Pletcher Invades Oaklawn With a Pair of 3-Year-Olds

Todd Pletcher has 26 early Triple Crown nominees this year, and two are scheduled to make their season debuts this weekend at Oaklawn Park, where the future Hall of Fame trainer has enjoyed immense success since starting his first horse in Hot Springs, Ark., more than 20 years ago.

Alpha Sixty Six and Chase Tracker were flown to Arkansas Feb. 11 from their South Florida base. Alpha Sixty Six will run in a first-level allowance race Feb. 15, and Chase Tracker is ticketed for the Feb. 17 Southwest Stakes (G3). Both races are 1 1/16 miles.

Chase Tracker and Alpha Sixty Six haven't started since finishing third and sixth, respectively, in the Dec. 7 Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack. Pletcher said Chase Tracker received the green light for the Southwest following a five-furlong workout Feb. 9 in 1:01.19 at Palm Beach Downs. The son of multiple grade 1 winner and millionaire Verrazano, who began his racing career with Pletcher, won his Sept. 21 debut at Parx Racing before finishing third in the Nov. 3 Nashua Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct and the Remsen, beaten 4 1/4 lengths in the 1 1/8-mile race.

"He was good enough to break his maiden first time out. Ran a respectable race in the Nashua and a good, solid third in the Remsen," Pletcher said Tuesday. "He has been training steadily. We didn't really have a firm plan in mind but thought he worked very well here this past weekend, so we decided the timing for the Southwest was good."

Pletcher said Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will ride Chase Tracker for the first time in the Southwest, Oaklawn's second of four Road to the Kentucky Derby races. The series continues with the March 14 Rebel Stakes (G2) and the April 11 Arkansas Derby (G1). Post positions will be drawn Feb. 14 for the Southwest, which offers points on a 10-4-2-1 scale to the top four finishers toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). 

Alpha Sixty Six, from the first crop of Liam's Map , won his Sept. 7 debut at Belmont Park before finishing fifth behind winner Tiz the Law in the Oct. 5 Champagne Stakes (G1) at Belmont. Alpha Sixty Six, who has been ridden by Velazquez in all three starts, was beaten 17 1/2 lengths in the Remsen as the betting favorite. Ramon Vazquez rides him Saturday.

"Just trying to get back on track with him," Pletcher said. "His last race was a bit of a disappointment. He's been training steadily. Just looking for an opportunity to get a start into him, and if he were to run well, it could hopefully put him in position to possibly come back for the Rebel or something like that. We'll see if he can step forward for us."

Pletcher and Velazquez teamed to win the 2017 Southwest with One Liner. Pletcher has won the Arkansas Derby a record five times (Graeme Hall in 2000, Balto Star in 2001, Overanalyze in 2013, Danza  in 2014, and Magnum Moon in 2018) and the Rebel twice (Malagacy in 2017 and Magnum Moon in 2018).

Pletcher, who ran his first horse at Oaklawn in 1999, has won 28% of his starts at the track (24 of 85) and 21 stakes, according to Oaklawn publicity. 

"Oaklawn's been great to us over the years," said Pletcher, who has a record seven Eclipse Awards as the country's outstanding trainer. "I have fond memories as a teenager going there when my dad was racing there, so it's always been a cool place. They've really got a great product going on there at the moment. There are some very lucrative races, including a great series of 3-year-old preps, so we're excited to have somebody back there and hopefully can continue some of the success we've had."

Pletcher's father, retired trainer J.J. Pletcher, was an Oaklawn regular from 1979-86 and won the 1980 Oaklawn Handicap (G2) with Uncool.

Taraz and Intrepid Heart Gear Up for Their Next Starts 

Unbeaten Taraz returned to the work tab Tuesday morning, covering a half-mile in :47 4/5 on a good track for trainer Brad Cox and breeder/owner Juddmonte Farms. Taraz has been based at Oaklawn since Jan. 28 and won the Feb. 1 Martha Washington Stakes for 3-year-old fillies in her 2020 and two-turn debut. She is pointing for the March 7 Honeybee Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles.

Dazzling 2019 Oaklawn debut winner Intrepid Heart is "probably a month away from being ready to go," Pletcher said Tuesday.

Intrepid Heart broke his maiden by 7 3/4 lengths at a mile last February before finishing eighth in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) and fifth in his most recent start, the July 26 Curlin Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. The son of Tapit  has seven published works at Palm Beach Downs in South Florida since Dec. 20.

"Don't really have a race picked out for him yet, but he's come back in good order," Pletcher said.