Battalion Runner will wait for Florida Derby

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Todd Pletcher said he plans to put off any decisions on where to run his long list of Kentucky Derby hopefuls until after Saturday’s Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. But one top 3-year-old in the barn whose itinerary has been set is Battalion Runner, who Pletcher said will not run again until the Grade 1 Florida Derby here on April 1.

Pletcher said that after discussions with Vinnie Viola, whose St. Elias Stable owns Battalion Runner, the decision was made to skip the Grade 2, $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes on March 4 and go straight to the Florida Derby as presumably his last race before the Kentucky Derby.

Battalion Runner, a son of Unbridled’s Song, finished second in his sprint debut at Belmont Park on July 3. After a six-month layoff, Battalion Runner won a seven-furlong maiden race at Gulfstream by 8 3/4 lengths on Dec. 31. He came back and outlasted a stubborn Beasley in a 1 1/16-mile, first-level allowance race here Feb. 3.

Pletcher said he’s skipping the Fountain of Youth and running Battalion Runner in the Florida Derby because the race is a Grade 1 and he doesn’t want to run the colt too many times.

“With the seven-eighths race on Dec. 31 and a mile-and-a-sixteenth race under his belt, and based on the speed figures we use, he’s progressively gotten faster,” Pletcher said. “We know he runs well fresh, so we’ll keep him that way.”

Pletcher is still formulating plans for some of his other 3-year-olds, including Always Dreaming and Action Everyday, both recent winners at Tampa Bay Downs, and Third Day, who returned from an extended vacation to win a one-mile overnight stakes here Wednesday over Barry Karafin Bets.

Third Day, a son of Bernardini, had not started since winning his debut last summer at Monmouth Park. He earned an 88 Beyer Speed Figure for his triumph Wednesday.

“I thought he ran well first time out, needed some time off, has been training well,” said Pletcher. “We were just trying to sort out where to bring him back. I didn’t want to bring him back at a mile and one-sixteenth, this race came up, it seemed like a mile was the right distance, and I think he got a great education in the race. He’s still a little green, still learning some stuff, and I thought he ran well enough to earn a shot at one of the preps.”

– additional reporting by David Grening