Pletcher Holds Strong Hand in With Anticipation Stakes

There is no guarantee that trainer Todd Pletcher will win the $225,000 With Anticipation Stakes (G3T). But he does have a stranglehold on it. Of the five entrants in the 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for 2-year-olds on the Sept. 5 card at Saratoga Race Course, Pletcher has three of them. And on paper they are the three best horses in the field. The trio features Pletcher's maiden winners Liam's Law and High Official as well as Bold Leadership, who lost by a nose in his career debut. "I was a little surprised there was only five in there," Pletcher said. "But I guess that's the way it fell together. We considered some other options but we thought this could set them up to run back in the Bourbon (at Keeneland) or the Pilgrim (at Belmont Park). This would give them more experience if they go on to the Breeders' Cup." While Pletcher entered a trio, he also put High Official in the Sept. 6 Hopeful Stakes (G1) on dirt at the Spa and may elect to run him there. Robert and Lawana Low's Liam's Law posted a front-running win in his first try on turf, winning by 1 1/4 lengths in the son of Colonel Liam's second start. "We were looking forward to getting him on the turf and he certainly seemed to handle it well," Pletcher said. Bold Leadership, owned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables, rallied strongly from seventh at 1 1/16 miles to miss by a nose in his Aug. 8 debut. "He had a pretty strong debut and came out on the wrong side of a head bob. So, we're kind of treating it like a win," Pletcher said about the Not This Time colt.