Todd Pletcher | Horse Racing Free Tips

The Week in Review: Nest Belongs in the Travers

For Nest (Curlin), the easy route to the Breeders' Cup includes a stop in the GI Alabama Aug 20. It's a prestigious race, has a $600,000 purse and Nest would be an odds-on favorite against many of the same horses she thrashed Saturday in the GI Coaching Club American Oaks. But what fun is that?

Owners Mike Repole, Michael House and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and trainer Todd Pletcher have already shown that they will think outside the box. They ran their filly in the GI Belmont S., where she finished second despite stumbling and getting bumped at the start. It was a huge effort and proved that she can handle herself if thrown into the mix with the sport's best 3-year-old males.

Yet, there had to be a sense of disappointment that she ran so well but lost. Now, there is a chance to make amends, one that could put Nest into the conversation when it comes to the Horse-of-the-Year picture. There's a race out there where she could make history and it's not the Alabama. Nest should go in the GI Travers S.

It's a race the connections will consider.

“We're leaning towards [the Alabama],” Pletcher said Sunday. “I had a brief conversation [with her owners] though and we did not completely rule out the Travers. She showed she can hold her own against [males] and we know the mile and a quarter suits her. So, we'll keep it in the back of our mind. I'd say all things being equal, we'll probably see her in the Alabama.”

The Travers is the right call. For one, she can win it. She got a 104 Beyer for winning the CCA Oaks, two points better than the number Cyberknife (Gun Runner) received for winning the GI Haskell S. on the same day. Among those eyeing the Travers, only her stablemate, Charge It (Tapit), who got a 111 Beyer when winning he GIII Dwyer S., is notably faster. Nest is in the same range as all the other top colts.

And, yes, the Travers will be a very tough race, but it got a lot easier Saturday when Jack Christopher (Munnings) finished a tiring third in the Haskell, all but cementing his status as a horse that wants no part of 1 1/4 miles. The race has also lost Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo), who beat Nest in the Belmont but has since been sidelined.

This has become a sport where there are few chance-takers and the sportsmen have given way to the businessmen. But there remain some out there who get it, that it doesn't always have to be about the money and that you can't put a price on challenging yourself and doing something special. Get Nest to the Travers winner's circle and you have done something that will stamp her as one of the greatest fillies of her generation. In modern times, no filly has won the Travers. Seven fillies have won the race but none since Lady Rotha in 1915. That's 107 years.

It will take a special filly to erase 107 years of history and owners and a trainer who understand the historical significance of pulling off such a feat. In Nest, Repole, Eclipse, House and Pletcher we may just have that combination. For them, winning the Alabama would fall under the category of “just another race.” The Travers would be so much more.

A Missed Opportunity

Fixed odds wagering may some day become a big part of how people bet on the sport, but the slow progress the concept is making is frustrating. It remains available only on Monmouth Park races and only to on-track customers at Monmouth.

Just imagine, though, for a minute, what might have happened last week had fixed odds bets have been available and had they been available to sports betting customers through their on-line wagering accounts.

The Wednesday following the MLB All-Star game is the single slowest day of the year for sports betting. When it comes to the four major sports, nothing is available. It's normally the only day of the year when that is the case.

There's a huge void and maybe some day racing can fill it and fill it in a way that can expose the sport to hundreds of thousands of sports bettors craving action on a Wednesday. But that can't happen until much more progress is made, starting with the advent of fixed odds and getting the product available on sports betting websites. This is something everyone needs to get behind.

Juan Vazquez and Fake News

The New York Gaming Commission came out last week with a press release crowing about how Juan Vazquez has beeen banned from running horses in the state through Jan. 26, 2025. That's sort of like announcing that today is Sunday.

The New York regulators did nothing other than honor the reciprocity agreement that exists among all horse racing states and has been around forever. Vazquez was suspended by the Pennsylvania Racing Commission, so New York, and everyone else, had no choice but to honor the suspension. There was absolutely no need to tell everyone that New York was honoring the suspension and by doing so it looks like the New York commission was looking to take credit for something it had absolutely nothing to do with.

Because the Pennsylvania suspension did not take effect until a few days after it was announced, Vazquez was able to run six horses in Saratoga after it was announced that he had received the lengthy suspension after the Pennsylvania regulators alleged that a horse he shipped from Belmont to Parx arrived in such bad shape with a severe case of laminitis that it had to be put down. The Pennsylvania stewards said his actions were “grossly negligent, cruel and abusive,” yet there he was running in Saratoga. That's a terrible optic.

