LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Talk about a game of inches. If not for a photo-finish loss in the Aug. 7 Whitney Handicap, trainer Todd Pletcher’s 4-year-old colt Quality Road would be 5-for-5 in 2010, and co-favored with Zenyatta, not only for Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, but in the battle for Horse of the Year.
Instead, because he was nailed in the final strides of the Whitney by Blame, another Classic contender and Horse of the Year hopeful, Quality Road — despite victories in the Hal’s Hope, Donn Handicap, Met Mile and Woodward — could go off the longest odds of his 13-race career. The knock, some say, is that he is a speed horse who won’t stay the distance.
But Pletcher, 3-for-66 in the Breeders’ Cup since his first starter in 1998, believes he has the horse to beat.
“When we laid out our goals this year, we’re a head short of being perfect,” he said. “Otherwise, everything has gone according to plan. I’d trade the Breeders’ Cup Classic for the Whitney.”
Quality Road had his final workout yesterday at Churchill Downs. Breezing in company with BC Mile candidate Aikenite, he went a half-mile in :48 3/5 under a snug hold, galloping out five furlongs in 1:02.
“Quality Road is an exceptionally talented horse and does things very easily,” said Pletcher. “I thought it was a good, progressive work. He picked it up down the lane, galloped out well and seemed to get over the ground extremely well.”
Because the Classic will be Quality Road’s first start since Sept. 4, Pletcher said, “We’ve obviously had to intensify in training. He’s had a lot of time between races before, so we have a pretty good line on what it takes to have him ready.
“We had three really solid works before we left Belmont, with big gallop-outs. Now it was just a matter of giving him a little leg-stretcher over the track.
“He gives me every indication he’s ready to run a big race.”
Last year, Quality Road lost both starts at a mile-and-a-quarter, finishing third in the Travers and second in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
“Unfortunately, in both cases we caught sloppy tracks,” Pletcher said. “He tolerates an off-track but prefers fast ground. To me, he gets a mile-and-a-quarter without a problem.
“I know one thing for sure. If the Donn (which Quality Road won by 12¾ lengths in 1:47 2/5 for a mile-and-an-eighth) was a mile-and-a-quarter, he might have won by 25. I think it was the best race anyone has run this year, period.”
Saturday, Quality Road will try to duplicate that effort.
“This is the ultimate Breeders’ Cup Classic,” Pletcher said. “It’s what it was designed to be, bringing together a collection of the best horses from all over the world. To add Zenyatta coming in 19-for-19, I don’t see how it could get any better than this.
“If Quality Road won the Breeders’ Cup Classic on a neutral playing field, he’d be a deserving Horse of the Year.”