Life Is Good | Horse Racing Free Tips

Pletcher, Mott Breeders’ Cup Brigades Put In ‘Big Breezes’ At Belmont

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher oversaw multiple Breeders' Cup aspirants breezing over the Belmont training track Friday morning.

“When you're preparing for the Breeders Cup, they're all important, but these were big breezes this morning,” Pletcher said. “We'll come back next weekend and do a little bit less with them.”

Spendthrift Farm's Following Sea, a winner of the Grade 2 Vosburgh on October 9 last out, went to the track at 6:30 a.m. and worked a half-mile in 49.73 over the fast track.

“I liked it,” Pletcher said of the breeze. “It seemed like he bounced out of the Vosburgh very well. It was a very easy breeze for him this morning. We weren't looking to do a whole lot with him this morning. I was very happy.”

Although Following Sea earned an automatic entry into the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint in capturing the Vosburgh, a “Win And You're In” event, Pletcher said plans for the son of Runhappy remain in flux.

“We wanted to see today's work and then we'll talk to the Spendthrift guys about it,” Pletcher said. “We're under no pressure to make a decision right away. We'll give him the rest of the week and continue to monitor how he's doing.”

Graded stakes winners Life Is Good and Mind Control logged solo works at roughly 7:45 a.m. over the training track. An in-hand winner of the Grade 2 Kelso on September 25, CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm's Life Is Good went a sharp half-mile in 47.83 seconds – the second fastest of 41 recorded works at the distance.

Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables' Mind Control, winner of the Parx Dirt Mile last out on September 25, went five furlongs in 1:01.27. Both horses are on target for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

“Typical works for them,” Pletcher said. “Life Is Good is a very impressive horse to watch breeze. It looks like he's doing everything very effortlessly and then you look down at the clock and go, 'Wow'. He was rolling right along. He did it in hand throughout.”

The Parx Dirt Mile was the first two-turn start for Mind Control, a 5-year-old son of Stay Thirsty, since finishing off the board in the 2018 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He captured the Grade 2 John A. Nerud on July 4 at Belmont Park in his first start for Pletcher two starts earlier.

“He's coming off a good win,” Pletcher said. “He's trained with good energy like he always does. He had an impressive breeze today and I like where he's at.”

Shadwell Stable's three-time Grade 1-winner Malathaat, a blue-blooded sophomore daughter of Curlin, worked at 9:30 a.m. following the renovation break covering five furlongs in 1:01.63 in preparation for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff.

“I thought she worked great today. She's just very impressive,” Pletcher said. “She keeps going and going and gallops out super. I think the time in between races has done her well. She's put on some weight and she seems very fit and happy.”

Malathaat has captured a trio of Grade 1 events this year, including the Ashland at Keeneland, Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs and Alabama at Saratoga.

On Thursday morning, Pletcher worked his 2-year-old Breeders' Cup hopefuls, which include Annapolis [Juvenile Turf], Commandperformance [Juvenile], and Double Thunder [Juvenile].

Bass Stables homebred Annapolis, winner of the Grade 2 Pilgrim, and Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Grade 1 Champagne runner-up Commandperformance each went five furlongs in 1:02.02 and 1:01.02, respectively.

Phoenix Thoroughbreds' Double Thunder, runner up in the Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland, went a half-mile with blinkers on in 49.98 seconds.

“Everyone looked great this morning and came out of their works in good shape,” Pletcher said.

In non-Breeders' Cup related news from the Pletcher barn, the veteran conditioner said Donegal Racing's Mo Donegal, who broke his maiden going 1 1/16 miles on Thursday at Belmont, will likely target the Grade 2, $250,000 Remsen on December 4 at Aqueduct.

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Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott is training a number of his contenders for the upcoming Breeders' Cup, slated for November 5-6 at Del Mar, over the Oklahoma dirt and turf training tracks at Saratoga Race Course.

Mott, a 10-time Breeders' Cup winner, could look to add to his totals with Art Collector [Classic], War Like Goddess [Filly and Mare Turf] Horologist [Distaff], Channel Maker [Turf] and Casa Creed [Mile/Turf Sprint].

“We have a few [Breeders' Cup horses] that will be one of the first four choices in their races and then a few who are on the outside looking in types of longshots, but all of them are doing well and that's all you can ask for,” said Mott's son and assistant trainer Riley Mott.

Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector worked five furlongs in 1:01.85 Friday over the Oklahoma dirt training track.

