Pletcher seeking elusive second victory
Trainer can match mentor Lukas for most Derby starters.
He holds the all-time record for purse earnings, $336 million plus, and when he’s eligible in four years, Todd Pletcher will be a certain first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Among his 4,300 victories are more than 1,000 stakes, including a Kentucky Derby and two Belmonts, and he owns seven Eclipse Awards for leading trainer.
Yet despite this list of achievements, all you hear about this week is Pletcher’s 1-for-45 record in 16 Derbys. On Saturday, for the 15th time, he’ll saddle multiple horses — his standout, Always Dreaming, plus longshots Tapwrit and Patch.
If all three run, Pletcher will equal his mentor, D. Wayne Lukas, for most Derby runners.
Pletcher never has had the betting favorite, so it’s not as if he’s a perennial upset victim.
Oddly, his skill at getting so many horses to the Derby magnifies the criticism. Even after you win all the time, you can’t win.
The Pletcher Protocol for his legion of well-bred, expensive 2-year-olds is to win the first time out, then repeat in a sprint stakes.
If they can handle longer distances in the fall, they’re candidates for the Triple Crown trail.
“The one thing we do try to accomplish throughout the year is place our horses in races where they can do well,” Pletcher said. “I think that’s been one of our strengths over the years.”
No one comes close to matching it.
Since his Derby debut in 2000, he’s been in all but one (2003). Super Saver got him off the schneid in 2010, but Pletcher’s only other in-the-money finishers were Impeachment (third, 2000), Invisible Ink (second, 2001), Bluegrass Cat (second, 2006), Revolutionary (third, 2013) and Danza (third, 2014).
Most of his Derby flops were precocious sprinter/miler types unsuited for 1¼ miles.
“We’ve probably run horses that didn’t deserve to be there, but they qualified on earnings or points,” Pletcher said. “I wouldn’t necessarily characterize it as Derby fever. We’ve had some owners who decided, ‘Well, let’s take a shot.’”
Always Dreaming’s 5-length Florida Derby romp will make him one of the top three choices at today’s post-position draw.
He’s training well at Churchill Downs, going 5 furlongs Friday in 59.60 seconds, with a final quarter-mile in a snappy 23.80.
“I thought it was a powerful work, exceptional. He’s full of himself,” Pletcher said. “His energy level is off the charts. The trick for us is to keep him focused.”