Todd Pletcher | Horse Racing Free Tips

Pletcher-Trained Basin Will Try To Spring The Upset In Salvator Mile

It isn't often that a Grade 1 winner trainer by Todd Pletcher gets overlooked in a stakes race. But with defending champion Pirate's Punch and the talented Ny Traffic heading the field for Saturday's Grade 3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park, that seems to be the case with Basin.

The 4-year-old son of Liam's Map, who won the Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga as a 2-year-old and then was second in the Arkansas Derby last year to Charlatan, will be making just his fourth start for Pletcher.

Fellow Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen had Basin for his first seven career starts.

A $150,000 yearling purchase who has earned $568,260 in 10 lifetime starts, Basin is coming off an eighth-place finish in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes on May 1 – though he was beaten just 3¾ lengths in that seven-furlong race.

“He wasn't beaten far at Churchill,” Pletcher said. “The whole field was two or three lengths apart. He got squeezed out late but he was just starting to not hold his spot late. I thought he ran competitively in a pretty deep field.”

In three career starts for Pletcher, Basin, owned by Jackpot Farm, shows a second in the Grade 2 Amsterdam last August at Saratoga and a win in the Sir Shackleton Stakes at Gulfstream Park on March 27.

His best efforts, with the exception of the Arkansas Derby, have come at seven furlongs or less. But Pletcher is confident the two-turn Salvator Mile, which has attracted a field of 10, won't be an issue.

“We felt like a two-turn, one-mile race suits him well,” Pletcher said. “He trains like the two turns and longer won't be an issue. I felt like timing-wise this was (a) good (spot) and he's had good breezes since the Churchill race.”

Pirate's Punch, who notched a two-length victory in the Salvator Mile last year, has not raced since the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 7. Trainer Grant Forster said the 5-year-old gelding had a chip surgically removed from one of his knees following that race but that he has trained exceptionally well during the time off.

Ny Traffic, second by nose to 2020 Horse of the Year Authentic in last year's TVG.com Haskell Stakes, turned in an impressive first race back for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. as a prep for this race. He won an allowance optional claimer at Belmont Park by 6 ¾ lengths on May 2.

The 74th running of the Salvator Mile, which carries a purse of $150,000, will go as the 10th race on a 13-race card. First race post time is 12:15 p.m.

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June 12 Insights

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency

BLUEBLOODS APLENTY IN BELMONT MSW
2nd-BEL, $90K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1m, 1:31p.m.
Five of the six horses set to line up in Belmont's second race Saturday are sophomore colts with big pedigrees and/or price tags. Vindictive (Uncle Mo) is the only one of that quintet making his career bow in this test for trainer Todd Pletcher. The $200,000 KEESEP purchase is out of MSW & GSP Exotic Bloom (Montbrook), who is also the dam of MGISW Stopchargingmaria (Tale of the Cat). Winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff for Pletcher, Stopchargingmaria summoned $4.4-million from Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm at the 2018 FTKNOV sale carrying a foal by Tapit. That colt, now named Fifty Chevy, debuts Sunday at Tokyo Racecourse. The deserving morning-line favorite in this affair is Summer Wind homebred Southern Flag (Union Rags), who missed by a neck in his track-and-trip debut May 14. The chestnut is out of a daughter of the farm's matriarch, SW Misty Hour (Miswaki). She is responsible for two more blue-hens in MGSW India (Hennessy), dam of MG1SW Mozu Ascot (Frankel {GB}) and SW 'TDN Rising Star' Kareena (Medaglia d'Oro); and SW Pilfer (Deputy Minister), dam of Grade I winners To Honor and Serve (Bernardini) and Angela Renee (Bernardini), as well as SW & GISP Elnaawi (Street Sense). Chad Brown saddles a pair of expensive colts in $2.1-million KEESEP buy Beatbox (Pioneerof the Nile) and $470,000 KEESEP purchase Miles D (Curlin). Beatbox checked in seventh in his seven-panel unveiling at Keeneland last October and receives Lasix for the first time here. The dark bay is a half to a pair of \fs21f1'TDN Rising Stars' in MGISW Guarana (Ghostzapper) and SW & GSP Magic Dance (More Than Ready). Their second dam is Distaff winner Pleasant Home (Seeking the Gold). Miles D also gets Lasix for the first time here after finishing fourth first out at this oval last October. He is out of an unraced daughter of MGISW My Flag (Easy Goer), dam of champion Storm Flag Flying (Storm Cat). Courtlandt Farms' $800,000 KEESEP acquisition Absolute Courage (Into Mischief) adds blinkers for this third start. Fourth on debut sprinting at Aqueduct Apr. 9, the bay was third last out in a six-furlong event at this oval May 7. TJCIS PPs

SEVEN-FIGURE MEDAG COLT DEBUTS IN NJ
11th-MTH, $45K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1 1/16mT, 4:58p.m.
About 3 1/2 hours after his year-younger half-brother and stablemate Vindictive (Uncle Mo) makes his career bow at Belmont, $2.1-million KEESEP buy Lumino (Medaglia d'Oro) makes his first trip to the post at the Jersey Shore. Their half-sister is three-time Grade I winner and multi-millionaire Stopchargingmaria (Tale of the Cat), who summoned six figures in the auction ring twice as a broodmare. TJCIS PPs

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Havre De Grace Daughter Graceful Princess Entered In Wednesday’s Delaware ‘Cap Prep

Whisper Hill Farm's Graceful Princess is among fourteen entered in the $100,000 Obeah Stakes at Delaware Park this Wednesday, June 9. The mile and a sixteenth affair is the local prep for the filly and mare summer classic – the mile-and-a-quarter Grade 2 Delaware Handicap to be run on Saturday, July 10.

