Pletcher to regroup with Tapwrit, point to Woodward Stakes

Following Tapwrit's distant fourth-place finish in Saturday's Grade 1 Whitney Stakes after thunderstorms delayed the start contributing to a sloppy Saratoga track, trainer Todd Pletcher made no excuses for the 4-year-old son of Tapit, who still remains in search of his first win since capturing the last year's Belmont Stakes.

"He seemed to come out of the race well," said Pletcher. "He looked good this morning. Johnny [Velazquez] felt like he struggled with the track a little bit. He said when he had him gathered up again with the bridle going down the backside, he felt good and thought he was in a good spot and at that point we were getting the trip we wanted, but when he went into the far turn and needed to start picking it up, he kind of had to turn his head loose, and he felt the track started slipping away from him at that point."

Pletcher said he was willing to draw a line through the race and will likely stick with the plan of pointing Tapwrit to the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes.

"Our initial thought is to train him towards the Woodward and see how he responds," said Pletcher. "The race unfolded pretty much the way we thought it would on paper and we got into the position that we wanted to get into. It's impossible to say we would've had a different outcome on a fast surface, but at the same time, Diversify is in awfully good form and he's just kind of running everyone off their feet, so hats off to them for the good performance."

Pletcher also reported Grade 3 Sanford winner Sombeyay has remained in good order following his win and is tentatively scheduled to breeze tomorrow if track conditions permit, while Grade 1 Man o' War winner Hi Happy will look to rebound from a sixth-place finish in the Grade 2 Bowling Green. Hi Happy is on target for the Grade 1, $1 million Sword Dancer on Travers Day, August 25. 

"[Hi Happy] seems great," said Pletcher. "He came out of it well and we're going to point for the Sword Dancer as long as the ground's firm."

Graded stakes winner Ivy Bell, who finished fourth in the Grade 3 Shuvee last Sunday will next look to cut back in distance and point to the Grade 1, $500,000 Ketel One Ballerina at seven furlongs on August 25.

"She came out of it well and we're going to back her up into the Ballerina next," said Pletcher. "That was sort of our plan even before the race, if we got a good performance after two routes - cutting back then that might be her best distance to begin with."

Pletcher also reported that juvenile maiden winners Spinoff and Meade are both likely to contest the Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special presented by Coors Light next weekend. On Sunday morning, the pair breezed four furlongs in company in 49.21 seconds for their respective stakes debuts. Virginia Eloise, who won her unveiling by five lengths on July 4 at Belmont Park, is slated to carry the banner in the Grade 2, $200,000 Adirondack on Saturday.