Todd Pletcher likens his typical hectic fall with his usual frenetic spring.
“They're actually very similar – April and May and September and October. Similar,” the Hall of Fame trainer said this week when asked which season was easier to navigate.
Pletcher busy autumn includes a big day Saturday at Parx Racing, when he runs three fillies in the co-featured Grade 1, $1 million Cotillion Stakes and a bevy of others on the undercard. Pletcher entered 10 horses on the betPARX Pennsylvania Derby and Cotillion Day card, and with other runners in New York and Kentucky, and breezers for major stakes down the road there simply isn't enough of one man to go around.
“Like always, you need to be in about three places at once,” Pletcher said.
Pletcher's Cotillion trio could spark a big day, which will start early when he breezes Horse of the Year candidate and Breeders' Cup Classic contender Life Is Good at Saratoga Race Course. Pletcher runs Goddess of Fire, Green Up, and Shahama in the 1 1/16-mile Cotillion, a race he's won three times.
“Looks like a busy day and hopefully we can have some luck,” Pletcher said.
Green Up, 6-1 on the morning line for owner Team Valor International, rides a four-race win streak into the Cotillion. The daughter of Upstart defeated Interstatedaydream and Cotillion entrant Morning Matcha last time out in the Aug. 23 Cathryn Sophia Stakes at Parx.
“The obvious question here is it's a step up in class,” Pletcher said. “She seemed to really enjoy herself at Parx last time. You will see some horses that don't love the surface there, so it's always encouraging when you have one that will run well over it.”
Red Oak Stable homebred Goddess of Fire, third in the Grade 1 Alabama last time and 5-1 on the line; and Shahama, winner of the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks and 8-1; both make their first starts at Parx.
Goddess of Fire finished 6 1/4 lengths behind stablemate Nest and 2 lengths behind Cotillion entrant and Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath in the Alabama, racing with blinkers for the first time in her nine-start career. The daughter of Mineshaft runs in blinkers again Saturday.
“It seemed to lock her in a little bit,” Pletcher said. “The blinkers maybe helped a little last time. We also hope cutting her back from a mile and a quarter she can come with a little stronger late run.”
KHK Racing's Shahama, unbeaten in four starts in Dubai before coming to the U.S. this spring, won the Monmouth Oaks in late July after a second in the Grade 2 Mother Goose and a sixth in the Kentucky Oaks. Pletcher briefly considered the Alabama for Shahama, but with Nest and Goddess of Fire in the field, didn't think about it long after the Monmouth Oaks.
“We've been targeting this since then and she's trained well for this,” Pletcher said of the Cotillion. “I'm sure she'll try hard like she always does and, hopefully, she can take another step forward.
“With the Alabama, we had Nest in there; then when it looked like a short field we decided to give it a try with Goddess of Fire and a couple more jumped in late. So, we said 'let's stay on target with this race for Shahama.' We felt like with Shahama, to get the opportunity to run in a Grade 1 and not have to run against Nest, and a couple of her other stablemates, that this was the spot.”
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