Sports

Filly Unlimited Budget may reward Pletcher with second Belmont Stakes

COMING YOUR WAY: Unlimited Budget, here winning the Fair Grounds Oaks in March, could give trainer Todd Pletcher his second Belmont Stakes victory on Saturday. Pletcher and his filly Rags to Riches won the Belmont in 2007.

COMING YOUR WAY: Unlimited Budget, here winning the Fair Grounds Oaks in March, could give trainer Todd Pletcher his second Belmont Stakes victory on Saturday. Pletcher and his filly Rags to Riches won the Belmont in 2007. (AP)

Todd Pletcher punched his fist into the air, then slapped a hard high-five, an almost-savage snarl of triumph contorting his face. It was June 9, 2007, at Belmont Park, and the 39-year-old horseman, on his way to a fourth straight Eclipse Award as America’s top trainer, had just watched his 3-year-old filly Rags to Riches outgame Preakness winner Curlin in a stretch-long duel to win the Belmont Stakes by a head.

Rags to Riches was the first filly to win the “Test of the Champion” since Tanya in 1905. More important to Pletcher, whose post-race exuberance was a sharp contrast to his buttoned-down, icy cool public demeanor, the daughter of A.P. Indy had given him his long-elusive first victory in a Triple Crown race.

Now another filly, Unlimited Budget, could give Pletcher his second win in the 1 1/2- mile classic. The daughter of Street Sense is one of five horses in Pletcher’s barn eyeing Saturday’s 145th Belmont, along with the colts Revolutionary, Overanalyze, Palace Malice and Midnight Taboo. If all five go, Pletcher — who has had 11 Belmont starters to date — would set the record for the most runners in a single year, a mark held by Nick Zito, who saddled three in 2005.

Revolutionary, Overanalyze and Palace Malice, who made their last starts in the Kentucky Derby (finishing third, 11th and 12th, respectively) are definite for the Belmont. As for Unlimited Budget and Midnight Taboo, as of yesterday Pletcher was still awaiting a decision by their owner, Mike Repole, who also owns Overanalyze.

Winning the Belmont tops the bucket list for Repole, 44, a lifelong fan of New York racing who studied sports management at St. John’s and made a fortune developing Vitaminwater. His stable colors are blue and orange for his favorite team, the Mets.

“The Belmont Stakes is the one race,” said Repole, whose colt Stay Thirsty finished a close second two years ago. “Some people get Derby fever. I don’t. I get Belmont Stakes fever.”

The Belmont would be only the fourth start for Midnight Taboo, a son of Langfuhr. He could go instead in the Easy Goer Stakes on the undercard.

“You run a Midnight Taboo at 30-1 [in the Belmont] and he comes in first or second, you’re a genius,” Repole said. “He comes in 13th or 14th, you’re a moron.”

As for Unlimited Budget, who won her first four starts before finishing third in the Kentucky Oaks, Repole said: “The bottom line is, do you want to run two weeks later [in the Mother Goose] against Dreaming of Julia, or a mile-and-a-half against the boys? [Dreaming of Julia] might be the best 3-year-old filly or colt combined. She’s a freak.

“It’s a tough decision. You want to put [Unlimited Budget] in the best spot.”

Comparing Unlimited Budget to Rags to Riches, Pletcher said: “They’re both big, strong fillies, and I think that’s important. [Unlimited Budget] will fit right in [with the colts] from a physical standpoint.

“Both have accomplished a lot, the difference being Rags to Riches was able to win the Kentucky Oaks. The reason we decided to run her in the Belmont is, she’s so stoutly bred. Being a half-sister to a Belmont winner [Jazil] and being [sired] by a Belmont winner, we felt very confident the distance would suit her well.”

But Pletcher admitted, “I’m a bit concerned about the bottom side of [Unlimited Budget’s] pedigree. It’s maybe not quite as deep in stamina as Rags to Riches’ was. That’s a concern.”