Carpe Diem Works for Jet-Setting Pletcher
Image:
Description:
Todd Pletcher started his morning well before daylight April 18, breezing three of his Kentucky Derby (gr. I) hopefuls at Palm Beach Downs in Florida before catching owner Barbara Banke's private plane to Lexington to supervise the action of Toyota Blue Grass (gr. I) winner Carpe Diem at Keeneland.
Besilu Stables Florida Derby (gr. I) winner Materiality and Louisiana Derby (gr. I) runner-up Stanford (five furlongs in 1:00.45), and Besilu Stables Fountain of Youth (gr. II) winner Itsaknockout (four furlongs in :48 flat) all worked in Florida with an eye on the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands. The first two went together in company and Itsaknockout worked with undefeated Competitive Edge, who returned from a layoff of nearly seven months to capture the Tamarac Stakes at Gulfstream by 8 1/4 lengths on March 27, and is slated to run next in the Pat Day Mile (gr. III) on the Kentucky Derby undercard.
"I thought Materiality worked very well," Pletcher said. "Of course, he was in company and it was his second work back since the Florida Derby, so we were looking for a little more solid five-eighths from him. This was Carpe Diem's first work back from the Blue Grass so we were kind of just looking for a maintenance-type half, just to assess how he's doing."
Carpe Diem had the Keeneland track to himself around 10:15 a.m. ET, as training ended at 9:45 and Keeneland harrowed the inside to give him a clean path. After breaking off from the pony into a strong gallop, the Giant's Causeway colt clicked through splits of :12, :24, :48, and 1:00 2/5, with a gallop out in 1:13 4/5 under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez.
"He worked great, worked really good," Velazquez said. "We went a little faster than I wanted to go the first part of the work, but I managed to slow him down a little bit in the middle of the work and let him finish a bit down to the sixteenth pole.
"The first eighth of a mile was a little bit faster than I wanted to go because we started galloping down to the pole and by the time we got to the pole he got out of my hands. I managed to slow him down a little bit around the turn and finished up the last eighth of a mile."
Pletcher was also pleased with Carpe Diem's move.
"I thought he worked super," the trainer said. "Seemed like his energy level is good and he galloped out really well. He was kind of hard to pull up in the end, which is always a good sign... in his particular case, with a month between races, we're just looking for two maintainance works and you could tell by the way he galloped out today—he was all the way back at the half-mile pole before Johnny could really get him pulled up—so he's a fit horse."
Pletcher said he and owners WinStreet Farm and Stonestreet Stable will call an audible on whether Carpe Diem will have his final work before the Derby at Keeneland or at Churchill Downs. His Florida horses will ship to the Louisville oval April 21.
"I think by getting the work in today we've got a little flexibility on the other end," the trainer explained. "It looks like rain is coming in and probably lasting three to four days, so we just wanted to get it in on a fast track... I would say most likely he'll have his final work here, but we haven't decided for sure."