LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Todd Pletcher is breaking one of his own rules in pursuit of a Triple Crown.
The Eclipse Award winning trainer likes to give his horses at least five weeks off between races. Super Saver’s win at the Kentucky Derby, however, hasn’t left Pletcher much choice.
The three-year-old colt will run on just two weeks’ rest in next Saturday’s Preakness. After finally capturing his first Derby following a decade of trying, Pletcher will gladly take his chances with his energetic star.
“I wish in a perfect world we would have more time but this is the way it’s laid out,” Pletcher said Thursday.
Super Saver hasn’t exactly looked tired since beating Ice Box by 2 1/2 lengths in the slop at Churchill Downs. He’s been active and lively in his stall and relaxed while jogging on the track under exercise rider Kevin Willey.
Pletcher said most horses are “wiped out” following a big race. Not Super Saver.
“He does not appear to be knocked out,” Pletcher said.
Good thing, because Super Saver will face stiff challenge at Pimlico as he attempts to take the next step toward becoming the first U.S. thoroughbred racing Triple Crown winner in 32 years.
While Super Saver’s nearly perfect trip under jockey Calvin Borel in the Derby is hardly considered an aberration, opponents aren’t exactly living in fear of the sturdy bay.
Derby third-place finisher Paddy O’Prado is a definite for the Preakness and will joined by stablemate First Dude, second in the Blue Grass Stakes. Trainer Dale Romans was impressed with Super Saver’s Derby performance, but isn’t ready to call him unbeatable.
“It’s a tough campaign to get in the Derby and run in the Derby and then be fresh two weeks later,” Romans said. “Anybody would be vulnerable.”
Beaten Derby favourite Lookin At Lucky, the sire of Canadian-bred Smart Strike, could also be in the starting gate.
Trainer Bob Baffert said Thursday there’s a 51 per cent chance Lookin At Lucky will be shipped to Pimlico next week. That’s up from the 50/50 odds the Hall of Famer offered after the Derby, when Lookin At Lucky finished sixth following a troubled trip along the rail.
“We’re going to change his name at Lookin At Aluminum,” Baffert joked. “That’s the thing he’s seem to have done in his last few starts.”
The track won’t be quite as crowded at Pimlico. A full field of 14 is expected, meaning the Preakness won’t be the 20-horse traffic jam that slogged through the mud under the twin spires in the Derby.
Still, don’t expect Lookin At Lucky to race if he somehow draws the first post again.
“I think he’s a little bit uncomfortable when he’s down there,” Baffert said.
Something Borel is decidedly not.
The affable Cajun rider became the first jockey to take three Derbys in four years when he deftly guided Super Saver along the rail to victory. Yet Borel doesn’t always need a clean inside trip to win. He captured the Preakness aboard filly Rachel Alexandra last year while starting from the 13th post.
“A lot of people were talking about (that post) being a disadvantage and it wasn’t,” Pletcher said.
Borel boasted Super Saver would win the Triple Crown following the Derby. He isn’t exactly backing off that claim.
“He has the talent to do it,” he said. “It’s hard to say you’re going to win it. But he’s peaking at the right time. He’s lightly raced. That’s why I love him so much.”
It’s also why Pletcher is optimistic too. The Derby was only Super Saver’s third race of the year. His speed figures were the best of his career, but not so impressive that Pletcher feels the tank is empty.