Champion trainer Pletcher shows no signs of slowing down

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – Less than nine hours after picking up his record seventh Eclipse Award as outstanding trainer, Todd Pletcher was hard at work Sunday morning at Palm Beach Downs, overseeing a mind-boggling 42 workers from the more than 100 horses he has stabled here.

Included in Sunday’s activities were the filly Angela Renee and the colt Competitive Edge – 3-year-olds who are tuning up for their 2015 debuts – as well as older horses such as Constitution and Protontico, who currently are being aimed at the Grade 1 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 7.

Pletcher led all trainers in purse earnings last year, but he did not win a Triple Crown race – despite having 10 percent of the nominations to that series – nor did he win a Breeders’ Cup race, his best finish being a second with Carpe Diem in the Juvenile. None of his horses won an Eclipse Award, with Palace Malice coming closest when finishing second to turf star Main Sequence for champion older male.

But the sheer scope of Pletcher’s operation proved formidable. In addition to leading his brethren in earnings, he tied with Bob Baffert for the most Grade 1 wins with nine, two more than Chad Brown.

“It’s very humbling to win as many as we have,” Pletcher said of his Eclipse haul. “I’m proud of the year we had, but it was frustrating at times, and you certainly could argue that a number of guys deserved it as much as we did.”

Javier Castellano, who won the Eclipse Award for outstanding jockey Saturday, and John Velazquez were among the riders Sunday at Palm Beach Downs working horses for Pletcher. Castellano was on Constitution, who went five furlongs in 1:02.47. Protontico covered five furlongs in 1:01.05.
Angela Renee and Competitive Edge worked in company, and both were timed going a half-mile in 49.66 seconds.

“It was their second breeze since they came back,” Pletcher said. “They should be ready to race in about six weeks.”

The 3-year-olds Carpe Diem and Daredevil both had their first works of the year Saturday, each going three furlongs, Carpe Diem in 37.40 seconds and Daredevil in 36.53 seconds.

“I was very pleased with the way they went,” Pletcher said. “I’d say they’re on schedule or even a little ahead of schedule based on the way they went and the way they galloped out.”

Pletcher said his plan with both is to have two preps prior to the May 2 Kentucky Derby.

Pletcher will not have any runners in Saturday’s Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream.

“Our 3-year-olds are in two different phases right now,” he said. “We’ve got several who have broken their maidens who I’d like to get an allowance race into before they go into stake, take that incremental step. And then there are horses like Carpe Diem and Daredevil, who are just coming back.”

Palace Malice, now age 5, still is wintering in Aiken, S.C., where co-owner Dogwood Stables is based, but Pletcher said he will rejoin his string here the first week in February.

“We’re focused on a campaign that gets him to the Breeders’ Cup, so we didn’t want to start too soon,” said Pletcher, who said he ideally would like to get a race into Palace Malice prior to the Met Mile, which he won last year.

Pletcher said he hoped the Eclipse Award categories would be better defined going forward, with champion older male being renamed champion older dirt male, since there is a category carved out for turf horses.

“My concern is that there’s basically not a specific criteria of turf versus dirt,” he said. “But there’s no question Main Sequence had a great year – perfect record, 4 for 4, four Grade 1s.”