Gouverneur Morris, Pletcher now have the luxury of time

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Todd Pletcher had Gouverneur Morris as his main hope for the Kentucky Derby when the race was still scheduled for May 2, even though the gray colt was far short on qualifying points.

But with the new Sept. 5 date having been set for the Kentucky Derby, not only does Pletcher have far more opportunity for Gouverneur Morris to crack the lineup, but the possibility now exists that a late bloomer might ultimately surface from his deep bench.

“It could work out in favor of a few of ours,” Pletcher said.

In the meantime, there’s no longer a rush to get an immediate start into Gouverneur Morris, whose only 2020 race remains a Feb. 14 allowance victory at Tampa Bay Downs. To make a May 2 Derby, the colt would have had to earn points in one of the forthcoming points races, but obviously that’s no longer the case.

“Everything is up in the air,” said Barry Irwin, who heads the Team Valor partnership that owns the colt with WinStar Farm. “Nobody can make a comment on anything right now with any degree of certainty. Todd thinks he should just sit tight at Palm Beach Downs and see what happens because everything is happening so rapidly. Crazy times for us all.”

Gouverneur Morris breezed last Sunday at Palm Beach alongside stablemate Palm Springs, a possibility for the March 28 Florida Derby at Gulfstream. They went five furlongs in tandem, with both credited with a bullet 1:00.51.

The work was the third for Gouverneur Morris since his Tampa win and the fourth for Palm Springs since he won a Feb. 1 maiden race at Gulfstream.

Pletcher, who has the most starts in Derby history (54), has won the Derby twice, with Super Saver (2010) and Always Dreaming (2017).

◗ With Gary Contessa having retired from training, Another Miracle, one of his top horses, has been turned over to Joe Orseno. Another Miracle is among the 3-year-olds expected at Gulfstream for the $75,000 Texas Glitter, which will be co-featured Saturday with the $75,000 Melody of Colors for 3-year-old fillies.

Entries for both five-furlong turf races were to be drawn Wednesday.