VA-BRED HOPEFULS WORK FOR BREEDERS CUP

Quality Road on the outside.

Well, at some point sooner or later, the media speculation about whether or not Quality Road will go into the starting gate for the Breeders Cup Classic at Churchill Downs is sure to start filling up cyberspace. However, for now, the news remained directly related to what he is doing on the racetrack.

Edward P. Evans' Virginia-bred breezed six furlongs in 1:13.46 as he continues to build stamina in the lead up to the 1 ¼-mile race, which will be his first start following an easy victory in the Grade 1, 1 1/8-mile Woodward on September 4.

“We’re running 1 ¼ miles off a little bit of a layoff, so we want to make sure we have him fit enough,” said Pletcher said of QR. “He finished strongly and galloped out well, which is what we wanted.”

Life At Ten and Virginia-bred Malibu Prayer, both probable starters in the Ladies’ Classic, turned in separate works on Saturday, and Pletcher expressed satisfaction with their progress.

Malibu Prayer, an Edward P. Evans homebred who captured the Grade 1 Ruffian Handicap at Saratoga on August 1 and was second as the beaten favorite in the Grade 2 Molly Pitcher at Monmouth Park on August 29 most recently, traversed five furlongs in 1:01.26.

“I thought she worked well and galloped out strongly,” said Pletcher.