Pletcher, who could have five starters in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont, caught the
Micromanage was then withdrawn from Belmont consideration by owner Mike
Repole will still be represented in the Belmont by Arkansas Derby
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Overanalyze, coming off an 11th in the Kentucky Derby, completed his
five-eighths drill in 1:00.77. He worked in tandem with multiple Grade 2 veteran
Caixa Eletronica, who posted the exact same time.
Midnight Taboo and Unlimited Budget covered the same ground in company, with
each clocking an identical 1:00.68. Midnight Taboo was runner-up in his
entry-level allowance tilt at Belmont on May 8, while Unlimited Budget lost her
perfect record when third in the Kentucky Oaks.
“Right now I’d say Overanalyze is 100 percent if everything stays right,
Unlimited Budget is 75 percent and Midnight Taboo 60 percent (for the Belmont),”
Repole said.
“It’s a tough decision. Midnight Taboo has done nothing to say not to run.
With Unlimited Budget, do you run against Dreaming of Julia (in the Mother Goose
on June 22) or do you run against the boys? We’ll do what’s right for the
horse.”
WinStar Farm’s Louisiana Derby winner Revolutionary, a fine third in the
Kentucky Derby, went out for Pletcher at 6 a.m. (EDT) and breezed a half-mile in
:48 2/5 under jockey Javier Castellano.
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here to watch videos of Monday’s works, and
here for interviews with Repole and Pletcher.
“I thought everyone worked very well,” Pletcher said. “I think Palace Malice
worked unbelievably well. To me, it was a monstrous gallop out.
“I thought it was a typical work from Overanalyze,” he added. “He’s not an
overzealous work horse. You kind of have to encourage him a little bit. I think
when Johnny (Velazquez) encouraged him, he responded well.
“(For Unlimited Budget), it was similar to what we saw at Churchill. She’s a
little better when she works on the outside. I thought her work last week was
particularly strong. This week wasn’t quite as strong, but I think switching her
to the outside next time you’ll see her a little stronger.
“Midnight Taboo continues to train really well,” he went on. “If he gives us
another breeze like he did today and last week, I think he has (worked himself
into the race). He’s a horse you can see getting better and better every work
and every race.
“(With Revolutionary) right after the Derby, we talked to Elliott (Walden of
WinStar Farm) and we decided to skip the Preakness and go to the Belmont,”
Pletcher continued.
“My gut reaction was this horse doesn’t need a lot of training, we’ll give
him two half-miles and run. Last week, he was doing so well, I contemplated
giving him three breezes, but I decided to stick to my original plan. I’m really
happy with the way he went this morning. I think he’s maintained his fitness
really, really well.”
Pletcher said the jockey situation for the Belmont horses remains somewhat in
flux.
“We’re still in the process of firming it up,” he said. “We’ve got Mike Smith
to ride Palace Malice, Johnny is holding the race for (one of ours), we have
Javier on Revolutionary, Garrett Gomez is riding one, and we’ll see what Rosie
Napravnik’s situation is.”
Napravnik is currently named to ride the Bob Baffert-trained Code West,
winner of an allowance race at Pimlico on Preakness Day, in the Belmont.
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