If the New York Gaming Commission really wanted to do something about Vazquez, it should have taken steps to keep him from running in Saratoga.

On Jack Christopher

So, Jack Christopher is not a two-turn, mile-and-an-eighth horse. At least he sure didn't look line one in the Haskell. But that doesn't mean he still can't have a sensational ending to his 3-year-old campaign. He's still a very fast horse. Trainer Chad Brown can now look to races like the GI Allen Jerkens Memorial and, maybe, the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, where we could see what could be a scintillating showdown between Jack Christopher and Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music).

“We tried!,” began a tweet Saturday from Liz Crow, who purchased the colt for his owners. “Jack Christopher doesn't want nine furlongs. Cut him back to one turn and we will enjoy the ride from there.”

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Nest Romps in CCA Oaks

Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House's Nest (Curlin) found herself somewhat surprisingly on the lead early in Saturday's GI Coaching Club American Oaks, but still left little doubt as to who the top sophomore filly in the country is right now as she galloped home 12 1/4 lengths clear of main rival Secret Oath (Arrogate) in the Saratoga stretch.

Having seen a three-race win streak snapped when she settled for second as the favorite to Secret Oath in the May 6 GI Longines Kentucky Oaks, Nest was coming off a solid second to stablemate Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) in the GI Belmont S. June 11. Despite having lost a two-length decision to Secret Oath in their prior match-up, Nest was installed the public's 4-5 pick over the last-out GI Preakness S. fourth finisher.

Expected pacesetter Society (Gun Runner) was one of the two inside runners to break awkwardly, and Nest immediately to their outside was ridden along by Irad Ortiz, Jr. to seize the narrow lead with Nostalgic (Medaglia d'Oro) and Secret Oath not far behind while one and two paths off the fence, respectively. Society was headstrong in behind the leading trio, and snuck up the fence midway on the first turn to take over briefly. Nest put a head back in front after the opening quarter of :24.10 and before the :47.46 half.

Secret Oath was given her cue by Luis Saez to challenge Nest entering the home bend, and the stage appeared set for a throwdown that could very well decide Eclipse honors at the end of the year. But by midway on the turn it was clear that Nest had far more to give, and the bay quickened nicely with a couple reminders from Ortiz in upper stretch before being wrapped up late.

“My plan was not to be on the lead, but I wanted to break good out of there,” Ortiz said. “Honestly, that was the main thing and I tried to break, and she broke clean and I realized the other filly didn't break well. So I said, 'let's go, Plan B.' I was in front and didn't panic. I just let her do her thing. That was [how] the race came up. Everything changed when the gates opened and I just let her do her thing and she did the rest.”

A five-length debut romper routing at Belmont last September, Nest was a close third in the Tempted S. that November before making the grade by a neck in Aqueduct's nine-panel GII Demoiselle S. Dec. 4. She resurfaced to dominate Tampa's Suncoast S. Feb. 12, and doubled up by daylight in Keeneland's GI Central Bank Ashland S. Apr. 8 ahead of her Oaks and Belmont appearances.

“It's funny how you spend a lot of time analyzing a game plan and then, as they say, everything can change at the break–which it did today,” said Pletcher, winner of a record eight renewals of this event, including one each previously in back-to-back years for Repole (Stopchargingmaria {Tale of the Cat}, 2014) and Eclipse (Curalina {Curlin}, 2015). “The main thing is we wanted to establish some position, get away smoothly and get to the first turn in a forward position. We were able to do that even though everyone wasn't positioned exactly where we thought they would be. It turned out to ultimately to have those four fillies bunch up together and [Nest] was able to fend off the challenge from Secret Oath and keep going.”

Nest and Secret Oath are both likely to return for the 10-panel GI Alabama S. Aug. 20. As for the decision to run in this spot as well, Pletcher said, “We've run a lot of horses in the Belmont over the years, but we've never had one come out any better than she did. She had great energy and she gained weight since that race. She gave us every indication she was ready to run back. Originally, we thought we should wait for the Alabama, but she was just doing too good to bypass this race.”

