Now that the post positions have been drawn, strategy can be plotted, and trainers can either take advantage of their posts or try to make the best of them.
Todd Pletcher falls into the latter category, as four of his horses, including powerhouses
Quality Road and Life At Ten drew the rail in the Classic (gr. IT) and Ladies Classic, respectively, while Pluck and Allure d’Amour drew posts 13 and 14 in the Juvenile Turf (gr. II) and Juvenile Fillies Turf (gr. II), respectively.
Ideally, Pletcher would like to see
But as everyone is well aware, it is nearly impossible to know for sure how a race is going to develop, and
Lookin At Lucky , who had a disastrous trip from the rail in this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), drew the outside post in the 12-horse field, which lost one starter when the connections of the quick-footed Morning Line opted to switch to the Dirt Mile (gr. I) at the eleventh hour.
Although some may feel that is a bad post as well, there are many trainers who would kill to draw the 12-post in the Kentucky Derby. With the long run to the turn, Lookin At Lucky should have plenty of time and room to tuck in and get a good position in midpack, especially because the majority of the field is made of pace horses and closers, so there should be a nice spot waiting for him somewhere in between them.
Getting back to Pletcher, Life At Ten is in pretty much the same situation as
Other top who may have to overcome their posts are Tell a Kelly (post 12) in the Juvenile Fillies, Big Drama (post 1) in the Sprint (gr. I), Girolamo (post 2) in the Sprint, the late-closing
Goldikova is not ideally placed, breaking from post 10 in the 11-horse BC Mile (gr. IT). She will have to be used early or take back to the back of the pack as she did in last year’s Mile. But only once in her career, in last year’s Prix de la Foret (Fr-I), did post position appear to affect her performance. She overcame the 11 post in last year’s Mile, so there is an excellent chance it won’t bother her this year.
In the Juvenile (gr. I), Uncle Mo and his stablemate Stay Thirsty got an early advantage over Boys At Tosconova by drawing posts 7 and 6, respectively, which puts them outside their main rival, who drew post 2. So Boys At Tosconova, making his two-turn debut, as are Uncle Mo and Stay Thirsty, likely will have to show his cards first, especially with the fast J P's Gusto, right outside him in post 3. This is one race where Pletcher has to be delighted by the draw.