The 4-year-old Bernardini colt is in the midst of a three-race win streak, including scores in the Alydar on August 6 at the Spa, the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic on August 27 and the Grade 1 Woodward on October 2 at Belmont.

“He looks good and he's a willing horse,” Riley Mott said. “He came out of his last race extremely well; he'll have to if he's going to run against the big boys in the Classic.”

There's a Chance Stable, Medallion Racing Abbondanza Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher's Horologist finished ninth in last year's Distaff at Keeneland. She breezed a half-mile in 47.84 Friday over the Oklahoma dirt training track.

Mott said the 5-year-old daughter of Gemologist's runner-up effort last out in the Grade 2 Beldame could be a good omen as three of his father's five Distaff winners completed the exacta in the prestigious race ahead of Breeders' Cup glory, including Royal Delta [2011], Unrivalled Belle [2010] and Ajina [1997].

“She ran second last time and is in with an outside chance,” Mott said. “I was talking to my dad the other day and we have won three Distaffs after having finished second in the Beldame. So that's a good omen.”

Mott also saddled Escena to victory in the 1998 Distaff off a sixth-place finish in the Personal Ensign, while Royal Delta's 2012 Distaff score followed a win in that year's Personal Ensign.

Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, R. A. Hill Stable and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Channel Maker finished third in last year's Turf – his best effort in three appearances in the turf marathon after finishing off-the-board in 2018-19.
The reigning Champion Turf Male, a four-time Grade 1-winner, finished fourth last out in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on October 9 at Belmont. He worked a half-mile in 48.75 Friday over the Oklahoma dirt training track.

“He's doing well. He's one of the ones that will have to regain his form from last year to be competitive. [The Breeders' Cup] is still the plan,” Mott said.

George Krikorian's War Like Goddess, a 4-year-old daughter of English Channel, has flourished this year, winning 6-of-7 starts including her last four in graded company taking the Grade 3 Orchid in March at Gulfstream and the Grade 3 Bewitch in April at Keeneland ahead of scores in the Grade 2 Glens Falls and Grade 1 Flower Bowl this summer at Saratoga.

She breezed five-eighths in 1:02.55 Friday over the Oklahoma training turf.

“She's doing great and we are very excited about her,” Mott said. “She'll be a top three horse in her race, and deservedly so. She's had a great year.”

LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable's Casa Creed earned a berth to the five-furlong Turf Sprint with a win in the Grade 1 Jackpocket Jaipur in June at Belmont, but is targeting a return engagement in the Mile – a race the 5-year-old Jimmy Creed bay finished 12th in last year. He breezed five furlongs in 1:02.55 Friday on the Oklahoma training turf.

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Following Sea Earns 100 Beyer Speed Figure For Vosburgh, Mind Control To Start In BC Dirt Mile

Spendthrift Farm's homebred Following Sea matched a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure for his impressive gate-to-wire score in Saturday's $250,000 Grade 2 Vosburgh at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Piloted by Joel Rosario from the outermost post 4 in the six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up, Following Sea broke alertly and established command through splits of :22.59 and a half-mile in :45.24 on the fast main track.

Confidently handled throughout, Following Sea drew off to a 4 3/4-length score over multiple graded stakes winning millionaire Firenze Fire in a final time of 1:09.20.

The victory provided a “Win and You're In” berth to the $2 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint on Nov. 6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., and also secured Following Sea's sire Runhappy his first graded stakes winner.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said he was pleased with the confident score by the lightly-raced sophomore.

“I wasn't 100 percent sure how the pace scenario was going to unfold,” Pletcher said. “We had the benefit of drawing an outside post, so we didn't have to make any strong commitment one way or the other. When he broke as well as he did, Joel asked him to go and he made the lead pretty effortlessly. I felt pretty confident at that point that he'd run well. He's come out of the race really well.”

Following Sea garnered a 100 Beyer in a 6 1/2-furlong allowance sprint against older company on June 3 in his first start for Pletcher. The talented bay was elevated to second in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Haskell in July at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., before turning back to seven furlongs and finishing third in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on August 28 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Pletcher said Following Sea could stretch out again in future engagements.

“He's a very talented horse and trains very impressively. He's also galloped out in a fashion that would indicate he might want to run longer at some point,” Pletcher said. “He's very fast and his two wins for us at Belmont were pretty impressive. It seemed like he had a lot left in the tank yesterday. He's a leggy colt, so I think he could continue to improve.”

