Pletcher sends High Official, Stock Rising in search of record-extending seventh G2 Pilgrim score
Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will have two strong chances in High Official and Stock Rising in Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Pilgrim, at Belmont Park. The 1 1/16-mile Widener turf test for 2-year-olds provides a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf in October at Keeneland.
The Pilgrim is slated as the final race on Saturday’s stacked 11-race card that features three other “Win and You’re In” qualifiers in the Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne [Juvenile] in Race 8, the Grade 2, $250,000 Miss Grillo [Juvenile Fillies Turf] in Race 7, and the Grade 3, $200,000 Futurity [Juvenile Turf Sprint] in Race 10. The program is supported by the Grade 1, $500,000 Frizette [Dirt Dozen] in Race 9 and the Grade 3, $200,000 Matron in Race 6. First post is 12:05 p.m. Eastern.
Pletcher, who is in search of a record-extending seventh win in this event, said he’s been blessed with strong Pilgrim candidates through the years. His past successes include The Leopard [2007], Eskendereya [2009], Seabhac [2017], Annapolis [2021], Major Dude [2022], and Agate Road [2023].
"You’re looking at talent, for one, but obviously precocious enough to be participating in stakes in the summer and early fall,” Pletcher said of finding Pilgrim hopefuls. “We've been fortunate to have some success in this race and hopefully this will be something that can lead to a start in the Breeders' Cup for both of them."
Lawana and Robert Low’s Kentucky homebred High Official [post 10, Flavien Prat] graduated impressively on debut traveling 1 1/16-miles over firm turf on July 26 at Saratoga Race Course. There, with returning rider Flavien Prat up, High Official rated in fifth position before rallying five-wide to score by two lengths in a final time of 1:43.66 – good for a 70 Beyer.
He was entered in the Grade 3 With Anticipation on September 5 at the Spa – a race won by stablemate Liam’s Law for Pletcher and the Lows - but scratched in favor of a try on dirt in the Grade 1 Spendthrift Farm Hopeful where he landed a distant last-of-7.
"The same ownership group had Liam's Law for the With Anticipation and High Official had been training so well on the dirt that we felt it was worth giving him a try,” Pletcher said. “It didn't work out the way we'd hoped, but he's come back and trained well, and we look forward to getting him back on the turf.”
High Official is out of the multiple graded stakes-winning American Pharoah mare Sweet Melania, who was campaigned by these same connections. The well-regarded colt is by Not This Time, the sire of the Pletcher-trained multiple Grade 1-winner Up to the Mark, who earned Eclipse Award honors as 2023 Champion Turf Male.
High Official has worked back twice at Saratoga, including a half-mile in 49.70 seconds over the Oklahoma dirt training track September 26.
“Great pedigree. He's a beautiful colt and ran very well on his debut,” Pletcher said. “We've been excited about him for a while and hopefully getting back on the turf gets him back to his best form."
Pletcher will also send out Resolute Racing’s maiden Stock Rising [post 7, Ricardo Santana, Jr.], who enters from a third-place finish on debut to returning rival Pass On By in a 1 1/16-mile maiden route on September 5 at the Spa.
“I thought he ran very well first time out. It was a very slow pace up in front of him and he closed well despite that,” Pletcher said. “I thought he gained some good experience and we've always had high hopes for him. It's always ambitious running a maiden in a graded stakes, but we feel he's shown that type of talent and he fits in there.”
Stock Rising worked back a half-mile in 51.41 over the Oklahoma dirt training track September 26.
"He's come out of it good. Hopefully with a race under his belt and that experience, he can make a move forward,” Pletcher said.
The $1.5 million Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, a half-brother to Grade 1-winning millionaire Golden Pal, is by Flightline and out of the graded stakes-winning Midshipman mare Lady Shipman [21-13-2-2, $902,387].
Stuart S. Janney, III’s Kentucky homebred Pass On By [post 5, Jose Lezcano] was a determined nose winner at second asking in the aforementioned Spa turf route on September 5 in which Stock Rising landed third.
Trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, the Not This Time colt debuted with an off-the-board effort in a dirt sprint on August 22 at Saratoga before switching surfaces and stretching out with a frontrunning effort to graduate, holding off the pace-pressing favorite Related Party to stop the clock in a final time of 1:44.95.
“He broke [sharp] last time and no one else wanted it, so he was there and that one horse laid on him the whole way,” McGaughey said. “He was able to shake him off at the end and go on and finish even though it was close. I thought that [race] really helped him a lot, and it was his first time on the turf – he had a race on the dirt that was no good, but he came out of that one good, and we brought him back quick. It worked out pretty well.”
Pass On By has worked back twice at Belmont, including a half-mile in 53.63 over the main track September 19 and a half-mile in 49.70 over turf September 25.
“He’s moved forward [since his win] and this is a big step up, but I thought his win was good,” McGaughey said. “He came out of it good and came down here to work on the dirt, and now he’s come back and had a good work on the turf. We’ll see what happens.
“I thought he worked really well,” McGaughey added, regarding the recent work. “I thought it was really good. He was going easy and I was very pleased.”
McGaughey said Pass On By has improved with each start.
“I liked him [early on], but I was waiting on him to grow up. I think he’s still got some maturing to do physically. Mentally, he’s pretty good,” McGaughey said.
Pass On By, a half-brother to graded stakes-winner Scarlett Sky, is out of the winning Arch mare Mata Mua – a half-sister to graded stakes-winner My Impression.
AMO Racing’s Dover Street [post 11, Paco Lopez] has yet to win in three overseas starts, entering from runner-up efforts in a maiden tilt on August 21 at York and following eight days later with a runner-up effort to the more experienced Alfred Wallace in the seven-furlong Group 3 Solario traveling right-handed at Sandown Park.
There, Dover Street dwelt at the start under jockey Pat Dobbs before angling to the rail for a ground-saving trip near the back of the pack. Dobbs asked Dover Street for more with a furlong to run and the chestnut responded willingly to miss by a half-length to the more prominent Alfred Wallace.
Trained by Richard Hannon, Jr., the Persian Force chestnut, out of the Highland Reel mare Highland Class, was fifth over the all-weather on August 5 at Kempton.
Hannon, Jr., who took over training operations from his father, Richard Hannon, Sr. in 2014, will be in search of his first win at Belmont Park. Hannon, Sr. nearly pulled off an 18-1 upset in the 1992 Grade 1 Belmont Stakes when My Memoirs landed a three-quarter length second to future Hall of Famer A. P. Indy.
Hannon, Jr. secured his first stateside victory on September 7 with Haatem in the Grade 3 Mint Millions Invitational at Kentucky Downs. Hannon, Jr. has both Haatem and Persica under consideration for the Grade 2, $500,000 Man o’ War on November 28 here.
Bach Stables’ Chief of Peace [post 1, Manny Franco] arrives from a stalking head score over returning rival And The Runner Is in a 1 1/16-mile maiden route over firm footing on August 23 at Saratoga. He stopped the clock in 1:45.77 and earned a 69 Beyer.
Trained by Miguel Clement, the Munnings dark bay, out of the stakes-placed Bernardini mare Love Beach, was purchased for $300,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Clement won this event last year with Bottas.
A robust field includes the Ray Handal-trained maiden winner Kipros [post 3, Dylan Davis]; maiden winner Let Em Know [post 12, Edgard Zayas], who enters from a fifth in the Grade 1 Summer at Woodbine for trainer Whit Beckman; maiden winners Blaring Ambition [post 6, Christopher Elliott] for trainer Mike Maker and Berta’s Stitch [post 9, Jose Gomez] for trainer John Terranova; New York-bred maiden winner House of War [post 2, Antonio Fresu] for trainer Jorge Abreu; two-start maiden And The Runner Is [post 8, Reylu Guttierrez] for dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse; and maiden Roscoe Goose [post 4, Kendrick Carmouche] for trainer Riley Mott.
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