Final Act for ‘Lucky’, ‘Jordan’ Set to Fly
By Christina Bossinakis
It hasn’t been the easiest of roads for Trilogy Stables and Laurie Plesa’s Itsmyluckyday (Lawyer Ron), but one certainly wouldn’t know it by looking at him. The soon-to-be 5-year-old, who looked the picture of health yesterday morning at Eddie Plesa Jr.’s winter base at Gulfstream Park West (ex. Calder), is set to embark on the final leg of his racing career, which culminates with the Nov. 29 GI Cigar Mile at Aqueduct. With 20 starts, including nine victories, already under his belt, the winner of last summer’s GI Woodward S. departs for the Empire State this morning and, immediately following his final racetrack appearance, is scheduled to retire to stud at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Kentucky.
“It’s a really exciting time for him,” said Plesa with a chuckle. “But it’s also exciting for us, even though there is going to be a void there. We know we will have Itsmyluckydays in the barn in a few years. It’s something we can look forward to.”
On the board in six of seven starts this term, the bay won a trio of stakes in the spring and summer, including Monmouth’s GIII Salvator Mile before finishing second behind loose-on-the-lead Moreno (Ghostzapper) in the GI Whitney S. Aug. 2. After turning the tables on that rival in the Aug. 30 nine-furlong Woodward, the 4-year-old finished third while dropping back to a mile for the GII Kelso H. Sept. 27.
“I think he bounced off his two previous efforts,” admitted Plesa when asked about the colt’s latest start. “He was also in a position were he might not have been as comfortable. He had horses to the outside of him and, if you look back at his previous races, he usually had free sailing with nobody outside of him. He was in between horses and I think he got jostled a little bit. I think a combination of that and the previous two races, he bounced a little.”
With retirement all but set in stone at the conclusion of the season, Plesa had a decision to make: take a shot at the GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile Nov. 2 or wait for Saturday’s Cigar Mile. The lifelong horseman chose the latter route.
“In a lot of ways, I wish he could have run in the Breeders’ Cup, because I think he would have something to say about it,” opined Plesa. “The timing would have had to have been different. If the Breeders’ Cup was when the Cigar Mile is, he would have been running in the Breeders’ Cup. I just felt he needed a little extra time.”
He added, “We could have run him in both races, a lot of people would have, but he has been so good to us and I want him to go out feeling as good as he can. And I don’t want to end up thinking, “Man, I shouldn’t have run him back. And now, that’s not going to happen. He’s going into the race a fresh horse, he’s doing great. Hopefully, he can end it on the right note.”
And if his latest bullet work in 1:00 2/5 at Gulfstream Park West Nov. 20 is any indication, Itsmyluckyday appears to have appreciated his two-month respite.
“He has been excellent,” confirmed Plesa. “In his last work, he worked a minute and change and the next work on the tab was 1:02 and change, so he worked something like 10-lengths faster than anybody else. He bounced out of that great.”
While buoyed by the colt’ progress, Plesa was pragmatic about his charge’s chances Saturday.
“It is a very competitive race,” he said. “From what I’ve seen, there will be several top sprinters trying to carry their speed a mile. I’d like to see him lay just off whatever speeds in the race.”
There is no doubt that another win at the highest level Saturday would get Itsmyluckyday’s stud career off to a flying start and, simultaneously, rewarding his deserving connections for their time and patience. Over the course of the past two years, Itsmyluckyday has seen the highest of highs, including victories in the GIII Holy Bull S. and runner-up efforts in the GI Preakness S. and GI Florida Derby, but has also experienced a few valleys as well, most notably pulling up with a pelvic fracture in last year’s GIII Pegasus S. The road back has been a long one, but well worth the wait.
“The injury that he sustained, though it was very time consuming, it is an injury I am very familiar with,” explained Plesa. “I knew he would come back 100%. What we didn’t know was, what is 100%? Is it enough to run at the highest level? As is the case with many 3-year-olds turning four, that maybe aren’t the best horses in the country, but can win at the second and third level? That’s what we found out this year. We found out he does in fact belong at the highest level.”
Plesa, who is slated to remain in Florida to oversee others runners Saturday, was clearly nostalgic as he walked into the colt’s stall yesterday morning to give him a farewell carrot, a few pats on the neck and words of encouragement before sending his prize pupil north.
“It’s hard to see him go,” admitted Plesa. “Hopefully, we’ll have another one to take his place.”
Air ‘Jordan’…
As trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. sends stable star Itsmyluckyday to New York for his final career start before retiring to stud, he looks ahead to the next season with a strong supporting cast of 2-year-olds and the hope one of them might be able to fill the big shoes left by their predecessor. Chief among them are Mr. Jordan (Kantharos) and Live Oak’s Souper Colossal (War Front). The former, who won his latest start in the 6 1/2-furlong Juvenile Sprint S. against statebreds at Gulfstream Park West Nov. 8, is slated to make his next start in Saturday’s Smooth Air S. over a mile.
“He’s something out of the ordinary,” said Plesa of David Melins, Leon Ellman and Laurie Plesa’s Mr. Jordan. “How something out of the ordinary, remains to be seen. I have really nice 2-year-olds, both him and Souper Colossal. Hopefully, they’ll pick up the slack.”
Spotting rivals several lengths at the start, the high-spirited Mr. Jordan–partnered in both prior starts by Paco Lopez–displayed another dimension when coming from just off the pace to win by an emphatic three-length margin.
“He can be a little bit difficult,” said Plesa of Mr. Jordan’s pre-race antics. “He’s not that difficult–you just can’t take him for granted. His last race was more impressive to me, because it showed he can be taken hold of and rated. The more times he does that, the more he will be able to handle being in tight or trapped, and being able to handle it without running over horses and not running off with the rider. That was a big learning curve for him and he passed it.”
Bred for speed, Mr. Jordan is by first season sire Kantharos (Lion Heart), who was undefeated in three career starts, including a victory in the 6 1/2-furlong
GII Saratoga Special S.
“That’s the point of running him on Saturday,” said Plesa when asked about his colt’s first try at the distance. “It’s at a mile, it’s at a racetrack that he is familiar with and we’re going to find out. His pedigree says he’s a sprinter. But, before he ever ran, [jockey] Paco [Lopez] told me he thought the horse would go long and run all day. We’re going to find out. My only regret is Paco won’t be on the horse, since he’ll be in New York to ride Itsmyluckyday.”
Plesa is also looking ahead to next season with the equally impressive Souper Colossal, the winner of his first three starts, including Monmouth’s off-the-turf Tyro S. Aug. 3 and the Aug. 31 Sapling S. The $350,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select yearling faded to seventh in his most recent start in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Nov. 1.
“Souper Colossal left about 10 days ago for [Live Oak] farm,” confirmed Plesa. “He will be there for 30 days and then he’ll come back to me.”
Asked about what the plans are for his two budding stable stars, Plesa said, “You have all those 3-year-old races at Gulfstream. We’ll pick something out for him that’s suitable.”