Gulfstream Park: Discreet Dancer off Kentucky Derby trail, getting a break

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Todd Pletcher has decided to take Discreet Dancer, who finished a tiring third behind Union Rags in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, off the Triple Crown trail. Pletcher originally intended to run Discreet Dancer on Sunday in the Louisiana Derby. Discreet Dancer is owned by Robsham Stables.

“After discussing the situation with Mrs. Robsham, we decided to take him off the Triple Crown trail and just send him up to Ocala and give him a little holiday,” Pletcher said. “Everything seemed to be happening a little too quickly for him, and we thought maybe he was not quite ready for all this right now. His last race was a little bit of a puzzler, and although he trained okay since, I didn’t feel he was getting ready to win the Kentucky Derby, so we decided to take the conservative approach and give him a little chance to grow up and mature.”

Pletcher said no time frame has been set for when Discreet Dancer might return.

“We’re going to give him enough of a break to be meaningful without being too long,” Pletcher said. “We’ll see him sometime later in the year.”