Travers Stakes could be Plus Que Parfait's 'ultimate aim'

Trainer Brendan Walsh wanted to give Plus Que Parfait some time to catch his breath.

The colt started his 3-year-old season with a pair of races at Fair Grounds, then shipped to Dubai for the UAE Derby. He won that Group 2 event, earning a spot in the Kentucky Derby.

Plus Que Parfait finished eighth May 4 at Churchill Downs, and has remained in Louisville, Ky., since. He breezed back on May 31, then worked again Tuesday.

“Between the travel to Dubai and the Derby being a tough race as well, it would’ve been a mistake to push him too hard,” Walsh said. “We just felt it was a good time to back off on him a little bit. But he seems to be in good shape.”

Plus Que Parfait’s work Tuesday came on the Churchill Downs turf, where he went four furlongs in 52.4 seconds. He trained alongside stablemate Choate Bridge, a 3-year-old filly entered for Saturday’s Regret Stakes (G3).

The ridgling Plus Que Parfait is a son of Point of Entry, a turf star in his racing days. Plus Que Parfait's 2-year-old debut last July at Ellis Park came on the turf, but he’s made his seven ensuing starts on dirt.

Walsh said the Imperial Racing LLC colt may one day race again on grass, but that he’ll likely stick to the main track in the coming months.

“I just wanted to give him a spin on the turf there,” Walsh said of Plus Que Parfait’s Tuesday work. “It was good ground just to do something a little different with him.”

Bred in Kentucky by Calloway Stables LLC, Plus Que Parfait has already earned $1,590,400 in his racing career. Most of that came thanks to his March 30 triumph in the UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse.

Walsh said 3-year-old dirt features like the $500,000 Ohio Derby (G3) on June 22 at Thistledown, the $500,000 Indiana Derby (G3) on July 13 at Indiana Grand and the $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) on July 27 at Saratoga are on the table for his next start.

“There are tons of options for a horse like him this time of year,” Walsh said.

Should Plus Que Parfait come out of his next start well, Walsh said he’d like to give Saratoga’s $1.25 million Travers Stakes (G1) on Aug. 24 a try.

“That might be our ultimate aim, if he looked like he was the type of horse that might have the chance to win the Travers, you know,” Walsh said. … 

“It doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to go there or not. We’d like to think he’d be ready to run a big race again going into the fall from there.”