Todd Pletcher's name is on a lot of trophies for 2-year-old stakes races, but the Saratoga Special Stakes (G2) is a name that before this summer appeared just once on the Hall of Fame trainer's résumé. On Aug. 10, the aptly named Showcase gave Pletcher his second win in the historic race, taking the $200,000 Special by 3 1/4 lengths at Saratoga Race Course.
In a race loaded with speedy 2-year-olds, Showcase took back under Irad Ortiz Jr., sitting several lengths off the pace set by First Resort. Breaking from post 2, Ortiz kept the son of Uncle Mo along the rail up the backstretch of the 6 1/2-furlong race.
After saving ground, Ortiz found himself with a lot of horse and not much running room as the field hit the eighth pole. When the rail didn't open for him, he looked to split First Resort and Ace It, only to have to duck back inside, then make an aggressive move between the two leaders at the eighth pole. Once clear, the gray/roan colt was home free ... until the stewards flashed the inquiry sign, looking at whether Showcase interfered with Smoken Wicked and Touchy in the stretch. After the stewards determined that he had not, the race was made official.
"I just had to wait a little longer than what I wanted to in there inside of those horses," said Ortiz. "When the horses outside of me started to get tired, I worked my way out and after that, it was so easy for him."
First Resort held on for second, followed by Smoken Wicked a neck back. Touchy, Ace It, Global Legend, Good Directions, and Keep It Easy completed the order of finish. Showcase paid $8.70 to win.
The pace of the race was likely compromised by the faltering start of second betting choice Keep It Easy, who stumbled coming out of the gate.
"Junior (Alvarado) said that he was standing good and broke good, and the ground just broke out from under him," said trainer Dale Romans. "He was trying to scramble for three strides. He just had no chance. Draw a line through it."
Showcase is owned by Harrell Ventures, which purchased the colt for $300,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale on the advice of Katie Cauthen, said Curtis Harrell, who watched the race from his home in Houston.
"Katie loved this horse," said Harrell. "With her influence, we got aggressive and were successful."
Showcase was bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm.
The Harrell family are longtime Pletcher clients; in 2020, their Halladay won the 2020 Fourstardave Handicap (G1T), also at Saratoga, and going back to 2015, Pletcher trained Materiality to a win in the Florida Derby (G1) for the family's Alto Racing.
"That was a partnership I had with my father and my two brothers," said Harrell.
"My father has since passed, and our love of horse racing originated with him. All wins are special, but when we get wins like this, my first thoughts are of my dad, who introduced the sport to us."
Showcase is out of the graded stakes-placed Violence mare Buy Sell Hold and a half brother to stakes-placed Bourbon Bash (City of Light ), who has earned $511,294 in a 23-race career.
While Pletcher wasn't particularly concerned about the inquiry, he did have some anxious moments while waiting to see if Showcase would get a chance to run.
"I thought we got a great trip, but we needed to get lucky to find a place to go," he said. "I was watching it live and turning to watch the head-on on the monitor, and I was like, 'Man, I don't know where he's going to find a seam here,' but fortunately it opened up, and he was game to punch his way through there and finish up well."
Pletcher's good 2-year-olds generally run in the Sanford Stakes (G3) early in the Saratoga meeting, and then the Hopeful Stakes (G1) at the end. After Showcase broke his maiden by 7 1/2 lengths at Aqueduct Ractrack July 6, the July 13 Sanford wasn't an option.
"Running him back in the (Sept. 2) Hopeful would be a little quick," said Pletcher. "If not that, we'll wait for the Champagne (Stakes) or the (Oct. 5) Breeders' Futurity (at Keeneland)."
Wherever Showcase runs next, Harrell himself might have a decision to make.
"We were in Saratoga for 10 days, until earlier this week," he said. "We lost a couple of races, so we felt like our best shot at winning was watching from home today."
So does this mean that he'll have to watch from home from now on?
Harrell laughed.
"We're a baseball family," he said. "My son played professional baseball, and baseball is a big part of our life. There's no more superstitious sport than baseball.
"So I don't know where we'll watch the next one."
