He nearly earned his third impressive win in a row for owners Centennial Farms by beating five other 3-year-olds in the $267.5000 Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes over 1 1/16 miles at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 31.
Nearly’s 5 3/4-length victory in 1:44.52 on a fast track under Hall of Famer jockey John Velazquez made him a logical Derby contender.
“I don’t really see it as replacing that one,” Pletcher said of his two stallions. “It’s just that this horse is doing well on his own, and we had high hopes for him. We’re happy to have him.”
The Holy Bull awarded qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby on a 20-10-6-4-2 basis to the top five finishers. The Florida-bred Nearly scored 20 points to put him at the top of the current standings. Churchill Downs officials use qualifying points as a preferred system when the Derby oversubscribes beyond the maximum field size of 20 horses.
Nearly, who had won his previous two starts by a total of 14 1/4 lengths, broke well on Saturday to stay on the outside of the 3-2 favorite Cannoneer, who posted fractions of 22.82 and 45.96 under pressure from Nearly before Nearly put his head forward for the first time after six furlongs in 1:10.32.
“We wanted to get to the first turn at the front, not necessarily in the lead, but in a good stalking position,” Pletcher said of Nearly and Velazquez. “He broke inside a little bit and recovered. Those two went into the first corner. They just clicked away and it looked like he got into a good rhythm.”
Pletcher won the Sacred Bull for the third time, while Velazquez took his second victory in the race.
Velazquez said he saw Nearly, who paid $5.40 to win, mature in the race.
“He got a little aggressive today. He never was like that. Normally it takes a while to get his legs under him, but today he was there right away,” Velazquez said. “He took this race to another level.”
Bravaro finished second and earned 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. Project Ace was 2 3/4 lengths behind Bravaro in third place (six points). Cannoneer came in fourth (four points), followed by Global Aviator (two points) in fifth place. Incredibolt completed the order of completion.
Pletcher both said Nearly’s likely next start will be in the March 28 Grade 1 Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. Pletcher, a two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer, has won the Florida Derby a record eight times. –Charlie McCarthy
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