The runner-up's trainer D. Wayne Lukas, Pletcher's former boss, offered: “I think coming in here, shipping in is always difficult. The winner ran a super, super race. She won fair and square. We hung a little bit. We needed, I think, to have been a little tighter on this track. Coming in here and shipping from out of state is tough–it always has been, and I've been here 50 years. It's always been a place where you do a little better if you have an out over it. But the good news is we'll have another shot.”

Saturday, Saratoga
COACHING CLUB AMERICAN OAKS-GI, $485,000, Saratoga, 7-23, 3yo, f, 1 1/8m, 1:51.04, ft.
1–NEST, 121, f, 3, by Curlin
                1st Dam: Marion Ravenwood (SW, $112,598), by A.P. Indy
                2nd Dam: Andujar, by Quiet American
                3rd Dam: Nureyev's Best, by Nureyev
($350,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and House, Michael; B-Ashview Farm & Colts Neck Stables (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr.. $275,000. Lifetime Record: 8-5-2-1, $1,405,550. *1/2 to Dr Jack (Pioneerof the Nile), MSP, $156,155; Full to Idol, GISW, $426,964. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Secret Oath, 121, f, 3, by Arrogate
                1st Dam: Absinthe Minded (MSW & MGISP, $607,747), by Quiet American
                2nd Dam: Rockford Peach, by Great Above
                3rd Dam: Strawberry Skyline, by Hatchet Man
O-Briland Farm; B-Briland Farm, Robert & Stacy Mitchell (KY); T-D. Wayne Lukas. $100,000.
3–Nostalgic, 121, f, 3, by Medaglia d'Oro
                1st Dam: Been Here Before (SP), by Tapit
                2nd Dam: Connie Belle, by Storm Cat
                3rd Dam: Minister's Melody, by Deputy Minister
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-William I. Mott. $60,000.
Margins: 12 1/4, 3, 2HF. Odds: 0.95, 1.20, 20.30.
Also Ran: Society, Butterbean.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:

One of Curlin's 18 Grade I winners, Nest is the third daughter of the two-time Horse of the Year to take the CCA Oaks, joining the aforementioned Curalina and 2020 heroine Paris Lights. She is bred on the same cross with A.P. Indy as stablemate and 2021 champion 3-year-old filly Malathaat, who looks to avenge a narrow loss to Claririere (Curlin) in last month's GI Ogden Phipps S. in Sunday's GII Shuvee S.

Both Clairiere and Paris Lights are out of mares by top broodmare sire Bernardini, and Nest's stakes-winning dam Marion Ravenwood is bred on the same cross as Bernardini being out of a Quiet American mare herself.

In addition to Nest and 2021 GI Santa Anita H. hero Idol, Marion Ravenwood is responsible for $275,000 KEESEP '21 yearling Lost Ark (Violence), who took his unveiling by 5 1/2 lengths for Pletcher and Harrell Ventures earlier this month at Belmont. Out of GSW/GISP and $2.5-million FTKNOV seller Andujar, Marion Ravenwood was barren to City of Light in 2021 and was bred to both Quality Road and Curlin for 2022 but a foal has not been registered as of now.

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Small, But Mighty, Shuvee Field Leads Sunday Graded Action

A lack of competitors doesn't always translate to a lack of competition and the GII Shuvee S. at Saratoga is a case in point, with an abbreviated field of four featuring a pair of titans. Fellow Curlin daughters Clairiere and Malathaat will bring their rivalry to round six in the 1 1/8-mile contest at the Spa; the latter coming out on the better end on four prior occasions. Malathaat will be breaking from the gate sporting blinkers for the first time in her career, likely intended to combat her tendency to wait on her competition, and she has been working with the new equipment in the mornings as well.

Todd Pletcher will be shooting for his fifth victory in this event (Curalina-2016, Stopchargingmaria-2015, Authenticity-2013, Awesome Maria-2011) should their match up here return in her favor, tying his record with the legendary H. Allen Jerkens for most Shuvee wins as conditioner. Steven Asmussen looks to add his name to the race's annuals for the first time after most recently saddling She's a Julie (Elusive Quality) to a third place finish in 2019. Both Clairiere and Malathaat ran career high Beyers of 106 last out in the GI Ogden Phipps, and are the horses to beat here, nearly guaranteeing that history of some kind will be made on Spa Sunday.