Pletcher said no decision has been made as of yet regarding a start in the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

“We had a brief exchange [with the connections] after the race and haven't committed to anything,” Pletcher said. “Obviously, being a 'Win and You're In' for the Sprint is attractive, but we'll see how the horse bounces back and talk to all the connections and come up with a game plan.”

Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables' multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire Mind Control breezed a half-mile in :50.17 Friday over the Belmont dirt training track in his first work back following a game head score over Silver State in the Parx Dirt Mile on September 25.

“He looked like he was beaten and fought back gamely. It was impressive,” Pletcher said. “He's come back and trained with good energy and enthusiasm like he normally does.”

Mind Control earned a “Win and You're In” berth to the Breeders' Cup Sprint for his Grade 2 John A. Nerud score here in July but Pletcher said following discussions with Red Oak Stable racing manager Rick Sacco that they have decided to enter the 5-year-old Stay Thirsty horse in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile on November 6 at Del Mar.

“I spoke with Rick Sacco after his breeze here the other day and we're going to give the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile a try,” Pletcher said. “I think as he's gotten older he's indicated that he wants to stretch out a little bit.”

Mind Control, who sports a ledger of 23-9-3-4 with purse earnings in excess of $1.4 million, captured the 2018 Grade 1 Hopeful and 2019 Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial at Saratoga. Since being transferred to Pletcher this summer, Mind Control has won 2-of-3 starts, including a head score over Firenze Fire in the seven-furlong Nerud.

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Pletcher will also be represented in the Dirt Mile by CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm's Life Is Good. The sophomore son of Into Mischief worked a half-mile Friday in :48.84 over the Belmont dirt training track in his first work back following a decisive 5 1/2-length score in the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap on September 25 at Belmont.

“He's doing exceptionally well. He's a very impressive horse to watch train and his breeze was effortless,” Pletcher said.

Pletcher said the running style of Life Is Good, who captured the Grade 3 Sham and Grade 2 San Felipe at Santa Anita this winter for his former conditioner Bob Baffert, should complement that of his stablemate in the Dirt Mile.

“Life is Good is a very fast horse and I'd imagine he would be a significant pace factor and Mind Control would settle off the pace a little bit,” Pletcher said.

Shadwell Stable's multiple Grade 1-winner Malathaat breezed five-eighths in 1:01.42 Friday over the Belmont dirt training track. Pletcher said the regally-bred Curlin filly, out of the Grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Dreaming of Julia, is on target for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff on November 6.

“Just like always, she's a star. She trained well and galloped out strongly,” Pletcher said. “We have a couple more breezes to go, but we're very happy with where she is.”

Malathaat has won 6 of 7 starts, including Grade 1 scores this year in the Ashland at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.; the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.; and the Alabama at Saratoga.

StarLadies Racing's Jordan's Leo breezed a half-mile in :48.55 Saturday on the Belmont inner turf in preparation for the $200,000 Grade 2 Sands Point, a nine-furlong turf test for sophomore fillies on October 16.

By Malibu Moon, the $150,000 Fasig-Tipton July Kentucky Yearling Sale purchase posted a smart nine-furlong turf allowance win in August at the Spa ahead of a prominent second last out in the one-mile Pebbles October 9 on the Belmont lawn.

“She worked well yesterday,” Pletcher said. “I thought her effort in the Pebbles was a good performance, so we'll give her a chance to try again.”

Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Westerberg's Sweet as Pie, a 2-year-old Tapit grey, garnered a 77 Beyer for a rallying 1 1/4-length score sprinting 6 1/2-furlongs in her debut Friday over Big Sandy.

“We were optimistic going in that she would have a good debut,” Pletcher said. “She drew the rail – which is always a concern going 6 1/2-furlongs – but I thought she handled it very professionally and finished up well.”

Out of the stakes-winning Smart Strike mare Treasuring, Sweet as Pie was purchased for $490,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase.

Sweet as Pie will now target the $150,000 Tempted, a one-turn mile that will be contested on November 5 over Big Sandy following Saturday's announcement regarding the three-day extension of the Belmont fall meet.

Pletcher said if all goes well, Sweet as Pie will continue to the nine-furlong $250,000 Grade 2 Demoiselle on December 4 at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., which offers 10-4-2-1 qualifying points for the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks.

“She has a pedigree that suggests she'd want to run further,” Pletcher said. “It's a good progression for her and the Tempted and Demoiselle could be a nice path for her.”

