Pletcher Duo Dr Post, Farmington Road Work for Belmont

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Pletcher Duo Dr Post, Farmington Road Work for Belmont
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Photo: Nancy Rokos
Dr Post (outisde) and Farmington Road breeze a half-mile in :48.87 at Belmont Park

The Todd Pletcher-trained pair of Farmington Road and Dr Post worked a half-mile in company in :48.87 on a fast Belmont Park main track June 13 in preparation for the June 20 Belmont Stakes (G1).

Stakes-placed Farmington Road and stakes winner Dr Post worked in tandem following the renovation break under Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano and Irad Ortiz Jr., respectively. On the outside, Dr Post was about a neck in front when the duo hit the wire.

Pletcher said preparations went well toward the Belmont Stakes, the opening leg of the Triple Crown for the first time ever as a result of rescheduling due to COVID-19.

"I was very pleased with the work. I was a little concerned going in, working the two horses together, but I felt like that was the best matchup for each horse," Pletcher said. "They worked in company together last week at Palm Beach Downs, and it seemed to go well. 

"I thought both horses relaxed nicely in the early part of their work, finished up strongly, and galloped out very, very nice. All in all, it went well."

Both Farmington Road and Dr Post are sired by Quality Road , who was also a Pletcher trainee during his racing career.

"You can see similarities in both of them to their sire," Pletcher said. "I would say that Dr Post looks more like Quality Road because he's a bit of a bigger horse, but you can definitely see a similarity in both of them."

Dr Post, owned by Vincent Viola's St. Elias Stable, is perfect in his pair of starts this year. He emerged off a nearly nine-month layoff with a second-out graduation at Gulfstream Park March 29 going seven furlongs before stretching out to two turns to win the Unbridled Stakes, his stakes debut, at the South Florida oval.

"Dr Post is doing great. The longer we have him, the more he reminds us of his sire, Quality Road," Pletcher said. "He looks a lot like him. He showed some versatility already breaking his maiden at seven furlongs and coming back in a stake in his second start of the year going a mile and a sixteenth, encountered a lot of traffic that day, and was still able to win. He seems to have moved forward in his training since then."

Dr Post faced a small but seasoned field in the Unbridled, which included graded stakes-placed Attachment Rate as well as stakes winners Soros and Relentless Dancer. 

"The thing we really liked about the Unbridled was, especially leading into a race like the Belmont, it was only his second start of the year and third career start, but he got so much out of that race and so much education, it was almost like an extra start," Pletcher said. "I'm hoping that will pay dividends because he's giving up some seasoning and experience to some really nice horses, but we felt like we got a lot out of the Unbridled."

A $400,000 purchase by Crupi's New Castle from the Hunter Valley Farm consignment at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Dr Post is out of the graded stakes-winning Hennessy mare Mary Delaney.

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Robert LaPenta, and Chrysalis Stables' late-running Farmington Road, 24th on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 15 points, will attempt a first stakes victory. Following a third-out 1 3/4-length maiden victory at Tampa Bay Downs, Farmington Road was fourth in a division of the Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots Feb. 15 and also fourth in a division of the Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park May 2. Between those races, he was a close second in the Oaklawn Stakes April 11.

Traditionally contested at 1 1/2 miles and held as the third and final leg of the Triple Crown, the 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes will be run at a distance of 1 1/8 miles to properly account for the schedule adjustments to the Triple Crown series and overall calendar for 3-year-olds in training.

"We felt like he could be the horse that would really enjoy the mile and a half," Pletcher said. "But since that's not an option, we're hoping that the mile and an eighth, if he gets a good, honest pace to run at, he would certainly benefit from that. He's got a patented style; he's going to drop back and make one run. We just need a good, solid pace to come back to him a little bit."

Pletcher said he was satisfied with Farmington Road's effort in the Arkansas Derby, where he was last early off a moderate pace, began making up ground approaching the far turn, and ended up fourth.

"Solid effort in the Arkansas Derby, and I think it was a tough track to make up a lot of ground," Pletcher said. "He's got a good three-eighths-mile run, and we have to time it just right. The main thing is getting a track that suits that style and an honest pace. That's what he really needs."

Bred in Kentucky by co-owner Chrysalis Stables, Farmington Road is out of the Langfuhr broodmare Silver La Belle, who is a half sister to multiple turf graded stakes winner Silverfoot.

Some notable Pletcher alumni are being represented by their offspring in this year's Belmont Stakes, including last year's second-leading first-crop stallion Constitution , the sire of likely prohibitive Belmont Stakes favorite Tiz the Law.

"He's making Constitution proud," Pletcher said. "Tiz the Law has been very impressive in all of his races, especially in the Florida Derby (G1)."

Also working Saturday toward the Belmont was George Hall's Withers Stakes (G3) winner Max Player, who breezed six furlongs in 1:12.25 on Belmont Park's main track.

Max Player will be trainer Linda Rice's first Belmont Stakes entrant since Supervisor finished fifth in 2003. Hall enjoyed success as a co-owner in the Belmont with Lori Hall when Ruler On Ice captured the 2011 edition for trainer Kelly Breen. 

Max Player wins the 2020 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct        
Photo: Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand
Max Player wins the Withers Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack

Rice said she was impressed with Max Player's final Belmont Stakes prep, working solo under exercise rider Oscar Gomez. She believes he has matured mentally and physically heading into the biggest race of his career.

"He's grown up a lot," Rice said. "He's changed tremendously since he was a 2-year-old. He ran at Parx twice and was very green then. We used to breeze him in company to get him focused, and at this point he's changed a lot mentally and physically."

Max Player is 32nd on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 10 points and will look to add to those totals in the Belmont, which offers qualifying points on a 150-60-30-15 scale to the top four finishers.

The Honor Code  colt has now breezed 11 times since winning the Withers at the 2020 Belmont distance last out at Aqueduct Racetrack Feb. 1. Rice said she has taken great care to ensure Max Player has the foundation to be successful in the Belmont.

"He hasn't run in five months, and I had spaced his works out every two weeks during the pandemic, having no target in sight and not knowing what we were pointing towards," she said. "This last month, I've given him three breezes, 10 days apart, and I was very pleased with his last two works on the main track."

Rice is confident in her colt's readiness for the one-turn test in the Belmont.

"We know he can run a mile and an eighth. He did that in the Withers in February, and he's made a lot of strides forward since then," Rice said. "I'm not concerned about the distance at all. It's just a matter of the competition. Tiz the Law is a very formidable horse, but we're going to take our best shot."