Pletcher foresees better effort

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Todd Pletcher expects Aristocratic Lady to improve off her 2006 debut. That figures to be bad news for the eight rivals the 4-year-old filly will face going 1 1/16 miles on the turf in Wednesday's $35,000 allowance feature at Gulfstream Park.

chased he pace before finishing a tiring fourth, just 1 1/4 lengths behind race winner Jacaranda Jane, going 1 1/8 miles under similar second-level allowance conditions here on Jan. 29. The start was the first for Aristocratic Lady, a daughter of Kris S., since the versatile filly concluded her 3-year-old campaign with an easy 3 3/4-length win in an entry-level allowance over the Churchill Downs main track on Nov. 13.

"She misbehaved a little in the gate before her last start, and she left there more sharply than we wanted, which in turn made her a little more headstrong during the race," said Pletcher. "I expect her to behave better at the gate and relax the first part of it on Wednesday, and she should improve with a race under her belt."

Pletcher believes Aristocratic Lady, who began her career in France, could become a stakes-caliber filly as the season progresses.

"The more she acclimates to the U.S., the better she should get," said Pletcher.

Leading rider John Velazquez again takes the call.

rallied to finish third, a neck in front of Aristocratic Lady, while coming off a similar 11-week layoff for her 2006 debut and may be the one to beat. She was graded-stakes-placed as a 3-year-old when finishing second in Monmouth's Boiling Springs Stakes. But she went to the sidelines for a year after concluding her 2004 campaign with a fourth-place finish in Belmont's Grade 3 Pebbles Stakes.

Go Robin has shown steady improvement since returning to action last fall in New York, with her local debut on Jan. 29 her best yet since the Pebbles. Trainer Mark Hennig has again tabbed Jose Velez Jr. to handle the riding chores.

goes back around two turns after finishing fourth going five furlongs here on Feb. 12. He posted back-to-back allowance victories last year at Belmont and has yet to finish worse than fourth in nine career starts.

Just a Little Jet finished a length behind Aristocratic Lady despite trouble around both turns on Jan. 29.