Graceful Princess is a daughter of the 2011 Horse of the Year Havre de Grace. Havre de Grace, who broke her maiden at Delaware Park in 2009, won the Obeah Stakes before finishing second beaten a nose against her arch rival Blind Luck in the Delaware Handicap in 2011. Tapit, the sire of Graceful Princess, broke his maiden at Delaware Park in 2003 before winning the 2004 Wood Memorial.

In her only outing this year, Graceful Princess finished third beaten a neck in the mile and a sixteenth Grade 3 Doubledogdare Stakes at Keeneland in April 16.

“She has trained very well since the Doubledogdare,” said her trainer Todd Pletcher. “That was a huge effort and we are optimistic coming in.”

Last year, the 5-year-old Kentucky-bred had a record of a win from four starts. Her career record is two wins, a second and a third from 11 starts with earnings of $108,474.

Todd Pletcher has won the Obeah Stakes five times – Isola Piu Bella in 2005, Fleet Indian in 2006, Unbridled Belle in 2008 & 2009, and Love and Pride in 2012. Pletcher has used the Obeah Stakes as a prep for three of his four record equaling Delaware Handicap victories. In 2001, Irving's Baby ran third in the Obeah Stakes before winning the Delaware Handicap; in 2006, Fleet Indian won the Obeah Stakes before winning the DelCap; and in 2007, Unbridled Belle ran second in the Obeah Stakes before her Delaware Handicap score. In 2010, Life at Ten did not run in the Obeah Stakes before winning the Delaware Handicap.

The race is named in honor of the two-time Delaware Handicap winner in 1969 and 1970 and the dam of the Hall of Fame filly Go For Wand who was locally owned by Jane and Harry duPont's Christiana Stable. Horses finishing first, second, third or fourth in the Obeah Stakes will automatically earn a free nomination to the Delaware Handicap.

Since the Obeah Stakes was inaugurated in 1996, only the 2006 older female champion Fleet Indian and I'm a Chatterbox, who won the race in 2016, have won the race and followed with a victory in the Delaware Handicap. Two fillies have finished second in the Obeah and won the Delaware Handicap. They were Unbridled Belle in 2007 and Power Play in 1997. Three winners of the Obeah Stakes have followed by running second in the Delaware Handicap. They were 2011 Horse of the year Havre de Grace, Your Out in 2002 and Under the Rug in 2001.

$100,000 Obeah Stakes

PP	HORSE	OWNER	TRAINER	JOCKEY	Wg	OD
1	Shyza	Carguys Racing	John Servis	Mychel Sanchez	119	20-1
2	Crystall Ball	WinStar Stablemates	Rodolphe Brisset	Luis Saez	121	5-1
3	Bajan Girl	R. Stack & D. Walters	Rohan Crichton	Kendrick Carmouche	119	6-1
4	Promised Storm	Jennifer Truehart	Regina Brennan	Luis Ocasio	119	20-1
5	Jilted Bride	Bradley Thoroughbreds	Steven Asmussen	Jaime Rodriguez	123	12-1
6	Trolley Ride	James Eshleman	T. Bernard Houghton	Inoel Beato	119	20-1
7	Sweet Sami D	ABL Stable	Patrick McBurney	Paco Lopez	119	20-1
8	Miss Marissa	Cammarota Racing	James Ryerson	Daniel Centeno	119	8-1
9	Queen Nekia	Ken Copenhaver	Joseph Saffie Jr	J.C. Diaz Jr	123	7/2
10	Dream Marie	Miracle's International	Matthew Williams	Joe Bravo	119	15-1
11	Market Rumor	Bloch & Six Column	Ian Wilkes	Chris Landeros	119	20-1
12	Graceful Princess	Whisper Hill Farm	Todd Pletcher	Irad Ortiz Jr	119	9/2
13	Lucky Stride	Sonata Stable	Michael Trombetta	Julian Pimentel	123	15-1
14	Artfull Splatter	James Wolf	Kieron Magee	Carol Cedeno	119	15-1

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Ortiz Sidelined Two Weeks

Irad Ortiz, Jr., the leading rider at the current Belmont spring/summer meet, will be out of action for about two weeks after being unseated in Thursday's fifth race, agent Steve Rushing said. The 28-year-old, who has won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey for the past three years running, was transported to hospital for further evaluation and cleared.

“A CT scan and X-rays were negative,” said Rushing. “He will probably be out for two weeks.”

Ortiz was named to ride Known Agenda (Curlin) in Saturday's GI Belmont S. Trainer Todd Pletcher said a new rider for the GI Curlin Florida Derby winner would be named Saturday morning.

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