Noted back on turf in Bourbon following a stakes victory on dirt

LEXINGTON, Ky. – It’s a nice problem to have. Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher and one of his longtime owners, the ebullient Mike Repole, have so many promising 2-year-old colts that they’ve had to get creative to give each a path toward the Breeders’ Cup.

On Saturday, Fierceness will run in the Grade 1 Champagne at Aqueduct, Locked in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland, and Be You in the Grade 1 American Pharoah at Santa Anita. On Sunday, Noted gets his shot to move forward in the Grade 2, $350,000 Bourbon Stakes on the Keeneland turf.

The Bourbon is a Win and You’re In race toward the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita. The 1 1/16-mile race is one of two turf stakes for 2-year-olds on the Spinster undercard. The other is the $250,000 Indian Summer at 5 1/2 furlongs, which was inaugurated five years ago as a prep for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.

Noted was second in his debut going five furlongs on the Belmont turf, a race that proved a bit short for him and has come back as a strong heat. The winner, Please Advise, was stakes-placed last month at Kentucky Downs, while Noted finished ahead of next-out winner Dark Vintage. Noted then stretched out to 1 1/16 miles at Saratoga for a half-length maiden win on July 22, besting Spirit Prince, who has since picked up a pair of Grade 3 placings.

Noted showed he could handle dirt when he won the one-mile Sapling Stakes at Monmouth Park, earning a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 77, one of the top numbers in this field. Off that win, Pletcher and Repole had options, and a decision to make.

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“We gave strong consideration to the American Pharoah, but decided to go that direction with Be You,” Pletcher said. “His last couple of breezes just kind of told us he might be a little better on turf. We’d be pleased if he ran well enough to get into the” Juvenile Turf.

Pletcher also will saddle Nomos in the Bourbon for the Wertheimer family, while stablemate Tireless, co-owned by Repole with St. Elias and LNJ Foxwoods, is the third also-eligible in the overflow field.

Nomos was a four-length maiden winner at a mile on the Monmouth turf, but then was a one-paced fourth in the Grade 3 With Anticipation at Saratoga, albeit behind a strong trio in Gala Brand, Carson’s Run, and Spirit Prince. Nomos adds blinkers for the Bourbon.

“He was a little disappointing at Saratoga – he wasn’t completely focused,” Pletcher said. “We’ve been training him in blinkers since then. Hope for some improved focus with them on.”

Unbeaten stakes winners Tok Tok, for Graham Motion, and Vote No, for Billy Morey, also figure as Bourbon contenders. Tok Tok is coming off a win in the Kitten’s Joy going 1 1/16 miles at Colonial Downs, making him one of just a handful in this field, along with Noted and Gorilla Trek, to win at the distance.

Vote No won the 6 1/2-furlong Juvenile Sprint at Kentucky Downs.

Palm Tree narrowly owns the highest Beyer in the field, a 78 that he earned beating maidens at 6 1/2 furlongs in his turf debut at Kentucky Downs. Gorilla Trek was a debut winner on the Churchill Downs turf.

Indian Summer

The Indian Summer goes through the multiple stakes-winning filly Amidst Waves, if she runs. New York-based George Weaver has cross-entered her in Sunday’s Grade 3 Matron at Aqueduct. On Friday, Black Type Thoroughbreds, which co-owns the filly in a five-pronged partnership, indicated that a Keeneland start was more likely.

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Amidst Waves has won all three of her starts on turf, including the Colleen Stakes on July 29 at Monmouth and the Bolton Landing Stakes on Aug. 20 at Saratoga.

Bledsoe is a threat in his second start off a layoff for Keeneland-based Wesley Ward, a perennial force in the turf sprint division. A debut winner on dirt at Keeneland’s spring meet, the colt made his next start more than five months later in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint at 6 1/2 furlongs. He set the early pace before fading to fifth and will likely be much tighter off that effort as he cuts back.

– additional reporting by Marcus Hersh

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