Pletcher gets reward on Sunshine Millions Preview card

MIAMI – Trainer Todd Pletcher’s decision to keep a year-round presence in South Florida this season returned big dividends twice within an eight-day period, including last Saturday at Gulfstream Park West, where his stable won two of the nine stakes on the Sunshine Millions Preview card.

Pletcher sent out 3-year-old fillies Picara and Shanghai Starlet to win the Sunshine Millions Turf and Sunshine Millions Distaff previews, respectively. Both horses have been stabled at Pletcher’s South Florida headquarters at Palm Beach Downs throughout the year, and both were ridden by jockey Edgard Zayas.

Picara, a homebred daughter of Turbo Compressor owned by P&G Stables, has now won both starts since stretching out around two turns for the first time here last month. Zayas put her on the lead in the Turf Preview, then had plenty left in the tank for the stretch run. Picara registered a 1 1/2-length decision, for which she earned a career-best 81 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I’ve been really pleased with her development, with stretching her out the key to her success,” said Pletcher, who was en route to Florida from New York on Monday to oversee his local contingent of approximately 75 horses.

“I thought Edgard did a great job. He got away with slow internal fractions, and she responded well when he asked her.”

Shanghai Starlet, by Shanghai Bobby, is owned by King of Prussia Stable and became a multiple stakes winner after rallying to a 1 3/4-length triumph in the seven-furlong Distaff Preview.

“She ran decently on the turf in her previous start, but I felt, watching her train, she seemed a little better on the dirt,” Pletcher said. “I thought she needed a step-up performance in this race, and she took it to the next level like we hoped on Saturday.”

Pletcher said he would likely wait and train Picara and Shanghai Starlet up to their next starts on Sunshine Millions Day on Jan. 19 at Gulfstream Park.

“When we decided to keep horses in Florida year-round, these were the types of horses we were hoping to find good opportunities for. And it worked out well, especially for the owners, to be able to take advantage of these types of races,” said Pletcher, who added his stable size will continue to increase gradually as the opening of the championship meet nears on Dec. 1.

Bulletin gets break

Pletcher won the first of the 14 Breeders’ Cup races at Churchill Downs when Bulletin wired the field in the inaugural running of the Juvenile Turf Sprint. Bulletin also spent the summer at Palm Beach Downs before launching his career last month at Gulfstream Park with a sensational seven-length victory in the Hollywood Beach Stakes.

Pletcher said Bulletin is currently at WinStar Farm, where he’ll get a 60-day break before returning to training.

“I’ve been talking to Elliot [Walden] and China Horse Club, who are among the partners in Bulletin, and we’re kicking around the idea of making a race at Royal Ascot with him in the spring,” Pletcher said. “What we do in between is not decided yet. We’ll probably look to have one race between now and then, although where or when we’re just not sure at the moment.”

Audible targets Pegasus

Among the horses Pletcher will spend some time with this week at Palm Beach Downs is Audible, an impressive winner of the seven-furlong Cherokee Run on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs. The outing was the first for Audible since his third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. Audible’s main goal currently is the $9 million Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 26.

“I was delighted with his return,” Pletcher said. “He trained very well leading into that race, and I was very excited about getting him started again, although I was concerned the cutback to seven furlongs might have been too short for him. But his class prevailed.”

Pletcher said he plans to target the Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday at Gulfstream Park on Dec. 15 as Audible’s final prep for the Pegasus.

“Timing wise, a two-turn race like the Harlan’s Holiday is perfect for the Pegasus,” Pletcher said.

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