Cutting Humor goes to top of Pletcher's 3-year-old class with Sunland Derby win

Trainer Todd Pletcher’s 3-year-olds are starting to come to hand, punctuated by Cutting Humor’s track-record win Sunday in the Grade 3, $800,000 Sunland Park Derby.

Pletcher on Saturday sent out Spinoff to a close runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds and, on March 9, the promising Outshine was second in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Downs Derby.

The horses are Pletcher’s leading Kentucky Derby points earners, with Cutting Humor sitting fifth with 50 on the latest list put out by Churchill Downs. Spinoff is ninth with 40 and Outshine is 20th with 20.

“A month ago we weren’t in this position,” Pletcher said.

“The horses have been running well. We’ve got some later-developing types.”

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Looking forward, Pletcher said that Outshine is on deck to run back in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, while the stakes-placed Overdeliver also is a candidate for that race or the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. So Alive, a half-brother Vino Rosso, the winner of last year’s Wood Memorial, is pointing to the Blue Grass at Keeneland, the trainer said, while Spinoff is probable to train up to the Kentucky Derby.

As for Cutting Humor, plans for the horse are to be determined, Pletcher said Monday. He said he and owners Starlight Racing are pleased to have the points for the Kentucky Derby, but before making plans Pletcher wants to get the horse back home to Florida.

“He’ll ship to Palm Beach on Wednesday,” Pletcher said. “We’ll get him home, assess him, and talk to the connections.”

Pletcher said the focus with Cutting Humor up to Sunday had simply been the Sunland Derby. The horse was coming off a troubled seventh-place finish in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn.

“We were hoping to be successful on the day,” he said of the Sunland Derby.

Cutting Humor ran 1 1/8 miles in a track-record time of 1:46.94, for a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 95. He won by a neck over Anothertwistafate, who was bringing a three-race win streak into the Sunland Derby. Cutting Humor’s time lowered the mark for 1 1/8 miles of 1:47.21 that Oh So Regal had set last April in the $150,000 Sunland Park Handicap. Oh So Regal was 4 and toted 118 pounds. Cutting Humor carried 122 on Sunday.

John Velazquez was aboard Cutting Humor, a son of First Samurai and the unraced mare Pun, who is a half-sister to the multiple Grade 1 winner Zensational.

Cutting Humor became the third next-out stakes winner to emerge from the Southwest Stakes, won by Super Steed on Feb. 18. Long Range Toddy, who was third, came back to win a division of the Rebel at Oaklawn, and Gray Attempt, who was 11th, captured the $125,000 Gazebo at six furlongs on Saturday with a Beyer Figure of 90.

Anothertwistafate, who had won three straight races wire to wire going into the Sunland Derby, including the El Camino Real Derby at his home track of Golden Gate, put in a fast-closing bid for second in the Sunland Derby. He sat behind the pace and came rolling to equal his best Beyer Figure, a 94.

“The only disappointment is him not getting the ‘W,’” trainer Blaine Wright said Monday. “I’m very, very proud of my horse. He showed a whole new dimension. It’s very exciting for us right now.”

Wright said Anothertwistafate was scheduled to fly to Southern California on Tuesday, then on Wednesday will van back to Golden Gate.

“He looked like a champ this morning,” Wright said Monday.

As for next-race plans, they are to be determined.

“We actually haven’t decided,” said Wright, who trains Anothertwistafate for Peter Redekop. “When he gets home, we’ll see how he rebounds. We’ll take stock in a week, 10 days.”

Wright noted Anothertwistafate has a berth into the Preakness Stakes by virtue of his win in the El Camino Real Derby. He was making a rare start on dirt in the Sunland Derby, after recording his three prior wins on the synthetic track at Golden Gate. Those wins all came at two turns.

Anothertwistafate is by the late Scat Daddy, sire of Justify, winner of the Triple Crown in 2018.

Anothertwistafate has accumulated 30 points for the Kentucky Derby, which places him 12th on the latest list from Churchill Downs.

◗ Handle on the 12-race card at Sunland on Sunday was more than $4.4 million from all sources, according to the chart of the last race. That is a record for a live program in New Mexico, eclipsing the mark of $4.27 on the corresponding program in 2018. Attendance ontrack was 16,957.