Ky. Derby: Pletcher continues to elevate his high standards

Louisville, Ky.

It was a nightmare he already had lived through before, even down to his fellow partner in torment. The reigning juvenile champion, the one who was supposed to show the racing community who he was on the biggest platform in the sport, was again denied the one chance he would have in his life to claim the most defining race in the sport.

He was next to his longtime client Mike Repole, as he was when they endured this scenario the first time in 2011, when the state veterinarians delivered the news. At least 12 years ago when they had to announce that Repole’s champion Uncle Mo would not run in the Kentucky Derby, there was less shock involved as the colt had been battling a gastrointestinal tract infection in the weeks leading up to the classic.

Saturday morning was a different kind of animal for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, though, one that saw an emotional Repole plead with the veterinarians as they watched his multiple Grade 1 winner Forte, the morning-line favorite for the Kentucky Derby 2023, gallop, then jog, then jog again as they evaluated a reported bruise in the colt’s right foot. He ultimately would have one of the strongest contenders he's ever brought to the first leg of the Triple Crown ruled out.

And in the ultimate testament to the breadth and depth of his barn’s superiority the last 18 months, he still had the expected Kentucky Derby favorite in his barn ready to roll.

Few trainers in the history of the sport have compiled a resume the likes of what Pletcher has over the last quarter-century-plus. Even fewer could go through one of the lowest points of their career and still be poised for potentially one of its greatest acts to date. Even after having Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s Forte was scratched from Kentucky Derby 149 by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission state veterinarian because of concerns about a bruised left front foot, Pletcher still holds arguably the most enviable hand for the 1 1/4-mile classic with Grade 1 winner Tapit Trice and unbeaten Kingsbarns still set to start in the first leg of the Triple Crown.

For the connections of Forte, the gut punch of Saturday’s scratch denied any chance at a coronation for the son of Violence and was especially brutal for Repole as it brought back horrible memories of Uncle Mo’s scenario. Since taking the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Forte had continued to reign over his classmates in this his sophomore season, annexing the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) in handy fashion during his seasonal bow before flaunting his class by shaking off a wide trip to prevail in the Florida Derby (G1).

In Blue Grass Stakes (G1) winner Tapit Trice and Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Kingsbarns, Pletcher still has an arsenal that in their own way encapsulate why their conditioner continues to be the trainer of choice among those with the resources to seek out only the elite.

The beautifully bred Tapit Trice, a $1.3 million yearling purchase owned by Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway, has thrived whenever more has been asked of him, as his narrow triumph in the Blue Grass Stakes demonstrated. Though Pletcher often likes more time between starts, he already has put three races into the son of Tapit this season, knowing his frame and temperament could handle a stauncher workload.

In the lightly raced Kingsbarns, Pletcher was able to morph the son of Uncle Mo from maiden winner to legitimate Kentucky Derby contender in only three starts, challenging the bay colt at three tracks to let him pack in all the experience possible. What is sometimes underrated in terms of the trainer’s ability to develop young horses is the fact that because he has so much talent in his barn, he can get a daily litmus test on who is progressing fastest and who still needs buttons pushed.

“Todd has a certain training style, he does well with anything, but there are certain horses that I think he does very, very well with,” said Todd Quast, manager of Whisper Hill Farm. “They are horses like (Tapit Trice) who love the work, love the training, love to go out there every day and show themselves.

“He has some of the best horses in the country. You would have to say he has two, three, four of the best right now, and when you’re training with those kinds of horses and you’re breezing against those horses, it gives you a good barometer of where you’re at with the field.”

It is a remarkable notion to consider that one of the best to ever grace Thoroughbred racing still has more upside to unleash upon the game. Yet, this Kentucky Derby prep season managed to demonstrate the ongoing ways in which Pletcher continues to hone the task of finding new ways to elevate his own standards.

