**To watch video of Quality Road and Todd Pletcher Sunday morning, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/nyravideo#p/a/u/0/OXtCS-xtDLU **
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Contact: NYRA Press Office
(718) 659-2351
- Busy morning for Pletcher as Super Saver,
- Aikenite exits Saturday win in good order, Spa next
- Redding Colliery under consideration for July 3 Suburban
ELMONT, N.Y. – It was a busy Father’s Day morning for trainer Todd Pletcher at Belmont Park, highlighted by half-mile breezes from stable stars Quality Road and Super Saver.
In his first move since stretching his 2010 record to a perfect 3-for-3 in Memorial Day’s Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap,
“We weren’t looking for much,” said Pletcher of the duo. “It was a maintenance half for both. We’re still a ways away from their next races.”
Quality Road, the nation’s top older male in training, is targeting the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga Race Course on August 7, while the next major
“We’ll pick it up a little but with Super Saver as we go along, but so far he’s doing very well,” said Pletcher of the WinStar colt. “I’m real happy with his overall condition and weight. The way he’s moving and everything else indicates to me he’s rounding into top form.”
Pletcher said he considered changing the timing of
“If he were to run in the Suburban or something, I would have worked him last week,” he said Edward P. Evans’ colt. “But with him not running until August 7, I didn’t really feel the need to work him last week. I probably could have waited another week, but I didn’t want to get into a situation where we were playing catch up at any point.”
Pletcher said the filly Devil May Care, who breezed five furlongs Sunday in 1:01.84, was on target for her engagement in the Grade 1 Mother Goose on June 26 at
“Obviously, in a perfect world, we wouldn’t be running these three fillies all together,” said Pletcher. “It’s not effective stable management from my perspective. But it’s what the owners want, it’s a Grade 1, and it’s at home, so that’s attractive.”
Among other notable Pletcher works Sunday morning were Munnings (5F, 1:00.46), Le Grand Cru (4F, 47.10), Driven by Success (4F, 48.02), American Dance (4F, 50.14), Discreetly Mine (4F, 49.55), Interactif (4F, 50.44), Christmas for Liam (5F, 1:01.82), and Hunters Bay (5F, 1:01.82).
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Aikenite, who had made eight consecutive starts in graded stakes before winning a deep allowance race on Saturday at
“I’ll talk to Mr. [Cothran]
Aikenite broke his maiden on debut last August at
“It was a good effort – a big turnaround,” said Pletcher. “Obviously he’s been running against some of the best 3-year-olds in the country. On paper it looked like we didn’t necessarily get an easier spot, but he settled well and got a nice run out of it.”
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Redding Colliery, winner of the Grade 3 Lone Star Park Handicap on May 31, went a half-mile Sunday morning in 48.14 and is under consideration for the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap at
“We’re keeping one eye on the Suburban,” said Artie Magnuson, assistant to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. “Since we’ve stretched him out, he’s really been improving. It was a tough ship to
Magnuson added that Uptowncharlybrown, who finished fifth in the Belmont Stakes, was still several weeks away from breezing.
“He ran hard in the
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