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Belmont, Travers Winner Birdstone Pensioned To Old Friends

Belmont Stakes and Travers winner Birdstone has been pensioned to Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Center in Georgetown, KY.

Michael Blowen, founder and president of Old Friends, made the announcement Friday.

A homebred for owner Marylou Whitney and trained by Nick Zito, Birdstone captured the G1 Champagne Stakes as a two-year-old in 2003. Birdstone ran up the track in the Kentucky Derby and sat out the Preakness, before surprising most of the sell-out crowd when he got up in the final yards in the Belmont Stakes to ruin Smarty Jones' try for the Triple Crown. That summer, at Saratoga Race Course, Birdstone proved that the Belmont was no fluke when he added a victory in the Travers Stakes to his impressive resume.

The son of Grindstone, out of the Storm Bird mare Dear Birdie, Birdstone retired from racing in 2004 after a chip was found in his left front ankle after his final start was in the GR1 Breeders' Cup Classic. Birdstone retired with five victories from nine starts and earnings of $1,575,600.

He spent his stallion career at Gainesway Farm in Lexington, KY where he became one of very few sires to have produced a Kentucky Derby winner in their first crop when Mine That Bird captured the 2009 Run for the Roses at 50-to-1 upset in 2009. That same year, his son Summer Bird repeated his sire's efforts by winning both the Belmont and Travers Stakes.

“We are so grateful to John Hendrickson for allowing Old Friends to care for Birdstone in his post-breeding career,” said Blowen. “He's a living tribute to the late Marylou Whitney, and we plan to carry on her great contributions to the aftercare of both humans and horses,” he added. “We're extremely grateful to John for trusting us to care for his tremendous stakes winner. Birdstone had a great life at Gainesway and we plan to continue that tradition at Old Friends.”

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Preakness Over Derby? Pletcher-Trained Dr Post ‘Leaning’ Away From Louisville Trip

Trainer Todd Pletcher may be without a Kentucky Derby starter for the first time since 2003, reports drf.com. His trainee Dr Post is qualified for the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs, but owner Vinnie Viola is leaning away from sending the Belmont runner-up and Haskell third-place finisher to Louisville, Ky.

“We haven't made a final decision yet,” Pletcher told drf.com. “Wait and see how things go this week. I would say it's leaning more towards not going than going.”

Instead of the Kentucky Derby, Dr Post may be pointed to the Preakness Stakes on Oct. 3, or there is a chance he could run in the Jim Dandy Stakes on Sept. 5.

Dr Post, by Quality Road, has a record of 2-1-1 from five starts for earnings of $361,635.

Pletcher ‘Very Happy’ With Dr Post’s Friday Work At Saratoga

Grade 1 Belmont Stakes runner-up Dr Post resumed serious preparations for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on Friday morning at Saratoga for trainer Todd Pletcher.

Under mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s, the 3-year-old son of Quality Road went to the track following the renovation break, and completed his five-eighths work in company with stablemate Money Moves in 1:00.75 over a fast main track.

“It was a good work for him today. He galloped out well and I was very happy with what I saw out of him,” said Pletcher, who won the Kentucky Derby with Super Saver (2010) and Always Dreaming (2017).

Pletcher said that Dr Post would work once more next Friday, August 28 over the Saratoga main track before shipping to Churchill Downs.

Owned by Vincent Viola's St. Elias Stable, Dr Post will arrive at the Kentucky Derby off a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational on July 16 at Monmouth Park after running second to likely Kentucky Derby favorite Tiz the Law in the Belmont Stakes. His lone stakes victory to date took place in the Unbridled on April 26 at Gulfstream Park, where he was a 1 ½-length winner.

Pletcher holds the record for the most Kentucky Derby contestants, having saddled 54 contenders dating back to 2000, where he sent out Impeachment (third), More Than Ready (fourth) and Trippi (11th). He has finished second twice and third on four occasions, and his total number of starts is five more than the next-closest competitor in Hall of Famer and Pletcher mentor D. Wayne Lukas, who has sent out 49 starters.

Also on Friday, Pletcher sent out Robert and Lawana Low's Sweet Melania for a breeze over the Oklahoma training turf course, where she completed a half-mile move in 48.72 seconds in preparation for an attempt at a third graded stakes win in the Grade 3, $100,000 Lake George on Friday, August 28.

The daughter of 2015 Triple Crown winner and second crop sire American Pharoah was an easy gate-to-wire winner of the last out Grade 3 Wonder Again over the Widener turf at Belmont Park. As a 2-year-old, she won the Grade 2 Jessamine at Keeneland en route to a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita.

“She worked well and finished up nicely,” Pletcher said.

Bred in Kentucky by St Elias Stables, Sweet Melania is out of the Discreet Cat mare Sweet N Discreet and is a direct descendant of prolific broodmare Lassie Dear. She was bought for $600,000 from the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where she was consigned by Gainesway.

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Travers Third Max Player Moved To Hall Of Famer Asmussen’s Barn

George Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds' Max Player, third in both the Travers and the Belmont Stakes, has been transferred to the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, according to the Daily Racing Form.

The 3-year-old son of Honor Code had been trained by Linda Rice, who saddled the colt to a record of two wins, a second, a two thirds from five starts for earnings of $373,500. Max Player won the G3 Withers Stakes to kick off his sophomore season, then finished third behind Tiz the Law in both the G1 Belmont and the G1 Travers to earn a total of 60 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Now, Max Player will be vanned from Rice's Belmont base to Asmussen's barn at Churchill Downs on Wednesday.

“I definitely wanted someone with experience and infrastructure at Churchill,” Hall told drf.com. “I wanted someone who could take the horse to Churchill right away and to spend some time with the horse prior to the race and give him his best shot at having a good race at that track.”