Pletcher to have no horses in the Travers
 

His obsession with having fresh horses for the BC is getting out of control.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories...sdate=8/9/2007

Pletcher may say no to Travers
Trainer probably won't run any horses in stakes

By TIM WILKIN, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Thursday, August 9, 2007

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- It doesn't sound right. Todd Pletcher, the leading trainer at Saratoga Race Course, probably won't have a starter in the $1 million Travers Stakes here on Aug. 25.
"It's looking sort of doubtful," Pletcher said outside his barn on the Oklahoma Training Track Wednesday morning.


It's not that he doesn't have the horses. It's just that he doesn't want to run any of them.

Pletcher's top candidate for the Midsummer Derby would be Any Given Saturday, who just won the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park last Saturday.

The colt shipped back to Saratoga Tuesday following his 4 1/2 -length win over Hard Spun and Preakness winner Curlin.

Pletcher said the logical next start for Any Given Saturday is the $150,000 Brooklyn Handicap at Belmont Park on Sept. 22. Sure, winning the Travers would be nice. Pletcher won the Midsummer Derby with Flower Alley in 2005 and finished second with Bluegrass Cat last year.

But the timing is not right.

"It (Travers) is just too close," Pletcher. "Our main focus is on the Breeders Cup Classic (Oct. 27 at Monmouth). The Brooklyn gives him like five weeks to the Breeders' Cup and I think that is a good setup."

Any Given Saturday has won three of six starts this year, including his past two. Before the Haskell, he won the Dwyer at Belmont Park on the Fourth of July.

"I think that's a good setup," Pletcher said. "We always thought Any Given Saturday was a very good horse. I thought the Dwyer was a breakout performance for him and he came back and did it in the Haskell."

Pletcher said he will nominate Any Given Saturday and two of his other colts, Cowtown Cat and Sam P., to the Travers but most likely won't run them. He also said he might nominate fillies Rags to Riches, Octave and Panty Raid but they won't run in the Travers either.

Rags to Riches most likely won't run in the $600,000 Alabama here a week from Saturday. Pletcher said her next start is probably at Belmont Park, either in the Sept. 8 Ruffian or the Sept. 15 Gazelle. Octave, winner of the Coaching Club American Oaks in her most recent start July 21, and Panty Raid, who won the American Oaks Invitational on grass July 7, are bound for the Alabama.

So the horses he wants to run at the BC are unlikely to have a run between now and then? Or have i misread?

That would be almost unheard of over here.



edit......sorry, i missed the key line. Still seems strange. Over here they would run him in both races before the BC.

Pletcher doesn't have anyone that could win the Travers other than AGS, and how he would do with that timetable is in question. Are these horses really this fragile now?

Well.....the filly might have a shot.
But I guess we'll see her in the Gazelle and then the BC, and then she'll probably retire with 8 career starts.
This is just getting ridiculous. It has really gotten to the point where I wish they would do away with the BC altogether.

What happened to Circular Quay?

Maybe because TP has no horses for the race NYRA may consider moving it to Belmont to fit with his horses schedules better?

No clue, seems like they would have nothing to lose running him in either the Travers or the King's Bishop.

I am not suggesting he would win but he would be a good fit since Turf isn't the answer.

how about the green monkey?

CQ just doesn't seem that interested in running these days.

I think it's time NYRA or who ever is going to be running Saratoga is going to need to do something about The Travers. This has been slowly happening to this race for quite sometime now. The Breeders Cup is slowly making this race just another race to skip. The Haskell is no longer used as prep for The Travers anymore and is it's event all it's own now. This once proud race is slowly becoming just another race. With so many different million dollar races available as other options the better horse are just spacing themselves between races more and more The PA Derby will have a larger field than the The Travers and that is a shame. Yes we can still cling to the fact that it will have Street Sense but unless alot of minds change over the next couple of weeks that's all it's going to have. Street Sense and 4 other mules. It's time to start making some changes and if that means for NYRA or whoever to start swallowing some pride and come to realize that The Travers is no longer lure it once was.

Some options

1. Raise the purse to $1,500,000
2. or raise the purse of the Jim Dandy to $750,000 is order to lure horses from the Haskell and WV Derby so the horses will have that oh so desired of 4 weeks between races.
3. Sit down with racing officials at Monmouth and see if they can agree to have the two races separated by 4 to 5 weeks and if that means Saratoga swallowing it's pride and holding The Travers one week later than so be it. In a couple of years no one will care that is no longer the last Saturday in August. I mean trainers are not really caring right now as it is unless it the old school trainers.

its bad timing between the Haskell and Travers. The race should be moved back to closing weekend. it's really a shame. TP is doing the right thing-AGS is quite live for the Breeders Cup and that's their goal. Don't blame him, he's doing what's best for his horse, if anybody is to blame, its the lack of cohesiveness btwn tracks and the lack a of central body for the ENTIRE industry.

She might have had a shot if ready, which she obviously isn't after missing a little training.

I'm only 33 and I can still remember when horses would go Haskell - Travers - Woodward - Jockey Club Gold Cup - Breeders Cup or something like that. 2 starts over the summer, 2 in the fall, and then the BC.

Wasn't that long ago. Then it became 2 over the summer and 1 in the fall followed by the BC. Now it's 1 during the summer and 1 during the fall. It's practically reached the point of having to just write off the elite horses as no longer being a real part of the game. Ridiculous.

It just sort of sounds like everyone's playing the 'avoid Street Sense until the Breeders' Cup' game. I mean everyone with SS is obviously not afraid to enter him in the races they wanted to enter him in regardless of who else is there and originally there was buzz of SS, Curlin, and Rags all going--an amazing prospect that will clearly be denied us--now even AGS has pulled back. I don't think it's that Carl's just old school and wants the Travers when nobody else does. I think the others don't wanna have to mess with SS until they have to and why bother if there's a G1 somewhere else to run in or a fat check in a stakes at another. Even if they had the horse to get the Travers over SS now, they might get knocked out so badly it messes them up for the bigger prize.

I'm sure things can change in the division as the fall approaches and horses mature but I'm not so sure Todd wouldn't be going if there were no SS or Curlin and come to think of it, I don't think he'd send AGS. He'd go with Rags if it came up that light. A Belmont/Travers double would be too much for them to resist if the right situation came up. Of course she's not ready for the likes of Street Sense now and apparently wouldn't have been back in June either according to Todd's late decision to go to the Belmont.

ahem...i told you so.

no reason he couldn't run in the travers with ags, certainly a tough race wouldn't hinder him in the bcc several months later. but, who am i to say.

oh, and great idea about moving the races to belmont there cannon. no doubt todd would appreciate that. hey, why not have todd in on the race scheduling, then he could map out the entire year to his benefit...:rolleyes:

Definitely.

Anyone know what he is doing with Pavarotti?

Singing lessons. Alittle to early to throw him in the Travers IMO.

Maybe just a late running sprinter after all?