Zany Gives Pletcher 10th Demoiselle Win

Winning the Demoiselle Stakes (G2) has become old hat for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. When Repole Stable's Zany captured the Dec. 6 edition of the $250,000 stakes for 2-year-old fillies, it marked the 10th time he won the Aqueduct Racetrack fixture. And when you hear the list of his past winners it speaks volumes for his high bar of excellence in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) prep. "I've stuck around a while, right," Pletcher said about his double-digit wins. "When you look at the list there's Malathaat and Nest (and Ashado) and the others who went on. It's been a race in which not only have we been lucky on race day but has produced some horses who have gone on and done very well for us." Zany, a daughter of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, surely looked the part of a future grade 1 winner as she lived up to her 3-5 odds and, after chasing in second, pulled away with authority to win easily by 8 1/2 lengths. "There were solid fractions and she really dominated," said Pletcher, whose filly picked up 10 points toward a start in the Kentucky Oaks. "After the wire she still had more energy. It went the way we hoped it would." The Demoiselle was just the second start for Zany, a daughter of the Uncle Mo mare Mo' Green, bred by D.J. Stable in Kentucky. Zany romped by 6 1/2 lengths in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight sprint at Gulfstream Park in her Nov. 2 debut and owner Mike Repole quickly put a bug in Pletcher's ear about the mile-and-an-eighth Demoiselle. "Mike was like, 'We've got to go to the Demoiselle,' which was why I was kidding (television analyst Megan Burgess) that I had to talk Mike into running," Pletcher said. "But when you look there were not many options to run until the first of January at Gulfstream, and we didn't feel we wanted to sit on her that long." Fern Circle Stables' Shilling set the pace in the Demoiselle, reeling off fractions of :24.05 and :48.16 with Zany and Irad Ortiz Jr. about a length behind. Zany ($3.50) forged to the front turning for home and widened her margin in the stretch as she covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.55. "She did it the right way, every step of the way," Ortiz said. "It was impressive the way she did it today." Pletcher said Zany would return to Florida but it was too early to target her next start. Imaginary Stables' Jumping the Gun, a Gun Runner filly trained by Andrew Simoff, was second, earning 5 Kentucky Oaks points. She was a neck ahead of Klaravich Stables' Concurrently, an American Pharoah filly trained by Chad Brown who gained 3 Kentucky Oaks points. Zany was bought for $350,000 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment at Fasig-Tipton's The Saratoga Sale. She is Mo' Green's fourth foal and fourth winner but her first graded stakes winner. Zany is the third graded stakes winner for sire American Pharoah, who will stand the 2026 season in Japan at Shizunai Stallion Station.