If there is such a thing of being “in the zone” among horsemen, Pletcher’s mentor and fellow legend, D. Wayne Lukas, believes his most successful protégé has been assessing everything with crystal clear vision. The momentum from Pletcher’s brilliant 2022 season has appeared to only gain steam this year, and nowhere was that more evident than when Pletcher won 100-point Kentucky Derby prep races on three straight weekends this spring with Kingsbarns taking the Louisiana Derby on March 25, Forte annexing the Florida Derby April 1, and Tapit Trice completing the sweep with his victory in the April 8 Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes.

“To a certain degree when you have a big year like Todd did, it brings success to the barn. It doesn't always equate to that but usually in a case like him, where he's got a wide variety of horses top to bottom in different conditions and everything, having all that success brings in more good horses,” Lukas said. “Todd has developed over the years a solid clientele base – Repole for example bought 100 2-year-olds, which is unheard of – so I see no letup for him either.

“I think you get in that confidence level, and it’s effective down through the barn,” Lukas continued. “You get on a roll, the grooms get into it, the exercise riders get into it. And it goes the other way too. You get in a slump and the whole barn will slump. But when you’re on a roll like he is, it definitely carries through.”

To say the 55-year-old Pletcher has had down years would be a misnomer as even his most pedestrian numbers are figures most of his brethren will never achieve in a career. Still, the last several seasons had seen a shift in the balance of power among the super trainers as Chad Brown emerged with the tightest grip, winning four straight Eclipse Awards from 2016 to 2019 while conditioning such champions as 2019 horse of the year Bricks and Mortar.

When Brown was finally overtaken as the nation’s best, it was Louisville native Brad Cox who surged up with a pair of Eclipse Award titles of his own for outstanding trainer in 2020 and 2021. Lest anyone had forgotten what peak Pletcher looked like, however, the 2022 season served as a reminder of how overwhelming his runners can be when all cylinders are firing.

In addition to having Forte take the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile to cement championship honors, Pletcher boasted two of the nation’s top older horses in their divisions in multiple Grade 1 winner Life Is Good and champion Malathaat, the latter of whom annexed the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and earned the Eclipse Award for champion older dirt female. Her stablemate Nest was the clear choice for champion 3-year-old filly honors, and Pletcher also had a leading 3-year-old male in Mo Donegal, whose Belmont Stakes triumph was one of 17 Grade 1 victories for Pletcher in 2022.

Overall, Pletcher runners earned a career-best $30,482,937 last year, the first time he’s ever gone over the $30 million mark in a single season and $8 million more than what he posted in 2021. When the vote totals were revealed on Eclipse Awards night, Pletcher departed with his record eighth Eclipse award for outstanding trainer and his first since 2014.

“It’s his longevity (that is most impressive). He’s been at this for a while and he’s really, really good at it,” Cox, who himself will have four Kentucky Derby starters, said of Pletcher. “He’s arguably the greatest trainer of all time. He’s accomplished more from a dollars-and-cents standpoint than anyone in the game, he’s got a couple Derbies. Hopefully he’s not going to add No. 3 this week. But he’s someone I definitely look up to. He’s very good at what he does, he’s one of the best."

When you’ve elevated the sport in the manner Pletcher has, the biggest battle often comes in trying to maintain a standard that is borderline unrealistic. He still faces the occasional query about having “only” two Kentucky Derby winners, and Lukas has prepped his former student for the onslaught that will hit Saturday night if another shedrow ends up with the roses.

“When you run two or three in the Derby, you need to win it,” Lukas said. “I told him, ‘You need to win it because they'll jump all over you otherwise. They're looking for a reason to jump all over you’.”

In the days leading up to the Kentucky Derby as he answered query after query about his horses and his own success, Pletcher admitted he rarely pauses to admire his own grandeur.

“There are some milestone moments during your career where you sometimes reflect on something … but you’ve still got to be at the barn early the next morning,” he said. “There’s not too much time to soak it all in.”

Saturday morning proved another example of why even in the best of times, he never lets his mind settle.

Come Saturday evening, Pletcher still could depart Churchill Downs with yet more evidence of why his career stands as arguably the greatest display of its craft.