 Photo by: Toni Pricci Gemologist is well turned out for season's debut |
Such a kidder, that Pletcher.
How well did Gemologist run? As we waited for the horses to return for unsaddling, and picture taking in Gemologist’s case, journalist and veteran racing publicist Jack Will walked over to join the queue and said without prompting: “That would be a wow.”
A minute after that, Pletcher walked by on his way to the circle. “He ran pretty well,” he was told and simply turned around with a big, animated smile on his face. Given Pletcher’s bearing, this is uproarious behavior.
Can’t blame him; the man had a whole lot to smile about.
Gemologist, breaking from the rail as the odds-on choice in a field of five that included another undefeated graded stakes winner, Currency Swap, came out running, almost making the start look bad for the others.
 Photo by: Toni Pricci Well...that was easy! |
At the three points of call that count, the last one being the finish line, it was 1 by 1½, 1 by 3, and finally 1 by 7. And the tempo, set by Gemologist who was shadowed around the racetrack by his main rival, were individual splits of :24.93, :22.65, :23.68 and :24.69.
“We were hoping to be behind a horse but he broke so alertly that Javier [Castellano] just went on and let him get into his rhythm,” the trainer said.
“From a conditioning standpoint, to come out and run a mile in one-thirty-five and four on this track, we got what we were looking for.”
“He was fine,” trainer Terri Pompay said of the runnerup. “We wanted him to lay off the other horse and he was nice and relaxed.
 Photo by: Toni Pricci Javier Castellano could not be more pleased. |
But for the winner, there are lots of options. “You guys know the races,” Pletcher said to the assembled media. “We’ll see how he comes out, will run on either April 7 or April 14, deciding whether we want to come back in three weeks or four into the Derby.
There are three important preps run on the 7th; the Wood Memorial, Illinois Derby and Santa Anita Derby, while the Blue Grass and Arkansas Derby will be renewed a week later.
The Illinois Derby, is Grade 3 and usually contested by second tier contenders and the Sant Anita Derby is 3,000 miles away. Think Wood.
The following week offers two Grade 1s and unless a star is born in Saturday’s Rebel Stakes, a repeat of his his season’s debut would likely be enough to handle those rivals.
As for the Blue Grass, Pletcher is no fan of synthetic-track racing but note that Gemologist broke maiden on Turfway’s Polytrack surface.
Since these connections sent out Super Saver to win the 2010 Derby with a two race campaign, using the Arkansas Derby as the final prep, the stars seem aligned in that direction. Either way, he is likely to need more graded earnings.
All we’ll say is this. At this point of the their seasons, there’s no comparison between these two colts. This latest WinStar production just might be the real deal.
Horse Fight
Been up to my britches in three-year-olds so we hadn’t caught up with the replay of the race at Santa Anita where Martin Pedroza looked like he wanted to knock Joel Rosario off his horse and into the infield.
From where we sit, 3,000 miles away, we think the Santa Anita stewards might have been a little soft on Pedroza. I understand you don’t see too many blatant situations like this, but isn’t that the point?
If we were talking cars and not horses, the charges against Pedroza could have been termed reckless endangerment, or attempted manslaughter, who knows? Instead, Pedroza got seven days for “willfully riding to cause interference.”
Say this for Pedroza and his agent, at least they didn’t play the chutzpah card, deciding not to appeal the ban.
If Pedroza felt he had an issue with Rosario, he should have taken the matter outside. Or they could have had at it near the winners’ circle: Borel-Castellano Redux. Or he could have cold-cocked him in the jocks’ room.
But these weren’t cars. These were horses named Oh Righty (Pedroza) and Put It There (Rosario) in the seventh race March 4. Oh Righty is the property of the partnership of Daniels, Winters, Zondlo and Lovingier, not Pedroza. Put It There is owned by the partnership of Chami, Henwood and Resnick. They pay the bills; not Pedroza.
Pedroza was miffed because Rosario had the impertinence to try to win the Big Cap with Gladding, whose frontrunning style severely compromised Pedroza’s chances with Ultimate Eagle, another speedster and Big 'Cap favorite..
