Fear the Kitten Gets Chance in Peter Pan

Fear the Kitten will take on Bay Shore Stakes winner Declan's Warrior and Illinois Derby fourth-place finisher Abraham in the 1 1/8-mile Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park May 11.

Through The Lens: Out with Octave

Visiting with millionaire Octave at Darley's Gainsborough Farm.

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Pletcher Assistant Goes Out on Own

Seth Benzel, Todd Pletcher's New York assistant, will open a public racing stable of his own starting May 1.

Playful Act Booked to Street Cry

Playful Act, whose $10.5-million price is the record for a broodmare or broodmare prospect sold at public auction, will be bred this year to Street Cry.

Rags to Riches Top 3-Year-Old Filly

Rags to Riches, the first filly in 102 years to win the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), was voted champion 3-year-old filly of 2007. She finished ahead of two other Todd Pletcher trainees--Octave and Panty Raid--in Eclipse Award voting.

Octave Retired

Grade I winner Octave, whose $4 million price was the second-highest at the recent Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November mixed sale, has been retired to become a broodmare for Sheikh Mohammed's Darley in Central Kentucky.

When a Bid is Not a Bid

There has been much hand-wringing and questioning over the circumstances surrounding the sale of multiple grade I-winning filly Octave to agent John Ferguson for $4 million at the Nov. 4 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky mixed sale.

Average, Median Rise at Fasig-Tipton November Select Sale

Round Pond, at $5.75 million, helps the Fasig-Tipton November select mixed sale post sizable increases in its average and median price.

Fasig-Tipton's Efforts to Attract Top Race Fillies Pays Off

Efforts by officials of Fasig-Tipton Kentucky to attract top young race fillies paid off with the Nov. 4 mixed sale getting the fall auction season off to a good start.

Host of Grade I Winners Figure to Fuel Fasig-Tipton Sale

The 2007 edition of the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November selected sale is expected to be a star-studded affair with grade I-winning broodmare prospects and grade I producers filling the catalog pages.

Octave Added to Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November Mixed Sale

Octave is headed to the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November mixed sale after finishing third in the Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Distaff (gr. I).

Ginger Punch Nips Hystericalady in Thrilling Distaff

In the most thrilling stretch duel of the day, Ginger Punch took the worst of it on the rail but still won the Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Distaff (gr. I) over Hystericalady.

Commentary: Betting the Breeders' Cup Exotics

By Jason Shandler - The late Saturday Pick 4 looks like an appetizing way to bet the World Championships.

Pletcher Reviews Breeders' Cup Starters

Two days before the Oct. 26-27 Breeders' Cup World Championships, trainer Todd Pletcher reviewed his 11 starters and shared his thoughts on the upcoming races, including possible scratches should the surfaces turn up wet or yielding due to weekend showers.

Distaff Owners Seek to Double Their Fun

Jack and Laurie Wolf and John and Jerry Amerman will all be looking for their second victory in the Breeders' Cup Distaff when they send out Octave and Balance, respectively, Saturday at Monmouth Park.

Pletcher-Trained Indian Vale Distaff Favorite

It's not surprising a Todd Pletcher-trained filly was made the favorite for the Oct. 27 Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Distaff (gr. I), it's just a little surprising which one.

Pletcher Runners Exit Weekend Stakes in Good Order

Trainer Todd Pletcher reported Sept. 24 that Any Given Saturday, Octave, and Fairbanks came out of their respective starts over the weekend in good shape.

Bear Now Wires Cotillion Field, Octave Second

Front-running Bear Now shook loose of the prohibitive favorite Octave in the final furlong to upset the $750,000 Fitz Dixon Cotillion Handicap (gr. II) by two lengths in stakes record time at Philadelphia Park Sept. 22.

Octave Favorite on Cotillion Dance Card

Leading trainer Todd Pletcher will try for his fourth Fitz Dixon Cotillion Handicap (gr. II) title, as two-time Grade I winner Octave leads a field of eight 3-year-old fillies for the 1 1/16-mile event at Philadelphia Park.

Lady Joanne Wins Alabama Thriller

Entering the 127th running of the Alabama (gr. I), all the talk was about Octave, who had won consecutive grade I races in New York this summer, one of them over Lady Joanne. This time, Lady Joanne was not to be denied. She held off not only Octave, but a determined Lear's Princess, to win by a neck in a heart-pounding finish on Saratoga's main track.

A Day At The Spa: Aug. 18, Shoeing Octave

In the stable yard in front of Todd Pletcher's main shedrow, blacksmith Ray Amato is fitting Octave with a new pair of racing plates in preparation for her start in this afternoon's Alabama (gr. I). The gray filly stands draped in a black blanket, four white bandages encasing her delicate legs. Her ears slump sideways, eyelids droop at half-mast. She yawns and rests, quietly at ease.

Octave Has Alabama in Her Sights

For a long time, it looked as though Octave would never break her reputation as a bridesmaid. Five consecutive second-place finishes -- all in graded-stakes competition -- earned her that tag. But two grade I wins later, all that talk is in the past.

Rags to Riches to Skip Alabama; Will Train for Ruffian Instead

Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches posted a five-furlong workout over Saratoga's main track Aug. 12, after which trainer Todd Pletcher confirmed the Michael Tabor-owned filly will not run in the $600,000 Alabama Stakes (gr. I) Aug. 18. Instead, Pletcher plans to run multiple Grade 1 winner Octave and American Oaks (gr. I) winner Panty Raid, both of whom also worked Aug. 12, in the 1 1/4-mile Alabama.

Rags to Riches Works at Saratoga; Next Start Undetermined

Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Rags to Riches worked Aug. 5 over Saratoga's main track, but trainer Todd Pletcher said he's still contemplating the filly's next start.

Octave Scales New Heights in CCA Oaks

There may have been questions about Octave's winning desire after five consecutive runner-up efforts dating back to last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I). But not after the quality filly made it back-to-back grade I victories Saturday in the $300,000 Coaching Club American Oaks (gr. I) for 3-year-old fillies at Belmont Park.