To their inside, and hoping to play spoiler, is the aptly named Crazy Beautiful (Liam's Map) for trainer Kenny McPeek, who's riding into the race on the back of a fruitful summer season. The grey has faced Malathaat on three occasions and never been in winning contention in any of those races, but she's the third millionaire in this field, and those purses didn't come without effort. A winner of Turfway Park's Apr. 2 Latonia S. over the synthetic and second last out June 25 in the Lady Jaqueline S. at Thistledown behind MGISP Army Wife (Declaration of War), Crazy Beautiful will be trying for her eighth lifetime win here. Former $40,000 claimer Exotic West (Hard Spun) rounds the field from the rail and faces a tall task having never run a number anywhere close to the divisional leaders on her outside.

'Magic' in Del Mar's Cougar II Marathon
MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm's GISP Tizamagician (Tiznow) makes his 5-year-old bow while trying to win the GIII Cougar II S. for the second year in a row where the 'Turf Meets the Surf.' Super consistent Dicey Mo Chara (GB) (Adaay {Ire}) will try to make his first dirt marathon a winning one for his eagle-eyed connections of Red Baron's Barn LLC and Rancho Temescal LLC and conditioner Leonard Powell.

Salty Graded Fields North of the Border
It's Kentucky-vs-European-breds in the turfy GII Dance Smartly S. at 1 1/16-miles at Woodbine. The G1SP Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}), a 695,000gns purchase by Tracy Farmer from last year's Tattersalls December Mares Sale, heads the field carrying solid European form including two black-type wins as a juvenile, though both at shorter distances, as well as a placing in Group 1 company in the English 1000 Guineas last year.

The formidable partnership of Team Valor International and Gary Barber will try to circle the field with their two classy fillies, namely GISP Wakanaka (Ire) (Power {GB}) and French stakes-winner Keyflower (Fr) (Kheleyf). Charles Fipke's Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown) and the Josie Carroll-trained Seasons (Tapit) round out the Kentucky-bred contingent, while Ontario-bred horse-for-course Munnyfor Ro (Munnings) will try to parlay her liking for the track into her first seasonal win.

Before the turf fillies get rolling, the synthetic sprinters will shine in the GIII Hendrie S. with heavy favorite Boardroom (Commissioner) slated to take most of the action at the ticket windows. Familiar foes Amalfi Coast (Tapizar), conditioned by Mark Casse, and Artie's Princess (We Miss Artie) return to continue the rivalry triangle, and MGSP La Libertee (Consitution) will try to out finish her Casse stablemate.

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‘A Great Crowd Pleaser’ as Hall of Famers Clash in CCA Oaks

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Though the GI Coaching Club American Oaks Saturday is short on depth, it is long on star power with Secret Oath (Arrogate) and D. Wayne Lukas taking on Nest (Curlin) and his long-ago former assistant Todd Pletcher.

The rematch of the most accomplished 3-year-old fillies in the land puts two Hall of Fame trainers, very friendly rivals indeed, back together on the big stage of Saratoga Race Course.

Seventy-nine days after Secret Oath beat favored Nest by two lengths in the GI Kentucky Oaks, the stars of the division meet again for the first of what could be two showdowns at Saratoga this summer. The historic GI Alabama S. will be run Aug. 20.

“If you're going to be the best, you better beat the best,” Lukas said. “I think it'll be a super-good race, a great crowd pleaser. I respect the other horses that are going, too.”

(Click below to watch Zoe Cadman's video with Wayne Lukas on Secret Oath.)

The nine-furlong CCA Oaks drew a field of five. From a low of four last year to twice having seven start, the race has averaged 5.5 starters since it was moved from Belmont Park to Saratoga in 2010. Also in the field are GIII Iowa Oaks winner Butterbean (Klimt), unbeaten Society (Gun Runner) and GIII Gazelle S. winner Nostalgic (Medaglia d'Oro).

Nest at Saratoga last week | Sarah Andrew

There is no question who the headliners are, though.

“They are two very good fillies and it seems like the race will go through them, but at Saratoga, strange things can happen,” Pletcher said with a knowing smile.

Just last year, Pletcher's unbeaten 1-5 favorite Malathaat (Curlin), finished second to 14-1 Maracuja (Honor Code) in the CCA Oaks.

Secret Oath carried the 86-year-old Lukas back to Saratoga after a two-year absence. He brought along 15 other runners, but getting the Briland Farm homebred into the Spa's championship-making races was the primary reason for his return. Five of the last six Eclipse Award-winning 3-year-old fillies won either the CCA Oaks or the Alabama. The sixth, Covfefe (Into Mischief) in 2019, did not run in either race, but had a victory in the GI Test S. on her resume.