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Glut of Early Speed in The Classic? Not So Fast

The Week in Review

We're inside the five-week mark to the Breeders' Cup, and the top five contenders for the GI Classic all won their final graded stakes prep starts over the last two weekends.

This past Saturday, three of those horses wired 1 1/8-miles graded stakes and earned roughly equal Beyer Speed Figures of 107, 107 and 104.

At first blush, those performances look similar on paper, and it's tempting to make the leap to say the Classic will be glutted with early gunners who could hook each other into a sacrificial, multi-horse speed duel.

But closer scrutiny suggests that not all of those Classic aspirants truly need the lead to succeed.

Parsing the front-running wins by Medina Spirit (Protonico), Art Collector (Bernardini) and Knicks Go (Paynter) reveals that each is dangerous for different reasons heading into the Classic.

So which of those three produced the most authoritative wire job on Saturday?

The narrow advantage goes to Medina Spirit in the GI Awesome Again S. at Santa Anita Park.

Pace elements of his performance stand out from the other two. Medina Spirit ran the fastest opening quarter mile of those three nine-furlong stakes (:23.34), yet also uncorked the quickest final furlong (:12.62).

In between, however, jockey John Velazquez expertly gave Medina Spirit a breather in the fourth quarter-mile segment. That soft internal fraction of :25.29 was a full 1.33 seconds slower than the :23.96 fourth quarter cranked out by the under-pressure Art Collector in the GI Woodward S. at Belmont Park and 1.03 seconds slower than the :24.26 clocking produced by home-free Knicks Go in the GIII Lukas Classic S. at Churchill Downs.

Back in February, when the overachieving (based on auction prices of $1,000 at OBSWIN and $35,000 at OBSOPN) Medina Spirit was still only about fourth-best on trainer Bob Baffert's GI Kentucky Derby depth chart, Baffert expressed a belief that this colt was more effective pressing the pace rather than setting it.

That theory got abandoned after Medina Spirit seized the lead when no one else was keen to take up the early running in the Derby. His withstood several mid-race attacks then held off a cavalry charge of legit closers in the stretch to win over 10 furlongs.

Although Medina Spirit looked like a spent horse when running a no-impact third on the lead in the GI Preakness S., he rebounded capably to wire the Aug. 29 Shared Belief S. at Del Mar, then upped the ante with a career-best 107 Beyer in the Awesome Again S. while facing older horses for the first time.

Heading into the Classic, Medina Spirit has now won at 1 1/4 miles, over the Breeders' Cup surface (Del Mar), and against his elders. In sports wagering, there is a maxim about not betting against overachievers who keep winning “must” or “elimination” games. Plucky, hard-trying Medina Spirit is the pari-mutuel equivalent.

One irony that is unlikely to play out in the Classic is a rematch with 'TDN Rising Star' Life Is Good, the Into Mischief colt who is the only rival to have beaten Medina Spirit twice this year. That former Baffert trainee was the early Derby favorite until he got sidelined in March by ankle chip surgery. Now trained by Todd Pletcher, Life Is Good is instead aiming for the GI Dirt Mile, chiefly because he's never raced beyond 1 1/16 miles.

Work of 'Art'

Art Collector wasn't a major presence in the Classic picture prior to his 107-Beyer score on Saturday. Yet he's now riding a three-race win streak since being turned over to trainer Bill Mott. One of those wins was in an ungraded stakes at Saratoga and another was in the GII Charles Town Classic. He wasn't even favored for his gate-to-wire Woodward S. win.

But the professionalism Art Collector displayed under sustained pressure marks him as a sneaky-good Breeders' Cup contender who is just now rounding back into the form he displayed last year before a minor foot injury caused him to miss the pandemic-delayed Derby in September.

For the first time since 2005, the Woodward was run at Belmont instead of Saratoga, which meant that it was once again contested around a one-turn configuration. Art Collector never had to swat back multiple attacks on Saturday. But that's largely because he continuously held the all-out competition at bay with a workmanlike, grind-it-out win on the front end.

Art Collector's Woodward rates a distinct edge in terms of field quality among Saturday's preps for the Classic. While Medina Spirit's next closest competitor was a 54-1 shot and Knicks Go was 1-10 in the betting against five softies who are unlikely for the Breeders' Cup, Art Collector was pulsing away from the likes of odds-on Maxfield (Street Sense) and several other graded stakes stalwarts.

