In a year where he was a rare non-factor in the 3-year-old division, trainer Todd Pletcher surprisingly finds himself in contention for a record-extending ninth Eclipse Award as champion trainer on the strength of an older male division and a 2-year-old class that brings him to the Breeders’ Cup with several live chances. It’s a position he couldn’t fathom after the first six months of the year, when he won just six graded stakes, three of which were Grade 1s. “It would feel odd to be in contention after the first six months of the year,” Pletcher said. “It just goes to show you how cyclical these things can be.” Since July 1, Pletcher has won six Grade 1 stakes which gives him nine for the year, the most of any trainer, according to Equibase stats. (Chad Brown is second with eight.) Pletcher is up to 17 graded stakes victories, fifth in that department, nine behind Bob Baffert’s 26. Pletcher comes to the 42nd Breeders’ Cup with a quartet of horses for the $7 million Classic in Fierceness, Mindframe, Antiquarian, and Locked that would be the envy of any horseman. Ted Noffey, undefeated in three starts, will be favored in the $2 million Juvenile on Oct. 31. Tommy Jo is a contender in the Juvenile Fillies. Time to Dream is live and the maiden Celebrity Warrior a longshot in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. :: BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more While it is expected that Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, and Travers Stakes winner Sovereignty will be favored in the Classic, all four of Pletcher’s horses are serious contenders with their best race. Fierceness, the 2023 Juvenile winner and 2024 Classic runner-up, is coming off one of his best performances when he overcame a troubled start to win the Pacific Classic at Del Mar, the site of the Breeders’ Cup. Fierceness took a left turn out of the gate and nearly ran into the temporary rail, made an early move to split horses, then drew away from three-time Grade 1-winning 3-year-old Journalism to win by 3 1/4 lengths. “I think in some ways the Pacific Classic might have been a breakthrough race for him,” Pletcher said. “Johnny [Velazquez] learned something about the way you can ride him and still be successful. Maybe we put too much thought into the fact that he has to be in a certain position and try to ride him to get to that position. “When he made the mistake of ducking into the rail, he had no choice to ride him differently. Now, he has confidence he can ride him however he needs to.” Having run well in the Pacific Classic and in last year’s BC Classic, where he was a good second to Sierra Leone, Fierceness has a proven affinity for Del Mar. Mindframe, at 3, was talented enough to finish second in the Belmont Stakes in just his third career start. He shied away from the whip in the stretch of that race or he might have been able to beat Dornoch, to whom he also finished second in the Haskell. Mindframe has come back a better version of himself at 4 and reeled off wins in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile, Grade 1 Churchill Downs, and Grade 1 Stephen Foster. However, he didn’t get to run his race in the Jockey Club Gold Cup as he was bumped early in the race, which caused jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. to be unseated. It remains to be seen whether not being able to complete that race will be telling in the Classic. “Physically, he’s a beast,” Pletcher said. Antiquarian won the Jockey Club Gold Cup, though his victory may have been overshadowed by what happened to Mindframe. Still, Antiquarian is a late-developing horse who has improved throughout the year. The best news for Pletcher may be that Antiquarian is the only one of his older male quartet expected to run in 2026. “Physical and mental maturity,” Pletcher said of Antiquarian’s development. “He was solid as a 3-year-old, able to win the Peter Pan. He kept showing us he had more talent than maybe we accomplished as a 3-year-old. I think with his pedigree we always felt like he was going to be better at 4 and 5 than he was at 2 and 3.” ON SALE NOW: DRF Breeders' Cup Packages! Get everything you need to win and save big. Locked was a Grade 1 winner at 2 but missed most of his 3-year-old season due to a knee injury. He salvaged that year with a victory in the Grade 2 Cigar Mile. After a troubled second in the Pegasus World Cup, Locked won the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap in March by 8 1/2 lengths in the best early-season performance of the year. “It was the Santa Anita Handicap, and maybe it’s not the Santa Anita Handicap the Charlie Whttinghams of the world won, but to me that was arguably as good as any horse has run this year,” Pletcher said. “[Speed] figures support that as well.” Locked may have felt the impact of that race when he finished fourth to Fierceness in the Alysheba Stakes, a race in which Fierceness set a track record for 1 1/16 miles. He then finished third to Phileas Fogg in the Grade 2 Suburban. After a freshening, Locked won the Grade 2 Suburban against only two rivals. The first half of the year is mostly about 3-year-olds and the Triple Crown series. But Pletcher’s 3-year-olds were lacking this year and he didn’t win a single Kentucky Derby prep race, many of which – the Florida Derby, Blue Grass, and Tampa Bay Derby – he holds the record for most wins. “Essentially, we had no good 3-year-old colts and no good 3-year-old fillies,” Pletcher said. In fact, Pletcher’s streak of 21 consecutive years with a Kentucky Derby starter ended when Grande was scratched a few days before the race by the regulatory veterinarian. Pletcher watched the Derby from a conference room at a Louisville hotel that he typically rents out. There is evidence that Pletcher will not have to sit out next year’s Derby. In Ted Noffey he has the leading 2-year-old in the country and the probable favorite in the Juvenile. A debut winner at Saratoga in August, he came back with definitive victories in the Grade 1 Hopeful and Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity, evoking memories of Forte, who won those same races before capturing the 2022 Juvenile. Pletcher said physically, Forte and Ted Noffey are “similar-type horses.” Though Ted Noffey has had an outside post and been able to be in the clear in all three of his starts, Pletcher said, “He doesn’t give you the impression that anything’s going to bother him. But part of that is he has the tactical speed to put himself in a good spot.” :: BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more On the filly side, Tommy Jo was a dominant winner of her first two starts, including the Grade 1 Spinaway, before finishing second in the Alcibiades. She was elevated to first after being bumped by Percy’s Bar in the stretch. Whether she can bounce back remains to be seen. Pletcher had success with 2-year-olds on turf as well, winning graded stakes with Final Score and Time to Dream. Though Final Score will have to miss the Breeders’ Cup due to tender shins, Time to Dream – and the stakes-placed maiden Celebrity Warrior if she draws in – will represent the barn in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Pletcher would prefer more action on the Saturday card as there are eight Breeders’ Cup races that day he won’t be participating in. But his Classic crop is as good as anyone has ever brought to the race, and a victory would cap off a year that could be better than Pletcher would have ever imagined a few months ago. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.