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Originally Posted by jpops757
Pletchers top 20 derby colts, how many could still qualify for a NW of 2 race? I would say his owners spent more at the sales for the fewest derby starters. I dont consider myself a Pletcher basher but have you ever seen him take a 50k purchase and make a top stakes horse? More known for taking a sales topper and making a central park pony.
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I'm in no way a Pletcher apologist, or even a fan, but I don't think it's fair to bash Pletcher for the performance of his 3YO's this year... they just aren't that good, and we knew that coming in based on his summer/fall results. He has taken several "moderately" priced fillies and turned them into stakes winners- for example the filly in my picture, Panty Raid, sold for $275k as a 2yo in training and she's won 2 G1's and a G2, all on different surfaces. Fleet Indian went from an okay NYB stake winner to champion under his watch (
), and she sold for a mere $40k as a yearling.
As for the most notorious sales topper, TGM, everybody around the barn there knew he couldn't run. His barn manager gave the old company line "well, he's had some setbacks, and probably lost a few steps because of that" before his first start. That had nothing to do with Pletcher, he just got stuck in the no-win situation of training that bum.