It’s fortunate that neither horse was seriously injured—and PETA members didn’t go the videotape.
17 Mar 2012 at 07:34 am | #
Geeez, I didn’t get through the first sentence when up popped Todd Pletcher. I keep asking myself, what has Pletcher done for me this year, or any year. Nothing! Then I am right back to realizing that Thoroughbred racing’s future isn’t very promising, and I start wondering what I will be doing in another few years (if still kicking), as there certainly won’t be year-round racing.
Pletcher will nodoubt be around, as well as the reporting by turf writers on the road of broken bones to the Kentucky Derby. Boutique summer meets will still exist. Maybe in a couple of years, Pletcher and Baffert will be listed as the trainer of all the Derby entrants.
The promoting of Thoroughbred racing will still be the same: huge purses for the same ole stake races (each lasting a bit over two minutes once a year); such hasn’t succeeded in decades to introduce new ‘fans’ to racing, but the same old method of introducing newbies to racing is used again and again, year after year. Somehow I fail to understand how horses that win stake races, qualifing them for the Kentucky Derby get Joe and Jane, standing on a corner of mainstreet, to realize that Thoroughbred racing involves gambling.
Yesterday for the first time, I read an article in the Daily Racing Form that discussed the current Derby entrants; none were familiar to me, a regular bettor daily. I can’t imagine how these Derby horses get one interested in gambling on the ponies.
Quick, quick, you readers out there. Who won last years Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Travers, and
Classic? And the year before.
17 Mar 2012 at 07:48 am | #
I’m with WMCorrow, what we need in this game are more Todd Pletchers, and more Bob Bafferts. Wish we could breed them. Legendary men of biblical notoriety. Long live Todd Pletcher and Bob Baffert!
TTT
17 Mar 2012 at 10:43 am | #
When Pletcher and Baffert fail to make headlines, that’s when turf writers will stop writing about them.
Besides, gentlemen, this wasn’t an ode to Pletcher, this was about THE HORSE.
I didn’t expect context from WMC, which would be an upset larger than Lehigh, but TTT I’m a little surprised, unless it was an attempt at sarcastic humor and I just didn’t get it.
17 Mar 2012 at 11:15 am | #
John, know your smarter than that. It was a WMCorrow rebuttal. I love Todd Pletcher and Bob Baffert. You can’t argue with their success and their horsemanship. They are great ambassadors for the game, in my most humble estimation, and I hope they continue their success ‘til judgment day.
TTT
17 Mar 2012 at 11:18 am | #
And I would appreciate not grouping me in with certain individuals who take away from the thrust of your articles. But somebody has to deal with the stupidity. It is getting old.
TTT
17 Mar 2012 at 01:15 pm | #
CONGRATULATIONS TODD PLETCHER ON YOUR WIN IN THE 4TH AT GULFSTREAM, BEATING THE EVEN MONEY FAVORITE. YOU ARE THE BEST. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK TODD PLETCHER. THOSE WHO LOVE TO PUT DOWN PERSONS SUCH AS YOURSELF ARE NOTHING BUT LOSERS. GOD BLESS YOU TODD PLETCHER.
TTT
17 Mar 2012 at 01:31 pm | #
To the guy who hides behind the nom de plume, Top Turf Teddy, I am inclined to think that comment #5 above refers to me. Now, would you please go into detail as to what you are referring to with the following comment: ‘But somebody has to deal with the stupidity. It is getting old’.
Now, I have taken a few slings from Mr. Pricci, which I feel were in violation of his established code (due to recent inappropriate salacious comments and personal attacks ...), but only once in the last five years have I got personal with anyone. A couple of years ago at HRI I told Indulto to shut up or identify himself. I regret that comment, but I find anyone who comments at this site without using his/her real name to be afraid, scared, nervous, lacking confidence, or simply ......