The Woodward win was the fifth in Mott's career, the most ever for a trainer in that stakes. The victory also gave Art Collector the unique distinction of having won three straight nine-furlong stakes under three different track configurations: two turns (Saratoga), three turns (Charles Town), and one turn (Belmont).

Art Collector has crossed the finish wire first nine times (one DQ), and in seven of them he has either led or pressed in second for most of the trip. But his GII Blue Grass S. win from last July provides a prime example of how this colt is fully capable of executing stalking tactics: He applied pressure from third behind dueling leaders, then ratcheted up the tempo to wrest control through a length-of-stretch slugfest.

Despite all of these pluses, Mott will be hunting for a new jockey for the Breeders' Cup, because winning rider Luis Saez is committed to ride likely Classic favorite Essential Quality (Tapit).

In an August 2020 pre-Derby analysis I wrote that “Art Collector looms like a quietly intimidating bruiser, speaking softly while carrying a big kick.”

Some 13 months later, I'll stick with that assessment heading into the Classic.

Fast, but Can He Last?

Knicks Go (104 Beyer) had the easiest tour around the track on Saturday among the three Classic contenders. He utterly toyed with overmatched competition, allowing them to creep closer before edging away at several points in a largely even-paced race.

His final eighth (while wrapped up and cruising home solo through the stretch) was a respectable :12.69, only .07 seconds slower than the last-furlong clocking turned in by Medina Spirit.

And Knick's Go's final time of 1:47.85 was only .57 seconds off Victory Gallop's 22-year-old track record.

Beyond those numbers, Knicks Go carries himself with a confident swagger that doesn't immediately register when watching Medina Spirit or Art Collector.

But of those three, it is also evident that Knicks Go is the horse whose success is most closely tied to attaining the top spot at the head of affairs.

Knicks Go has nine lifetime wins. Eight of them sport “all ones” running lines indicating he was on the lead at every point of call. The only (very minor) deviation from that pattern was in Knicks Go's career debut, when he was second at the start, then rushed up to grab the lead.

It was one year ago—Oct. 4, 2020, to be precise—that Knicks Go wired an $80,000 optional claimer/3x allowance at Keeneland by 10 1/4 lengths while making just his second start for trainer Brad Cox. It was then on to the Dirt Mile, which seemed a touch ambitious considering the Breeders' Cup would only be the gray's third start off an extended layoff.

Knicks Go won the Dirt Mile with unexpected aplomb and then the GI Pegasus World Cup by open lengths (both 108 Beyers) before faltering in a pair of one-turn 1 1/8 mile races, the $20-million Saudi Cup and the GI Metropolitan H. This summer he regrouped with easy two-turn scores in the GIII Cornhusker H. at Prairie Meadows and GI Whitney S. at Saratoga.

But Knicks Go's Beyer numbers have tailed off (113, 111, 104 last three races) even as his winning ways have resumed. That's not an enviable pattern for a horse who is locked into a set style of running and has never before attempted 10 furlongs, the distance of the Classic.

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Pletcher: Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile Possible Target For Life Is Good, Mind Control

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said he saw just what he had hoped from talented 3-year-old Life Is Good, who secured a third graded stakes victory when defeating elders in Saturday's $300,000 Grade 2 Kelso over a one-turn mile at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The son of leading sire Into Mischief was never in doubt throughout the journey, commanding the compact field through every point of call under Irad Ortiz, Jr.'s expert engineering and glided home a 5 ½-length winner.

Life Is Good garnered a 99 Beyer Speed Figure for the win.

“We were very pleased with he way he ran. He seemed to settle pretty nicely,” said Pletcher. “He got into a good rhythm and Irad asked him at the top of the stretch to go along and he did. He dropped right down to the rail and I was happy with it.”

Pletcher said Life Is Good, owned by CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm, is a likely candidate for the $2 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile on November 5 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

“That's what we had talked about beforehand and yesterday definitely encouraged us to continue that path,” Pletcher said. “I'll talk to all the connections, and we'll firm up a plan, but that's what we talked about before.”

Favored in all five of his career starts, Life Is Good was an impressive three-time winner in California while racing for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, including victories in the Grade 3 Sham on January 2 and Grade 2 San Felipe on March 6, both at Santa Anita. He returned to action in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on August 28 at Saratoga where he was a game second to Jackie's Warrior.

Pletcher took a similar route with 2011 Kelso winner Uncle Mo, who was second in the H. Allen Jerkens [then run as the King's Bishop] off a layoff en route to an in-hand Kelso score.

