Pletcher's Breeders' Cup Arsenal Grows With Two Saturday Grade 1 Winners

Trainer Todd Pletcher, whose barn features the likes of prime Breeders’ Cup contenders in Life Is Good for the Classic (G1) and Malathaat and Nest for the Distaff (G1), added two more runners to the arsenal Saturday with Grade 1 victories at Keeneland by Forte in the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity and Annapolis in the Coolmore Turf Mile.

“They are both good this morning; bright and happy,” said Amelia Green, who is overseeing the Pletcher string at Keeneland.

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable’s Forte notched his second Grade 1 victory Saturday, prevailing by a neck over favored Loggins to earn a berth in the $2 million FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) to be run here Nov. 4.

A half-hour later, Bass Racing’s Annapolis notched his first Grade 1 victory with a 1½-length victory over Ivar (BRZ) and in the process earned a berth in the $2 million FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) presented by PDJF to be run Nov. 5 here.

Pletcher, who will be here this afternoon to watch Malathaat run in the Juddmonte Spinster (G1), had two other Breeders’ Cup hopefuls join the Keeneland string in recent days from New York. They are Frizette (G1) winner Chocolate Gelato for the $2 million NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) on Nov. 4 and Pilgrim (G2) winner Major Dude for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), also on Nov. 4.