Trainer Todd Pletcher saw three of his possible starters in the Travers Stakes (G1) breeze early the morning of Aug. 18, with Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming going four furlongs in company with Outplay, and Tapwrit also working a half-mile.
In her first time outside of New York-bred company, Pure Silver showed she was up to the challenge when she shook free of her competition and pulled away to win by 9 1/2 lengths in the Aug. 12 $200,000 Adirondack Stakes (G2).
Trainer Todd Pletcher said the $1.25 million Travers Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G1) remains a possibility for Always Dreaming, Outplay, and Tapwrit after all three breezed Aug. 11.
Sheep Pond Partners and Michael Ryan's Sassy Little Lila will take on the boys as the lone filly in a field of seven entered for the $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap (G1T) Aug. 12 at a mile on the inner turf at Saratoga Race Course.
While the bad fortune for the once-promising Mohaymen continued in the Alydar Stakes at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 6, the Todd Pletcher-trained Rally Cry alerted the older handicap division that he could be a new force with a 8 3/4-length win.
The distance wasn't his preference and the longshot pacesetter wasn't folding up as expected. Nonetheless, Neolithic pressed forward and got his comeback victory over the Saratoga Race Course main track Aug. 5.
Much like in his racing career, Quality Road’s stud exploits reflect the versatility of both his wide-ranging female family and his sire.
Neolithic, the third-place finisher in the world's two richest Thoroughbred races, will make his first start in nearly four months Aug. 5, when he returns against a solid field of nine challengers in an allowance race at Saratoga Race Course.
Calumet Farm's homebred Patch, the popular classic-placed colt from the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher, heads up a field of 11 sophomore runners scheduled to meet in the $750,000 West Virginia Derby Aug. 5 at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort.
Jim Dandy Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G2) winner Good Samaritan came out of the July 29 race in good shape, according to Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, and is headed to the $1.25 million Travers Stakes (G1) Aug. 26.
Hindsight proves the racing community should have been ready for Good Samaritan to do exactly what he did in the $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course July 29
Winning his first two starts by a combined 9 1/4 lengths, Coal Front took another step forward in his short career when he extended his win streak to three races and picked up his first graded score in the $200,000 Amsterdam Stakes (G2).
Donegal Racing and Calumet Farm's grade 1 winner Keen Ice completed his major preparations for the Aug. 5 $1.2 million Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course with a half-mile work July 29.
The few erratic strides Outplay produced down the lane of the 1 1/8-miles test did little to deter from the dominant effort he was in the midst of, as the Todd Pletcher-trainee had little company during his 5 3/4-length win at Saratoga Race Course.
In what will be their first starts since the second classic in Baltimore, Always Dreaming will try and make his last outing into an aberration, while Cloud Computing is out to reinforce his late-blooming upside.
Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Always Dreaming turned in a five-furlong breeze in 1:01.71 over the Oklahoma training track July 22 at Saratoga Race Course in preparation for the July 29 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2).
Keen Ice, racing for the first time since his seventh-place finish in the March 25 Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1), overpowered 1-2 favorite Shaman Ghost by three lengths.
Set to make his first start since finishing fifth in the May 6 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence's Practical Joke will lead a field of five in the $400,000 Dwyer Stakes (G3) July 8 at Belmont Park.
Always Dreaming, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), put in his first workout since finishing eighth in the May 20 Preakness Stakes (G1) and covered four furlongs in :49.96 over the Belmont Park training track July 1.
Lights of Medina will look to build off her promising graded stakes debut as part of a field of seven 3-year-old fillies all seeking their first graded score in the $250,000 Mother Goose Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park July 1.
Where Arrogate is back on the worktab and Gun Runner is knocking off top-level wins with his Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) triumph last weekend, Neolithic was sidelined after contracting a respiratory illness on his trip back from Dubai.
Connections of some United States-based runners who plan to compete in the Royal Ascot meeting June 20-24 gathered for a news conference June 15 at the historic Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket.
Gun Runner is set to make his first start since finishing second to champion Arrogate in the March 25 Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1), and looms as the overwhelming favorite in the $500,000 Stephen Foster Handicap (G1).
Tired but good was the official declaration of how Tapwrit was doing Sunday morning, less than 24 hours after his two-length victory in the final leg of the Triple Crown.
Claire Novak pays a visit to Belmont Stakes winner Tapwrit and checks in on the status of several other Belmont contenders including Irish War Cry, Patch, Gormley, Senior Investment, and Hollywood Handsome.
