Pletcher boasts quintet

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Todd Pletcher is certainly goosing his odds of ending a 0-for-14 streak in the Kentucky Derby.

He plans to enter a record-tying five horses in Saturday’s race – a quarter of the expected 20-horse field – although none of them figures to be the favorite.

“I’m not as excited about having five in there,” he said. “I want to have one that wins.”

The 39-year-old trainer has come close twice before. He finished second to Barbaro with Bluegrass Cat last year and second with Invisible Ink in 2001.

This year, he’s saddling Any Given Saturday, Circular Quay (pronounced key), Cowtown Cat, Scat Daddy and Sam P.

“I still don’t feel like in years past that we’ve brought the best horse to the race,” he said. “I’m hoping this year that maybe one of ours is.”

Circular Quay and Scat Daddy are coming off extended layoffs, and history dictates Derby winners run within four weeks of the first Saturday in May.

Barbaro proved the exception last year when he won after a five-week layoff.

Three of Pletcher’s previous 12 Derby starters had layoffs longer than three weeks going into the race, so this year the trainer is in uncharted territory. Louisiana Derby winner Circular Quay will have had an eight-week break, while Florida Derby winner Scat Daddy comes in off a five-week rest.

“Most of the final preparations have been a little further out than they would have normally been. So that’s one adjustment that we’ve made trying to improve on our Derby results,” Pletcher said. “Bring in maybe a little fresher horse than we have in the past.”

That represents a change in Pletcher’s thinking. This year, he’s chucked tried-and-true Derby trends and is relying on the tendencies of his own horses.