Is Good. He'll start off in the Pegasus. We'll try to keep those two on separate paths, but we'll worry about that when the time comes."
Following Sea, a Spendthrift Farm homebred son of Runhappy , entered the Cigar Mile from a troubled third in the Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), where he drew the rail and had to steady in upper stretch, angling several paths wide before closing to round out the trifecta. Two starts back, he defeated multiple graded stakes winner Firenze Fire in the Vosburgh Stakes (G2) Oct. 9 at Belmont Park.
Following Sea also drew the rail in the Cigar Mile which Pletcher said could have had an effect on the outcome of both races.
"I feel bad for him drawing the rail twice in a row in two races where an outside post could have made a big difference in the outcome for him," Pletcher said. "He was setting some pretty solid fractions for the way the track was playing yesterday while under some pressure from Ginobili and was able to shake him off. He fought hard to the wire, Americanrevolution just got some steam later. I was really proud of both horses' performances."
Pletcher said the Metropolitan Handicap (G1), traditionally run on the Belmont Stakes (G1) undercard, could be a long term goal for Following Sea.
"We know he loves Belmont, so we'll keep the Met Mile in play," Pletcher said. "I'll talk to the guys at Spendthrift, but we'll probably take him to Florida and freshen him up a bit and target something like the Carter (G1, at Aqueduct)."
Donegal Racing's Mo Donegal displayed determination in the Remsen, battling with impressive maiden winner Zandon down the Aqueduct stretch and coming out a nose on top as both horses separated themselves by nearly 10 lengths from the rest of the field.
Mo Donegal, with Irad Ortiz Jr. up, bumped with Zandon, piloted by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, in the final jumps, but a jockey's objection by Velazquez and inquiry by the stewards resulted in no change to the order of finish.
"I liked the way he ran. Those two clearly separated themselves from the rest of the field," Pletcher said. "He put himself into the race, got himself into a good position, and then he had to wait, wait, wait. He then had to angle out and lose a little ground and momentum when he did. He's shown improvement in each start."
Pletcher said the March 5 Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park could be a target for the 2-year-old Uncle Mo colt.
"I'll talk to Jerry (Crawford of Donegal Racing) about it. We talked about it before the race yesterday and told him we planned on going to Palm Beach this week," Pletcher said. "We could use the Fountain of Youth on March 5 as a possible target. The great thing about that time of year is there's a prep every weekend, so it's a matter of figuring out the right one for him."
Following the Remsen, Pletcher captured the Demoiselle with Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, and Michael House's Nest. A claim of foul lodged by runner-up Venti Valentine's trainer Jorge Abreu alleging interference in the stretch was dismissed.
The daughter of Curlin , a full sister to grade 1 winner Idol , will target major preps on the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) trail this winter.
"She'll go down to Florida and we'll look at a two-prep schedule for her leading up to the Oaks," Pletcher said. "We'll have to figure out what those two will be. I think everything is in play. It just comes down to timing really."
Pletcher added that grade 1-placed maiden Commandperformance will join his contingent at Palm Beach Downs after a freshening in Kentucky. Following a runner-up in the Champagne Stakes (G1), the son of Union Rags was fourth in the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1) at Del Mar.
"Everything is in play for him, including a maiden race," Pletcher said.
Pletcher said he's looking forward to the opportunities ahead for his stable next year.
"We're excited. It's great having some quality horses that are staying in training for another year," Pletcher said. "We're getting Malathaat back as well and we're excited about our yearling crop as well. It's fun and we're looking forward to it, but we also know that every day is a new challenge."
Outside the Pletcher Barn...
Co-owner Frank Fletcher said he was elated to see Lady Rocket relish the stretch out in distance to a one-turn mile when she dominated the Go for Wand Handicap (G3) Saturday at Aqueduct.
"I was really nervous because of the mile," said Fletcher, who co-owns the 4-year-old daughter of Tale of the Cat with Ten Strike Racing. "Her best distance was seven furlongs coming into this race and that was a really close race. We were scared to death of the mile. When she won as well as she did, we were shocked and surprised. I'm very pleased with how she ran. We watched it on the TV dumbfounded."
With her first graded stakes victory now on her rèsumè, Lady Rocket will be given time off to prepare for her 2022 campaign. Both Fletcher and trainer Brad Cox hope her performance Saturday is the start of a successful journey to grade 1 glory.
"She'll be at Belmont for a bit before getting some time off," Fletcher said. "Brad said he thinks she needs a little break; she's been racing once a month for a while. She'll be on the farm for two or three months and then we'll point her to a grade 1. She's becoming a lot stronger and is finding a new gear. I think she could even go beyond a mile now seeing how well she handled it."
