Trainer Todd Pletcher revealed that Disposablepleasure emerged from her
dramatic victory in Saturday’s Grade 2 Demoiselle with a “slight grabbed
quarter,” but was otherwise doing well Sunday morning.
In the Demoiselle, Disposablepleasure stumbled badly at the start, checked on
the far turn, split horses in upper stretch, and battled Wildcat’s Smile to the
finish to prevail by a nose.
“I believe (she grabbed a quarter) at the start of the race, but it shouldn’t
be anything that will hold her up,” said Pletcher, who trains the two-year-old
filly for Glencrest Farm. “Aside from that, she is in good shape.”
Pletcher lauded Disposablepleasure for her determination.
“I think the stumble alone would have been a significant enough of an excuse
for her not to win, or getting stopped at roughly the three-eighths pole as
abruptly as she did,” Pletcher said. “Putting the two together, it was an
impressive performance for her, or any young horse going 1 1/8 miles the first
time.”
Disposablepleasure has made a steady ascent so far in her career, finishing
fourth on turf in August at Saratoga, second in September at Monmouth Park, and
first by 11 lengths in October at Belmont Park in three starts prior to the
Demoiselle.
“She was a filly we felt like early on wanted to run a route of ground,”
Pletcher said. “She has some turf in her pedigree, so with the two-turn options
at Saratoga we started off there, but she sort of gradually got a little bit
better with every start. Her maiden win was clearly an improvement over her
first two starts.
“So at that point we were looking at the calendar and circled the Demoiselle.
Just training up to it was the best plan. There was a little more space than we
would have ideally liked, but we felt like it was a safer play than having her
final prep too close to the Demoiselle.”
In the other two-year-old race on the card, the Grade 2 Remsen, El Padrino
and Our Entourage respectively finished third and fifth for Pletcher. Two
lengths separated the winner, O’Prado Again, from Our Entourage.
El Padrino, owned by Let’s Go Stable, entered the Remsen off two previous
starts, including a 12 3/4-length victory in the slop on October 29 at Belmont
Park.
“We were pleased with (El Padrino’s) effort,” Pletcher said. “We felt like he
was a little bit green being inside horses for most of the race, but he seemed
to find his best stride late when he was able to get out in the clear. We were
pleased with his finish, and he galloped out very strongly. For a young and
inexperienced horse, it was a promising effort.”
Our Entourage has raced on dirt, turf, and synthetic surfaces, but Pletcher
believes the Repole Stable colorbearer will switch back to the grass for his
subsequent starts.
“I think Our Entourage ran well,” Pletcher said. “He only got beaten two
lengths. I think yesterday’s race makes us believe that he is probably at his
best on the turf, and we’ll probably focus, at least at the beginning of the
year, on turf racing. We’ll see how he develops. He was a pretty late foal.”
Pletcher said that Disposablepleasure, El Padrino, and Our Entourage will
likely depart for Palm Meadows in Florida on Tuesday. Mike Repole’s Calibrachoa
and Caixa Eletronica, respectively third and fifth in Saturday’s Grade 1 Cigar
Mile Handicap, will remain in New York for the winter.
“I think Calibrachoa will probably not run in the Gravesend (December 17) and
will have a little bit of a break,” Pletcher said. “We’ll point for (Aqueduct’s
series of sprint) stakes races, and we know he likes Aqueduct. Caixa Eletronica
will stay here and we’ll try to find his niche, maybe around two turns.”
Love and Pride, R Gypsy Gold, and Savvy Supreme, third, sixth, and eighth in
Saturday’s Grade 1 Gazelle, all exited the race in good order, Pletcher added.