Todd Pletcher
Todd Pletcher
Todd Pletcheris a leading American thoroughbred horse trainer. He has won four consecutive Eclipse Awards as outstanding Trainer of the Year while topping the leader board in purse earnings in 2004, 2005, and 2006. His horse Super Saver won the 2010 Kentucky Derby, the first of his 24 horses entered in his career to win the Run for the Roses. He also won the 2007 Belmont Stakes with filly Rags to Riches and the 2013 Belmont Stakes with Palace Malice...
ProfessionOther
Date of Birth26 June 1967
generally lead reasons successful team thinking wants
One of the reasons why we're a successful team is that we're generally on the same page. It's not very often that we go to the paddock and I'm thinking I want to go to the lead and he's thinking he wants to come from last.
bad coming fix gate girl load runs
She was a bad girl at the gate and we're going to try to fix that. When she runs Friday, we'll blindfold her coming to the gate and then load her first.
capable certain course delivered perfect run shown took trip turned
She took to the turf course well and turned in a big race, which she's shown she's capable of doing on certain days. She got a perfect trip and delivered with a perfect run down the lane.
against classic field happens looking number obviously position running soapbox start strongest win
Obviously we know we?re in a position that he has to win the Classic to even think about that. If that happens then you can start looking at it a number of ways. He?s running against the strongest field any 3-year-old has run against this year. If he?s able to get it done, let?s soapbox then.
derby florida forward horses kentucky needed showing step
They are bubble-type horses that need to step forward and have a big showing in the Florida Derby to step into the Kentucky Derby picture. They did what they needed to do to get to this point.
best distance good stretch
His best distance is probably a mile-and?an-eighth to a mile-and-a-quarter. It's good to see that we can stretch him out from here.
carrying dangerous forward horse key relax speed
He's a pretty forward horse and the key is just really if they can relax just enough to make their speed dangerous and keep carrying it.
except hoped
He accomplished everything we hoped for except winning.
anyone bluegrass came cat comparison derby entry gone good hard horse johnny kentucky knows mile perfect stay training trains works
I don't want to get in the way of Johnny with his Kentucky Derby mounts. This was a particularly hard decision, because anyone who works or trains or is around Keyed Entry knows how good he is. You'd want to stay with a horse like that as long as possible. He's undefeated. He's training super. In a perfect world, Keyed Entry would already have gone two turns, so Johnny could have made a better comparison with Bluegrass Cat. Bluegrass Cat already has been a mile and an eighth, and he's already been a mile and a sixteenth this year. I think it came down to that.
matured mentally physically
He's matured physically and mentally and handles the distance. He's the whole package.
affected performance
How much it affected his performance I don't know.
continued develop fall handicap horse last moving races ran top toward
He ran much-improved races last fall and has continued to develop physically. They stamped him as a horse moving toward the top of the handicap division.
happens somewhere
If it happens fine, if it doesn't then we'll go on somewhere else.
case champion himself horse position puts strong win
If he were to win the Sprint, I think he puts himself in position to make a strong case for not only horse of the year, but champion three-year-old.