by Brisnet.com
Todd Pletcher, who has won the Saratoga training title eight times, would be
the first to tell you that much of his success at the Spa depends on the
performance of his two-year-olds. So far in 2012, things are looking pretty good
for Pletcher.
By day 10, five of his six winners were juveniles, including
Top
Tier Lass, who romped home by seven lengths at first asking on the grass on
July 30 in the
5TH race. Under John Velazquez, the daughter of dual Grade 1 winner Street
Boss was away well at the start, contested the early pace while running in the
four path, surged past the three in front of her when asked on the turn and
extended her advantage through the stretch under a hand ride.
The chestnut filly’s time for 5 1/2 furlongs over the good turf was 1:03 1/5.
Top Tier Lass herself was a recent arrival in upstate New York, having been
sent to Pletcher’s string at Monmouth Park after fetching $60,000 at the OBS
March Sale of Selected Two-Year-Olds in Training. Out of the King of Kings mare
Top Tier, a winner at 1 1/8 miles on the turf, Top Tier Lass caught Pletcher’s
eye when she breezed one furlong in :10 1/5.
“We were finding quite a few of the Street Bosses we thought were interesting
and she happened to be one that fell into our price range,” Pletcher said of Top
Tier Lass, who carries the colors of Lets Go Stable.
Sent to Pletcher’s string at Monmouth Park, Top Tier Lass “exceeded
expectations” with several sparkling works on the dirt, and in mid-July joined
Pletcher’s barn at the Spa. A five-furlong breeze in 1:01 2/5 on the Oklahoma
turf training track confirmed her natural affinity for grass and it was decided
to give her a “little spin” on the grass.
“We kind of talked about whether to go in the 5 1/2 or longer, and we thought
with her pedigree we’d start off short,” Pletcher explained. “Street Boss
himself was primarily a sprinter on the West Coast. But this filly has some
substance to her, stamina on the bottom side.
“Today, she broke well and was a bit wide going into the first turn,” he
added. “It was a pretty straightforward performance. But I do think she will
stretch out.”
Bred in Kentucky by Sun Valley Farm, Top Tier Lass was pinhooked for $27,000
by Halcyon Hammock Farm as a yearling at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale
before being sold in March.
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