Pletcher to have no horses in the Travers

[SniperSB23]

His obsession with having fresh horses for the BC is getting out of control.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories...sdate=8/9/2007

Pletcher may say no to Travers
Trainer probably won't run any horses in stakes

By TIM WILKIN, Staff writer
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First published: Thursday, August 9, 2007

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- It doesn't sound right. Todd Pletcher, the leading trainer at Saratoga Race Course, probably won't have a starter in the $1 million Travers Stakes here on Aug. 25.
"It's looking sort of doubtful," Pletcher said outside his barn on the Oklahoma Training Track Wednesday morning.


It's not that he doesn't have the horses. It's just that he doesn't want to run any of them.

Pletcher's top candidate for the Midsummer Derby would be Any Given Saturday, who just won the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park last Saturday.

The colt shipped back to Saratoga Tuesday following his 4 1/2 -length win over Hard Spun and Preakness winner Curlin.

Pletcher said the logical next start for Any Given Saturday is the $150,000 Brooklyn Handicap at Belmont Park on Sept. 22. Sure, winning the Travers would be nice. Pletcher won the Midsummer Derby with Flower Alley in 2005 and finished second with Bluegrass Cat last year.

But the timing is not right.

"It (Travers) is just too close," Pletcher. "Our main focus is on the Breeders Cup Classic (Oct. 27 at Monmouth). The Brooklyn gives him like five weeks to the Breeders' Cup and I think that is a good setup."

Any Given Saturday has won three of six starts this year, including his past two. Before the Haskell, he won the Dwyer at Belmont Park on the Fourth of July.

"I think that's a good setup," Pletcher said. "We always thought Any Given Saturday was a very good horse. I thought the Dwyer was a breakout performance for him and he came back and did it in the Haskell."

Pletcher said he will nominate Any Given Saturday and two of his other colts, Cowtown Cat and Sam P., to the Travers but most likely won't run them. He also said he might nominate fillies Rags to Riches, Octave and Panty Raid but they won't run in the Travers either.

Rags to Riches most likely won't run in the $600,000 Alabama here a week from Saturday. Pletcher said her next start is probably at Belmont Park, either in the Sept. 8 Ruffian or the Sept. 15 Gazelle. Octave, winner of the Coaching Club American Oaks in her most recent start July 21, and Panty Raid, who won the American Oaks Invitational on grass July 7, are bound for the Alabama.