Pletcher juveniles stay hot as Final Score romps in With Anticipation Stakes
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Todd Pletcher frequently says the success of his Saratoga meet is predicated on how well his 2-year-olds fare. By that measure, it’s been a fabulous meet for Pletcher, who won his 13th race with a 2-year-old here this summer as Final Score recorded a 4 1/2-length, front-running score in Thursday’s $175,000 With Anticipation Stakes.
It was Final Score’s second win of the meet, as just 18 days ago he went gate to wire to a maiden race at this same 1 1/16-mile distance. The With Anticipation win came one day after Pletcher won the P.G. Johnson Stakes for 2-year-old fillies by five lengths with Time to Dream, her second win at the meet. Both Final Score and Time to Dream are owned by Mike Repole.
Pletcher’s 13 wins with 2-year-olds equal his highest output over the last nine summer meets. He won 15 juvenile races in 2016. His best meet with 2-year-olds came in 2012 when he won 23 juvenile races.
Pletcher, whose 22 wins at the meet have him tied for second in the standings, has several more chances with 2-year-olds, including Tommy Jo in Saturday’s Grade 1 Hopeful and Ted Noffey and Emphasis in Monday’s Grade 1 Hopeful.
“We had [three] winners at Aqueduct. It seemed like the ones we were running were running pretty well,” Pletcher said when asked if he expected his 2-year-olds to perform this well. “We knew the pool of talent when you get here is a lot different. You’re training them against their barnmates. Sometimes you come over here and they’re not as good as you thought they were. Sometimes, like this year, it seems to have worked out pretty well.”
The With Anticipation could not have worked out any better, as Final Score turned out to be the only speed in the race. Breaking from the rail under Kendrick Carmouche, Final Score opened up a 1 1/2-length lead after running an opening quarter in 24.53 seconds. He maintained a relatively stress-free advantage through a half-mile in 48.63 seconds and six furlongs in 1:12.47. Carmouche asked Final Score to run outside the quarter pole and he gradually opened up to his final 4 1/2-length margin.
“I just rode him away from there. Breaking from the one hole, [the lead is] where we should have been,” Carmouche said. “I’m glad we broke sharp and he put me in a good position. And after that, the horse did the rest. I just had to point him to the winner’s circle.”
Pletcher said he wasn’t sure Final Score was going to have the lead all to himself.
“We felt like we would be close. We weren’t positive he would be on the lead,” Pletcher said. “We were coming out of a race where we went pretty slow on the front end. We didn’t want to send him, but if it was there for the taking, that was plan A.”
Heeere’s Johnny, a maiden, persevered past 3-5 favorite Capital Partner to get second by 1 1/4 lengths. Capital Partner held third by a neck over Dr. Agne. Gloves Off and Strategic Focus completed the order of finish.
Final Score, who was purchased for $600,000 at the 2024 Saratoga yearling sale by Repole, covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.75 and returned $20.60 to win.
Final Score is by Not This Time, who has sired a stakes winner for three consecutive race days at Saratoga. On Sunday, it was Rhetorical in the West Point, and on Wednesday, it was Time to Dream.
“He’s a phenomenal stallion. He does a little bit of everything,” Pletcher said of Not This Time. “We were fortunate to have success with Up to the Mark – I think that was in his first crop – so we became fans of him early on. Fortunate to have these two that we ran yesterday and today.”
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