Todd Pletcher Will Ship Three for Royal Ascot
- By A.J. Ryder on May 3, 2011 00:11 GMT
Top American conditioner Todd Pletcher, a winner of last year's Kentucky Derby with upstart Super Saver (Maria's Mon), is set to invade Royal Ascot this year and he is firming up plans to bring a trio of high-profile contenders to the June fixture.
The best of the best from his turf contingent have reportedly been firmly pointed towards several contests at Ascot. Speaking to the Racing Post, Pletcher pointed to other US-based conditioners like Wesley Ward and Kenny McPeek as his Ascot inspirations. “Wesley Ward and Kenny McPeek have shown that American horses can go over and be competitive at Royal Ascot... It's a world event, and the purses are quite good.”
Pletcher had been intending to run a horse at Ascot last year but the plan failed to materialize due to complications.
The headliner in Pletcher's team is More Than Real (More Than Ready), who is owned by American superchef Bobby Flay. The three-year-old bay miss became Flay's first Breeders' Cup winner when she captured the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf contest on day one of the 2010 edition at Churchill.
More Than Real is entered for the Group 1 Coronation Stakes, which is contested at a 1m distance.
Completing the Pletcher Ascot trio are Bridgetown (Speightstown) and Stratford Hill (A.P. Indy). Bridgetown has been active on the Florida circuit with a score in an ungraded stakes at Tampa Bay and then an allowance victory at Gulfstream with John Velasquez up. The four-year-old chestnut is a Grade 3 winner of the Summer Stakes at Woodbine and is also Grade 2-placed. Stratford Hill captured the Shakertown Stakes at Keeneland two weeks ago in a stakes debut after an impressive trio of victories at Gulfstream.
