Options Open for Following Sea Going Forward

Spendthrift Farm homebred Following Sea  earned a berth in the Nov. 6 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) at Del Mar with a victory in the Vosburgh Stakes (G2) Oct. 9 at Belmont Park, but Oct. 10 trainer Todd Pletcher said no decision had been made regarding a start in the World Championships.

"We had a brief exchange (with the connections) after the race and haven't committed to anything," Pletcher said. "Obviously, being a 'Win and You're In' for the Sprint is attractive, but we'll see how the horse bounces back and talk to all the connections and come up with a game plan."

Pletcher was pleased with the confident score by the lightly raced sophomore son of Runhappy  .

"I wasn't 100% sure how the pace scenario was going to unfold," Pletcher said. "We had the benefit of drawing an outside post, so we didn't have to make any strong commitment one way or the other. When he broke as well as he did, Joel (Rosario) asked him to go and he made the lead pretty effortlessly. I felt pretty confident at that point that he'd run well. He's come out of the race really well."

Pletcher said Following Sea, who was second in the 1 1/8-mile TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) two starts earlier, could stretch out again in future engagements.

"He's a very talented horse and trains very impressively. He's also galloped out in a fashion that would indicate he might want to run longer at some point," Pletcher said. "He's very fast and his two wins for us at Belmont were pretty impressive. It seemed like he had a lot left in the tank yesterday. He's a leggy colt, so I think he could continue to improve."

Pletcher will be represented by Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables' Mind Control  and China Horse Club and WinStar Farm's Life Is Good  in the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1). 

Mind Control earned a "Win and You're In" berth to the Breeders' Cup Sprint for his John A. Nerud Stakes (G2) win in July but Pletcher said that after discussions with Red Oak Stable racing manager Rick Sacco, they have decided to enter the 5-year-old Stay Thirsty   horse in the Dirt Mile.

"I spoke with Rick Sacco after his breeze here the other day (half-mile in :50.17) and we're going to give the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile a try," Pletcher said. "I think as he's gotten older, he's indicated that he wants to stretch out a little bit."

Pletcher will also be represented in the Dirt Mile by CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm's Life Is Good. The sophomore son of Into Mischief   most recently took the Kelso Handicap (G2) Sept. 25 at Belmont.

"He's doing exceptionally well. He's a very impressive horse to watch train and his breeze (half-mile in :48.84 Friday) was effortless," Pletcher said.

Pletcher said the running style of Life Is Good should complement that of his stablemate in the Dirt Mile.

"Life Is Good is a very fast horse and I'd imagine he would be a significant pace factor and Mind Control would settle off the pace a little bit," Pletcher said.

Breeders' Cup Turf on Table for Rockemperor 

Trainer Chad Brown reported that Rockemperor  and Serve the King , the 1-2 finishers of Saturday's Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1T), are both likely for the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

Following a third to stablemate Tribhuvan  in the Fort Marcy Stakes (G3T) May 1 at Belmont, Brown added blinkers to Rockemperor through his next four starts, which included a 1 1/4-mile allowance win over the inner turf in June. He removed the blinkers for the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic after a keen fourth in the Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer Stakes (G1T) Aug. 28 at Saratoga Race Course.

"The horse just wasn't getting in position like I wanted to, so I put the blinkers on him and he did quite well with them initially," Brown said. "For whatever reason in the Sword Dancer he got way too rank and started turning the other way on us, so I had to make another adjustment and take them off and listen to the horse. Javier (Castellano) fit the horse really well and it all worked out."

Peter Brant's Serve the King needed racing room in upper stretch but displayed a late rally once in the clear to provide Brown with the Joe Hirsch exacta.

"I'm proud of the horse," Brown said of Serve the King, who arrived at the Joe Hirsch off a win in the restricted John's Call Aug. 25 at Saratoga. "He was training like a horse that was ready to step up. He got in some trouble turning for home, I thought he would have gotten closer had he gotten clear. He really stepped up and seems to be a horse that's improving."

Brown said he would look at the Breeders' Cup Turf for both Rockemperor and Serve the King. He could have as many as four entered in the Breeders' Cup Turf with multiple grade 1 winner Domestic Spending  and Tribhuvan, a winner of the United Nations (G1T) at Monmouth Park two starts back, also pointing for the race. Brown secured a win in the 2019 Turf with eventual Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar .

Trainer Christophe Clement was gallant in defeat after Otter Bend Stables' dual grade 1 winner Gufo  finished third as the favorite in the Joe Hirsch.

Clement expressed some uncertainty regarding pointing Gufo to the Breeders' Cup Turf.

"Gufo ran a great race. He came back a little stiff from his race yesterday, but not bad," Clement said Sunday. "We'll live to fight another day. The winner was impressive. No decision has been made yet. I'll have to see how he comes out of it a week to 10 days before we commit to the Breeders' Cup."