Following her win in the Kentucky Oaks, Lukas ran Secret Oath in the GI Preakness S. She finished fourth, 6 1/4 lengths behind Early Voting (Gun Runner), and Lukas said she would get a bit of a breather and then prepare for Saratoga. The Preakness was her fifth race of 2022, second in two weeks and her second against males; she was third in the GI Arkansas Derby.

Lukas said Secret Oath has flourished between Pimlico and Saratoga and exceeded his expectations.

“We haven't missed a day,” he said. “I thought that she put on weight and got a little bit stronger and filled out more than I thought she would. I didn't back up that much on her. I just didn't put those works real close together.”

Secret Oath on Thursday | Sarah Andrew

Like his old boss, Pletcher moved his standout filly up, who is co-owned by Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House, to the Triple Crown series after the Kentucky Oaks. Despite stumbling at the start, Nest turned in a solid second by three lengths to stablemate Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) in the GI Belmont Stakes.

“The one thing that we were monitoring closely after Belmont was how she came out of it,” Pletcher said. “And we were saying, 'OK, if we need a little more time we will go to the Alabama.' But she's done so well out of the race. I think she's gained weight since she ran in the Belmont. She's trained super. She's just doing really, really well. The concern when you run against colts is that it can potentially knock something out of them. In her case, she was so well-prepared and well-bred for the distance that it wasn't a hard race on her.”

While Nest had an easy three weeks, Pletcher said it was clear right away that she did not need another month before her next start.

Nest opened the year with easy victories in the Suncoast S. at Tampa Bay Downs and the GI Ashland S. at Keeneland. She was the 2-1 favorite in the 14-horse Kentucky Oaks, while Secret Oath was next at 4-1. Lukas figured Nest was the horse to beat in the Oaks, a race he had not won since 1990 with Seaside Attraction (Seattle Slew).

“I'm not a very good handicapper, but I thought she was,” he said. “I talked to Todd and he told me he really liked her. That was good enough for me. I respect his opinion. He told me that he really liked her and he said, 'I think it will be the two of us.'”

Pletcher was spot-on with that analysis and figured that Secret Oath was the standout in that crowd. Before the Arkansas Derby she had romped over females in three straight races at Oaklawn Park.

“It was a loaded Oaks,” Pletcher said. “There were a lot of nice fillies with really strong records coming in. We felt that as impressive as she was, and she had the race against colts and kind of had a rough trip that day, that she certainly seemed liked the one to beat.”

Lukas said he did not tell jockey Luis Saez just to focus on Nest.

“We thought we had to beat them all,” Lukas said. “Luis thought that when she was in front of us he could go get her whenever he wanted to, and pretty much did when he was ready to. I told him not to go too early. I thought we had to beat them all in the Oaks. That's the prestigious one. That's the one you want.”

Saez was never far from Nest in the early stages of the Oaks, but he was a few paths off the rail, while Nest and Irad Ortiz, Jr. were committed to the inside. Secret Oath surged to the front at the top of the stretch and took command.

Pletcher and Lukas in 2006 | Horsephotos

“She's a super-impressive filly,” Pletcher said. “We love Nest and saw how strong Secret Oath could be in the Oaks. I think we would have made it a little closer if we got a little bit of a different trip. We kind of got bottled up for a moment in the far turn. And that's when Secret Oath kind of blew the race open. We're looking forward to the rematch and see what happens.”

Pletcher is the career leader in wins in the CCA Oaks with seven. Lukas has a pair of victories, the most recent in 1989 with champion Open Mind (Deputy Minister) a few weeks after Pletcher joined his staff following his graduation from the University of Arizona. Pletcher worked for Lukas until late in 1995 when he opened his own stable.

As he discussed the race, Pletcher said aside from the meeting of two top fillies, the storyline should be about how well Lukas is doing this year.

“He's an amazing man,” Pletcher said. “I've always said I think he's the greatest horse trainer of all time. Not only when you think about what he's done in the Thoroughbred business, but before that he dominated Quarter Horses. A lot of people have trained horses and won lot of races, but you can really say he's the guy that changed the training game.

“For him to still achieve at the highest level after all these years, it's remarkable that he continues to have the passion for it and the desire to come out here every morning and do it. It's great to see him still competing at the highest level.”

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