“I've thought about that, they both were coming back in the same two races off a layoff,” Pletcher said. “They were both talented horses and have speed and ability to carry it over a distance. They were two super star horses.”

Pletcher could arrive at the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile with at least two solid contenders after Mind Control displayed a game effort in the Parx Dirt Mile at its namesake track in Bensalem, Pa., on Saturday. The 5-year-old Stay Thirsty bay registered his first triple digit speed figure in 23 lifetime starts, garnering a 104 Beyer when fending off Grade 1 Met Mile winner Silver State in deep stretch to win by a head.

A graded stakes winner in four straight years, Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stable's Mind Control made his first start going two turns since finishing a distant seventh in the 2018 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs. Nevertheless, Pletcher said he was confident that two turns would not be out of reach.

“He was game,” Pletcher said. “That other horse [Silver State] looked like he had him, but he fought right back. It was good to see him get the win. We thought he would handle two turns and we were happy to see him do it.”

Pletcher said the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile is under consideration but not etched in stone for Mind Control, who also earned an entry into the Breeders' Cup Sprint with a victory in the Grade 2 John A. Nerud – a Breeders' Cup “Win And You're In” qualifier.

“I have to talk to [Red Oak Stable racing manager] Rick Sacco. He wanted to run in the Parx Mile to see where we are,” Pletcher said. “I'll give it a few days, talk with Rick and come up with a game plan.”

Mind Control, an earner of over $1.4 million, has won all six of his graded stakes scores at NYRA tracks. Following his juvenile season in 2018, which saw Mind Control garner an upset score in the Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga, he secured victories in the Grade 3 Bay Shore at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., before a triumphant return to the Spa in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial while racing for trainer Gregg Sacco.

After earning Grade 3 wins at Aqueduct in the 2020 Toboggan and Tom Fool, Mind Control snapped an eight-race losing streak in his debut for Pletcher in the John A. Nerud.

Pletcher breezed impressive debut maiden winner Annapolis over the Belmont inner turf in company with dual surface graded stakes winner Always Shopping. Both horses finished their half-mile moves in :48.00 – the second fastest of 20 recorded works at the distance.

A Bass Stables homebred, Annapolis is on target for the $200,000 Grade 2 Pilgrim on October 3.

“He worked great. Hopefully everything goes smoothly this weekend and we'll target the Pilgrim,” Pletcher said.

Annapolis, a bay son of War Front out of graded stakes-winning Unbridled's Song mare My Miss Sophia, was an impressive winner at first asking over Saratoga's inner turf on September 4, where he made up 7 ¼ lengths to secure a 4 ½-length debut win, garnering a 74 Beyer.

Pletcher added that Always Shopping, a Repole Stable homebred daughter of Awesome Again, will eye the $300,000 Grade 3 Fasig-Tipton Waya on October 3.

Also on the work tab for Pletcher was Repole Stable's Midnight Worker, who breezed a half-mile in :48.44 on the inner turf. He could make his debut on grass in the $150,000 Grade 3 Futurity on October 10 at Belmont Park – a “Win And You're In” qualifier for the $1 million Grade 2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on November 5 at Del Mar.

“We worked him last week [on the turf] and I thought he worked okay, but I think today he worked better,” Pletcher said. “We're confident after today that he handled it pretty well so that opens up a few options, the Futurity being one, also considering the [Grade 2] Bourbon at Keeneland.”

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Pletcher saddled two juveniles Nest and Overstep to debut scores on Saturday at Belmont.

Nest, a Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, and Michael House-owned daughter of Curlin, was a five-length winner going 1 1/16 miles over the main track in the Saturday opener, producing a 70 Beyer for the score.

The $150,000 Tempted on November 4 at Aqueduct could be an option moving forward, according to Pletcher.

“We're very pleased with the debut,” Pletcher said. “She handled a lot of ground which was good to see. I need to go over it thoroughly with Mike Repole and Aron Wellman [of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners], but probably something like the Tempted would make the most sense.”

Five races later, Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Overstep, a New York-bred son of Into Mischief, dazzled going six furlongs with a 6 ¾-length win over the main track.

Pletcher said the bay colt, bred by Chester and Mary Broman, could target the $250,000 Sleepy Hollow on October 30 for New York-bred juveniles going a one-turn mile.

“I thought he was impressive,” Pletcher said. “He was well in hand the last part. I think something like the Sleepy Hollow would make the most sense for him.”

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