Pletcher has options with Belmont 2018 runners Vino Rosso, Noble Indy

Graded stakes winners Vino Rosso and Noble Indy, fourth and 10th, respectively, behind Triple Crown champion Justify in Saturday's 2018 Belmont Stakes, emerged well from the race, trainer Todd Pletcher reported Sunday morning.

"Excellent. They're both in good shape today," he said. "[Justify] got into that rhythm and was able to slow it down through a half [in 48.11 seconds], and that made him awfully hard to beat."

Vino Rosso and Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez raced in a contending position early and took first crack at Justify on the far turn but was unable to maintain his move and wound up a neck behind third-place finisher Hofburg.

"I thought Vino Rosso ran well," Pletcher said. "Johnny took a shot on the middle of the turn and tried to put some pressure on the winner and it might have cost him a position."

Noble Indy, who was noticeably keyed up before the race in the paddock and on the track, brushed the starting gate as he broke and ran in mid-pack under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano before giving way past the quarter pole.

"I was a little disappointed in the way he behaved in the paddock and the post parade. He never really fired," Pletcher said. "It's not totally out of character for him. He's one that we've done a lot of work with, and yesterday just seemed like the crowd and everything got to him a little bit."

Regarding the next step, Pletcher is leaving his options open for both horses.

"We're not really sure yet," he said. "We'll kind of let the dust settle and decide what we're going to do."