Pletcher's Stakes Four-Bagger Sets the Table

Death, taxes, Todd Pletcher winning races in bunches at the Gulfstream Championship Meet. Few things are more certain in racing than the Pletcher barn getting on a roll at the Hallandale oval in December, and it signaled another installment of dominance by winning four out of the six 2-year-old stakes run there this past Saturday.

Kicking off the procession was St. Elias Stable's Bode's Dream (Bodemeister), who ran her record to three-for-three with a wire-to-wire score in the six-furlong House Party S. The gray filly, bought for $300,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, began her career with an easy win at Gulfstream May 11 and followed that up by capturing the Astoria S. June 9 at Belmont before going on the shelf for over six months prior to Saturday's victory. Pletcher related that the absence was mostly precautionary and was afforded by the filly's owners, who sent out Sweet Loretta (Tapit) and Nonna Mela (Arch) to triumphs in the GIII Schuylerville S. and GII Adirondack S., respectively, this summer at Saratoga. The former went on to dead-heat for the win in the GI Spinaway S. at the Spa.

“Nothing specifically happened to her,” Pletcher said of Bode's Dream. “As we were preparing for the Schuylerville, it just didn't feel like she was moving as well as she was going into the Astoria. Vinny and Teresa Viola and St. Elias Stable were blessed to have had a couple of fillies that were training well at the time, so I talked to them and said 'I think this filly would benefit from a little bit of a break,' and we sent her down to Crupi's Farm in Ocala. It's a tribute to their patience that they allow you to give a filly like that a little bit of a break in the summer–even though she was winning races–to let her grow up and mature a little bit and I think it's paid dividends. She's physically doing really well at the moment.”

Pletcher confirmed that Bode's Dream will continue sprinting for the near future, with eyes on both the Old Hat S. Jan. 7 and GII Forward Gal S. Feb. 4.

Arguably the most impressive of Pletcher's quartet of winners Saturday was Stonestreet Stables and Coolmore's Fact Finding (The Factor), who also improved to three-for-three when romping by seven lengths in the one-mile Smooth Air S., an effort that earned him 'TDN Rising Star' honors. Showing a new dimension after coming from off the pace to conquer his first two outings, the $100,000 KEESEP grad led at every call in his initial foray over a route of ground.

“He's sort of an interesting horse to train, because he always seems to be saving more when you breeze him.” Pletcher revealed. “He kind of does what he has to do, doesn't overachieve in the mornings. He's got a very laid-back personality. We considered running him back in the [GI] Hopeful [S.] after his maiden win at Saratoga, but decided a little more time would suit him well. I liked the way he finished going a mile, thought he galloped out well and he gave us confidence that he'll stretch out. I haven't really talked to all the connections yet, but I would think the [Feb. 4 GII Lambholm South] Holy Bull [S.] might be a possibility for him next time.”

Calumet Farm's Sonic Mule (Distorted Humor) earned his first stakes tally in Saturday's six-furlong Buffalo Man S., turning back the bid of odds-on 'TDN Rising Star' Recruiting Ready (Algorithms) en route to a 1 3/4-length success. The bay, a $175,000 KEESEP purchase, made the early lead for the first time in his career, a tactic Pletcher says was unplanned.

“We felt like we would be in a stalking position,” the 49-year-old conditioner said. “He's versatile, he's trained well, he's always been a good gate horse and he just caught a flyer. Obviously, Johnny [Velazquez] was riding really well on the day, and he got away from the gate so cleanly, it took all the strategy out of the equation. You catch a flyer like that in the slop, just go with it. He's a cool horse, has got a great disposition, great attitude. We've run him short and long, on grass and dirt, he just shows up and tries hard every time.”

Rounding out the Pletcher stakes winners Saturday was Tapwrit (Tapit), who captured the one-mile off-the-turf Pulpit S. as the lone main-track-only entrant. Owned by Bob LaPenta, Bridlewood Farm and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, the $1.2-million Fasig-Tipton August buy previously graduated over heavily-favored stablemate Commandeering (Bodemeister) going a two-turn mile Nov. 6 at Gulfstream West.

“We definitely think he's a graded stakes horse,” Pletcher said of Tapwrit. “My biggest concern really was just backing him up to a one-turn mile after having already been around two turns; it seemed like he really relished the two turns at Gulfstream West. We just really didn't have a lot of options, there wasn't a one-other-than [allowance] in the first book at Gulfstream, so we took a shot and it worked out well for him. He was able to produce a nice trip for himself from the outside post and I thought he ran well.”

Putting the icing on the cake for Team Pletcher, the barn's Master Plan (Twirling Candy) finished a fast-closing second behind Tapwrit in the Pulpit, his first dirt start. “It seemed like he really leveled off the last sixteenth of a mile and further's going to be better,” Pletcher said of the $850,000 OBS March purchase, adding that the colt, owned by Al Shaqab Racing, WinStar Farm and China Horse Club, would likely be pointed to the OBS Championship S. over polytrack Jan. 24 in Ocala.

Clearly holding a loaded hand for another commanding Gulfstream meet, Pletcher laid out why he thinks his operation has so much success every winter in South Florida.

“I think it's a number of things that allow us to be successful at Gulfstream,” he explained. “Right after Labor Day, we closed out our Monmouth division, Anthony Sciametta and that team came down to Palm Beach Downs, so a lot of these horses have been preparing for the last 45-60 days for a start at Gulfstream. Those guys did a great job getting them acclimated, getting them ready. I also think Gulfstream, in general, suits our style well. First of all, there are a lot of 2-year-old races and 3-year-old races at the beginning of next year, it's generally kind of a speed-favoring track and our horses tend to be involved early on. It's a good fit for our stable and our program.”

Regardless of what factors create this annual perfect storm, a handful of juveniles showed Saturday that the forecast for the next few months in South Florida entails plenty of Pletcher. As usual.