“That gave me confidence he was handling everything really well,” Pletcher said.Īnd once Known Agenda went wide down the stretch, there was no stopping him.
Instead of starting to sweat when that was the case Saturday, Pletcher noticed that the horse was gaining ground even if there was no obvious avenue to the lead. Pletcher said Known Agenda has a tendency to get intimidated in traffic. “Everything Todd described to me when they were in the gate actually happened in the race,” Viola said. Viola listened to Pletcher in more ways than one.
Viola then revealed that if not for the urging of Pletcher and the rest of the team, “This horse would be on a plane to California getting ready to run in the Santa Anita Derby because I didn’t think he was quite up to this level of performance.” “Todd has been very patient with this horse from the moment we got him.” “How’s it feel? You feel undeserving, quite frankly, because you know how hard people work,” said Viola, who owns the NHL’s Florida Panthers. While on the subject of accolades, it’s also worth pointing out that Pletcher won his sixth Florida Derby, including his 2017 win with Always Dreaming, who also was owned by Viola. Known Agenda also defeated Greatest Honour when he broke his maiden in the fall at Aqueduct.Īt the recommendation of former rider John Velasquez, who had another commitment Saturday, Pletcher put blinkers on Known Agenda and handed the mount to Irad Ortiz, who merely made the Florida Derby ride his 138th win of the meet, a Gulfstream record. Trainer Shug McGaughey said he still hopes to run Greatest Honour in the Kentucky Derby because “he belongs.” It was the third win in six starts for Known Agenda, who was dwarfed in the pre-race hype by Greatest Honour, the heavy favorite who was never a factor and finished a disappointing third, 3 lengths behind runnerup Soup and Sandwich. We feel like 1 1/4 miles is going to be right in his wheelhouse.” “You certainly stamped his ticket today, and the one exciting thing about him, we’ve always felt like distance isn’t an issue for him. “That’s certainly the hope,” said trainer Todd Pletcher when asked to confirm that the team planned to make the Kentucky Derby the next stop. Who needs California when you can go directly from Palm Beach Downs - his training headquarters - to Churchill Downs for the Run for the Roses? Known Agenda was content to bide his time along the rail, edging closer to the leaders, before pouncing on an opening at the top of the stretch and romping to a 2 3/4-length victory in the 63rd running of the $750,000 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. That smile on his face as the sun set Saturday told the story of how a thoroughbred owner could be so happy to be so wrong. While Vincent Viola was thinking Known Agenda might be in over his head in Saturday’s Florida Derby and might be better off chasing a Kentucky Derby berth in California, he acquiesced to the rest of his team and stuck around South Florida. HALLANDALE BEACH - The horse, the trainer and the jockey knew better than the owner.
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