17 Mar 2012 at 04:02 pm | #
LET’S ALL CELEBRATE THE UBIQUITY OF TODD PLETCHER, BOB BAFFERT, STAKES HORSES, LARGE RACETRACKS, AND PERSONS WHO COMMENT ON THESE BLOGS WHO ARE NOT INCLINED TO SOUND LIKE A BROKEN RECORD. TO ALL OF THE ABOVE, I SALUTE YOU, AND TO THOSE AGENT PROVACATEURS WHO SIMPLY LIKE TO BREED CONTROVERSY, AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, GOD BLESS YOU, AND GET A LIFE.
TTT
17 Mar 2012 at 07:34 pm | #
Dear Too Tough to Top,
The outburst the Oliver Cromwell of blog commentary finally regrets is his response to my refusal to accept his inference that I might share his enjoyment of his long-time, repeated disrespect for Mr. Pricci, and his abuse of our host’s considerable tolerance and incredible patience.
Aging horseplayers sensitive to the disrespect already shown them by the industry at large, are loathe to chastise another senior citizen whose vocabulary befits an elder statesman, but whose childish, if not churlish, behavior is an irritant to most who are exposed to it.
So we tend to bite our tongues even as commenter Cromwell takes no prisoners among posters who place humor in his path during his pursuit of unhappiness.
Relentlessly disregarding blog piece content, ruthlessly redirecting discussion off-topic, repeatedly regurgitating a vision of racing that resists recruitment – he must require the real names of his opposition in order to perform posthumous baptisms; converting celebrators of champions into cheerleaders for claimers.
Assuming alliteration doesn’t constitute audience abuse, I contend that constant complaining about what contributors call themselves, does—certainly when continually carried over from thread to thread.
18 Mar 2012 at 05:46 am | #
Another melifuous commentary written by one preferring to use a nom de guerre that gets personal in violation of HRI policy, yet not enforced by executive director, John Pricci.
The presents of alliteration at HRI does not exclusively appear in my cynic comments. Much repetition occurs on subject matter: Todd Pletcher, horses trained by Pletcher, Kentucky Derby entrants, takeout, and coming stake races as examples.
That I preferred to promote all racetracks and the enjoyment of claiming races with repititious commentary, which is antipodean to Mr. Pricci’s subject matter and foreign to probably the majority of readers, attempting to get turf writers and people following racing to realize that all races are pretty much the same across the country, not just at a few racetracks, my objective being to get more people interested in racing should not result in personal attacks.
Using a pseudonym when commenting at HRI leaves me bewildered.
HRI is supposedly an open forum. I read nowhere that commentary must be confined to the day’s subject, as presented by a contributor
I shall continue to comment at HRI until Mr. Pricci informs me to kindly depart.
18 Mar 2012 at 06:26 am | #
To paraphrase the Sundance Kid,
Wendell just keep doin’ what you’re doin’. That’s what you’re good at.
18 Mar 2012 at 07:19 am | #
Dear Friends:
Waited till the ‘morrow to reply, cause I was laughing so hard, thought I’d die. There seems to be some confusion on the part of W M, somebody tell him I’m the creme dela creme. Hiding in plain sight from coast to coast, you can’t miss me, all I do is boast. You know that old hackneyed phrase, which I think is appropriate here, “I’d engage in a battle of wits, but I never fight an unarmed man.” AFRAID? Yes, I’m afraid, afraid that the stupidity will never end. SCARED, and NERVOUS? Yes, I’m scared and nervous, got a bad case of radiculopathy, but not redundancy; the CIA has been trying to steal my handicapping algorithm, and the only way I could stay one step ahead of them was with a little aliteration. LACK OF CONFIDENCE? The only lack of confidence I have is that, something intelligent will be forthcoming. The “or simply” I don’t quite understand, but then, not really interested in comprehending the inner workings of the mind of a malcontent. Just remember, it ain’t easy being a charismatic, dynamic, “playa,” like myself. Let’s see, what racetrack should I hide at today, and on the ‘morrow? There are so many, and so little time. I too will continue to post here until asked to cease and desist; never been one to go where I’m not wanted. Until next we meet, I remain,
Very truly yours,
TOP TURF TEDDY
PLETCHER, BAFFERT, LARGE RACE TRACK, AND KENTUCKY DERBY LOVER