Claire Novak recaps the Belmont Stakes, where Tapwrit ran down Irish War Cry to become the third Belmont Stakes winner sired by Gainesway's Tapit, and trainer Todd Pletcher's third Belmont Stakes winner as well. Also an update on Hollywood Handsome.
Comments from the connections of 2017 Belmont Stakes winner Tapwrit, including trainer Todd Pletcher.
After capturing the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) with Always Dreaming, trainer Todd Pletcher will try to close out the Triple Crown season with another classic victory when he sends out Tapwrit and Patch in the Belmont Stakes.
Rally Cry will be joined in the Met Mile starting gate by his multiple graded stakes winning stablemate Tommy Macho, making his first start since a third-place finish in the Carter (G1) at Aqueduct Racetrack in April.
Abel Tasman will cut back in distance when the daughter of Quality Road tries the one-turn mile of the Acorn Stakes (G1) June 10 at Belmont Park.
The War Front colt will travel to England June 13 for trainer Todd Pletcher, who confirmed Frankie Dettori will have the mount in the one-mile June 20 test.
Two starts back, the 3-year-old son of Flatter missed by a neck to Belmont Stakes (G1) contender Senior Investment in the April 15 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes (G3) after drawing clear in the stretch.
No stranger to success with juveniles, trainer Todd Pletcher has entered four runners in the $150,000 Tremont Stakes for 2-year-olds going 5 1/2 furlongs on Belmont Park's main track June 9.
Owner George Krikorian is thrilled to have a talented homebred in Big Score, who also has shown an ability to handle travel—not a bad combination as a lucrative spring and summer season of turf races for 3-year-olds heats up.
Tapwrit, winner of the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2) and sixth in the May 6 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), worked five furlongs in 1:02.25 under his regular jockey Jose Ortiz in preparation for the Belmont Stakes (G1).
Multiple graded stakes winner Destin, runner-up in last year's Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), is set to make his first start in nearly nine months when he goes to post May 28 in an allowance optional claiming race at Belmont Park.
Always Dreaming, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), will bypass the June 10 Belmont Stakes (G1) as expected and be freshened for a summer campaign, Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds confirmed May 26.
With the glow of the sun pink on the horizon and most of the Pimlico Race Course stakes barn just beginning to rustle with activity, Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Cloud Computing departed from Baltimore to return to his Belmont Park home base May 21.
Since Always Dreaming's Kentucky Derby triumph, there has been ample reason for both his camp and Classic Empire's to feel emboldened about the prospect of their horses throwing down something exceptional 14 days later.
The half-moon was still high in the sky when Always Dreaming went to the track at Pimlico Race Course at 5:30 a.m. the morning of May 19, putting in his final exercise in preparation for the following day’s Preakness Stakes (G1).
Thanks in part to the lessons instilled by his former boss, trainer Todd Pletcher is nothing if not his own man now, with the enviable problem of constantly trying to kick his own bar of success to ever higher levels.
Todd Pletcher is taking a cue from Always Dreaming in that he, like his high-energy charge, have about had it with the minutiae leading into the May 20 Preakness Stakes (G1) and are ready to just run the race.
Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Always Dreaming was assigned post 4 and installed as the 4-5 morning-line favorite May 17 at the post position draw for the May 20 Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course.
While the short rest between the first two legs of the Triple Crown has been a popular lament over the years, the modern history of the Preakness Stakes reflects a trend that is actually most unkind to the oft-proclaimed "new shooters."
Always Dreaming turned in another strong 1 1/2-mile gallop over the Pimlico Race Course main track May 17 as he readies for his start in the May 20 Preakness Stakes (G1).,
An hour after Always Dreaming crossed the finish line first in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), the colt's trainer made an announcement about his Derby prize, a new Ram truck.
As activity picked up at the Pimlico Race Course stakes barn May 16, Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Always Dreaming went out earlier than normal for his daily exercise.
After some calm, controlled training through his first week or so at Pimlico Race Course, Always Dreaming was back to his energetic, hard-to-handle self May 15 in Baltimore.
Gary Barber's Summer Luck didn't get the scratch she needed to run in the overflow Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1), but her team is looking forward to a start in the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) at Pimlico Race Course.
Todd Pletcher and old-school training have never exactly been synonymous. Pletcher is known for being a conservative trainer, preferring long periods of time between races.
