JC / Railbird

Todd Pletcher

Before the Hall of Fame

I remember Ashado mostly for her fourth-place finish, a dead heat with Island Sand, in the 2005 Personal Ensign at Saratoga. I met trainer Larry Jones that weekend, when he hired me to walk his filly. It was the first time I’d handled a $1 million earner, and Island Sand was ill-tempered and nippy. Her groom lifted his shirt to show me the enormous bruise she’d left biting his belly. Jones told an off-color joke at a barn BBQ the night before, and was kind enough to drive me into town on a Sunday so that I could escape the backstretch for an hour and read the New York Times. He paid me $30 cash to cool her out after the race. We had to go to the test barn, where Todd Pletcher stood, unmoving, watching Ashado circle the shedrow from behind his sunglasses, and Island Sand pulled me around so hard my arm ached.

Congratulations to Ashado’s connections on her induction into the Racing Hall of Fame today, and to all of this year’s honorees.

Posted in Racing on August 8, 2014 / Tagged Ashado, Hall of Famers, Hotwalking, Island Sand, Larry Jones, Saratoga, Todd Pletcher

Trainers: Who Gets the Distance?

TimeformUS takes a look at the distance race statistics of trainers with likely Belmont Stakes starters. Spoilers: The numbers at 12+ furlongs are small. Pletcher is solid. Mott knows what he’s doing. Clement has great turf form.

Posted in Racing on May 30, 2014 / Tagged Belmont Stakes, Bill Mott, Christophe Clement, Distance Races, Statistics, Todd Pletcher, Trainers

One Fast Rose

Our Amazing Rose gets a Beyer speed figure of 91 for winning the fifth race on Thursday at Saratoga by 7 3/4 lengths. She went the five furlongs in :57.68, or .59 seconds faster than stablemate Corfu did winning the second. Both making their career debuts for trainer Todd Pletcher, of course. Watch the replay.

Posted in Racing on July 26, 2013 / Tagged Buzz Babies, Corfu, Juveniles, Our Amazing Rose, Saratoga, Todd Pletcher