Pletcher hopes to strike quickly in Easy Goer

ELMONT, N.Y. – No one will be busier on Saturday at Belmont Park than trainer Todd Pletcher, who has 14 horses entered on the marathon card, including two in the Belmont Stakes. He will try to get the day off to an auspicious start in the opener, the $150,000 Easy Goer Stakes, in which he sends out Stanford and Nonna’s Boy, two-thirds of the now-three-horse field.

Stanford has not raced since the Louisiana Derby, in which he finished second. He was entered in the Kentucky Derby but was scratched and has worked four times since then. Nonna’s Boy comes off a second-place finish in the overnight Gold Fever Stakes here and will be making his third start following a seven-month layoff.

Their task was made easier Friday when trainer Graham Motion said he would scratch Donworth, who was third most recently in the Sir Barton Stakes on the Preakness undercard at Pimlico. The longshot Combat Diver was scratched Saturday morning, leaving a field of three.

Japan, who finally delivered on advance notices when he defeated maidens in his third lifetime start, is the only challenger to Pletcher’s duo in the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds.

Get tied on. The Easy Goer, the first of 13 races, goes at 11:35 a.m. Eastern, more than seven hours prior to the Belmont Stakes and more than 8 1/2 hours until the final race of the day, slated for 8:12 p.m.

KEY CONTENDERS

Stanford (Last 3 Beyers: 98-93-90)

• A cutback to 1 1/16 miles and one turn could benefit Stanford, who just was run down in the Louisiana Derby after setting the pace.

• Pletcher said Stanford was removed from the Kentucky Derby because he and the owners – Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Stables and Michael Tabor – thought it was going to be too much, too soon.

“He’s an improving horse. We thought he could have a good year if we pick his spots a little more diligently,” Pletcher said.

Nonna’s Boy (Last 3 Beyers: 85-85-59)

• He has never been farther than 6 1/2 furlongs and will be stretching out off a pair of six-furlong races this year.

“We’re just trying to figure out what his optimal distance is,” Pletcher said. “Considering he’s out of an Empire Maker mare, we thought we’d see how he stretches out.”

Japan (Last 3 Beyers: 88-89-56)

• He has been highly regarded since before his first race and finally delivered on that promise with a visually impressive trouncing of maidens at Churchill Downs on April 30.

– additional reporting by David Grening