Super Saver on "Short" Rest in Baltimore

[parsixfarms]

Putting aside trips and the possibility that he is a Churchill-loving mudlark, Super Saver will certainly be bucking Pletcher's penchant for having well-spaced campaigns for his top horses when he wheels back in just two weeks in Baltimore. And having prepped at Oaklawn, this will be his third race in 5 weeks.

Much has already been made of Pletcher's pre-2010 Derby performance. Of those 24 starters, it is interesting to note that he only ran two back in the Preakness: Impeachment (3rd) in 2000, and Circular Quay (5th) in 2007. His "short" rest record in the Belmont is not much better, with Impeachment running fifth in 2000, while Purge ran dead last off a romping Peter Pan in 2004. Similarly, Graeme Hall, Strong Hope and Purge all flopped in the Travers when the "prep" was contested "only" three weeks prior to the Mid-Summer Derby.

Dutrow, another trainer who likes to space the races of his top horses, made a lot of the short turnaround a few years ago with Big Brown, but at least we see Dutrow run horses on short rest with some frequency (albeit with his cheaper stock). We hardly ever see this from Pletcher. It will be interesting to see how Super Saver bounces back in the Preakness.