Final Score Pays Off in With Anticipation Romp

After a head-turning victory from Time to Dream in the Aug. 27 P. G. Johnson Stakes, Repole Stable and Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher completed a blowout black-type double in this week's juvenile turf stakes action at Saratoga Race Course when Final Score romped Aug. 28 in the $175,000 With Anticipation Stakes (G3T). In contrast to Time to Dream, who rallied from off the pace before utilizing a blazing turn of foot, Final Score took charge immediately under Kendrick Carmouche. Traveling comfortably through fractions of :24.53, :48.63, and 1:12.27 while chased by favored Capital Partner (GB), Final Score easily dispatched that one in early stretch and drew off for a 4 1/2-length tally. His final time of 1:41.75 on a firm course included a final sixteenth in :05.99. Final Score ($20.60) captured his second straight race after a debut second. Heeere's Johnny rallied to catch Capital Partner for second, finishing 1 1/4 lengths in front of that rival in third. The well-bred Dr. Agne, a son of Into Mischief out of champion Lady Eli, ran fourth. Carmouche decided to dictate terms in the With Anticipation from his inside post. "I'm glad he broke sharp and put me in a good position. After that, the horse did the rest," he said. "I just had to point him to the winner's circle. That's all I had to do." Bred in Kentucky by BG Stables out of the Bernardini mare Precious Dixie, Final Score was a $600,000 purchase by West Bloodstock for Repole Stable from the 2024 The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's select yearling sale. Both he and Time to Dream are by Not This Time, the fourth-ranked stallion in North America by 2025 progeny earnings. He stood this past breeding season for $175,000 at Taylor Made Stallions in Kentucky. "He's a phenomenal stallion. He does a little bit of everything," Pletcher said. "We were fortunate to have success with (graded winner) Up to the Mark early on, and we became fans of him early on and fortunate to have ones like these two we ran yesterday and today." Final Score and Time to Dream appear to be two of the top domestic contenders for Breeders' Cup turf routes this fall at Del Mar, pending anticipated starts in graded stakes in early October. Pletcher was noncommittal regarding which specific races they would use as final preps for the Breeders' Cup, other than in graded turf stakes at either Aqueduct Racetrack or Keeneland. "We're blessed to train these types of horses, just try to point them in the right direction," said Pletcher, who won the With Anticipation for a record-extending seventh time.