Pletcher works 3-year-olds, plotting Derby routes

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – On the day before he was to run Locked and Speak Easy in the Grade 2, $400,000 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park, trainer Todd Pletcher put a plethora of 3-year-olds through workouts Friday morning at Palm Beach Downs, as he continues to plot out their potential paths to the Kentucky Derby.

Fierceness, the 2023 champion 2-year-old, worked a half-mile in 48.89 seconds, in company with Agate Road, per Daily Racing Form clocker David Norton, who caught the team’s final quarter in 23.18 seconds. Fierceness, under John Velazquez, galloped out stronger of the pair going five furlongs in 1:01.37 and six furlongs in 1:15.07.

Fierceness, who finished third as the favorite in the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream on Feb. 3, is still on target for the Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby on March 30.

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“He’s had two outstanding works back-to-back so we’re going to stick to our original game plan,” Pletcher said. “He had a legitimate excuse in the Holy Bull – he got slammed pretty hard from both sides at the start. He had to be hustled pretty hard to the position we wanted, thought he was good enough to overcome whatever happened. Still, a pretty rough trip. He’s shown that he can rebound from a less-than-stellar performance so hopefully he can do that again.”

Agate Road, who finished second in the Sam F. Davis at Tampa on Feb. 10, will not run back in Saturday’s Grade 3, $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby. Agate Road is being considered for either the Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby or the Grade 3, $700,000 Jeff Ruby Stakes at Turfway Park, both on March 23.

In the Tampa Derby, Pletcher is planning to run Heartened, a 4 1/2-length maiden winner at that track on Feb. 10, and Bail Us Out, who won a 1 1/16-mile maiden race over Gulfstream’s synthetic surface on Feb. 3. Heartened and Bail Us Out were scheduled to work on Saturday to finalize their status for the race.

Antiquarian, who in his second start won a 1 1/16-mile maiden race at Fair Grounds on Feb. 17, will likely return to that track for the Louisiana Derby, Pletcher said. On Friday, Antiquarian worked a half-mile in 50.13 seconds in company with Noted.

Tuscan Sky, a son of Vino Rosso who is 2 for 2, including an allowance win at Fair Grounds on Feb. 17, worked a half-mile in 49.83 seconds with Born Noble. Plans for both of horses are not yet finalized.

In regards to Tuscan Sky, Pletcher said, “He’s in a position to run whenever we feel like we’ve identified the best spot for him.”

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