Notes - Xmas Eve

- With Todd Pletcher's suspension set to start on Wednesday, here are the names you need to know for the next 45 days: Seth Benzel in New York, Michael McCarthy in California, and Anthony Sciametta Jr. in Florida. They'll handle the training duties as the Pletcher machine continues on uninterrupted.

Pletcher was denied in his attempt to start his suspension on what was probably, out of the 365 days of the year, the most optimal possible day: during the December lull, on the day that a ten day break in New York commenced, and early enough so that he'd be back at Gulfstream and Santa Anita during the first week in February. Still, even with the delay, he'll be back by Wednesday, Feb 14, in plenty of time to hop on the Derby Trail. (The Fountain of Youth, for example, is not until March 3).

Gulfstream opens on January 3. Nick Zito has been warming up at Calder, and with the win by Carmrachkim in the second on Saturday, he now has seven winners and four seconds from the 20 runners he has saddled. He's even managed to get Hesanoldsalt a graded stakes win and Little Cliff under the wire first (he was DQ'd to second). So you know he must be hot.

Zito has started four first-timers at the meet, all two-year olds, and he has two winners and a second. You may recall his hot streak with these at Saratoga, and after a lull following that meeting he appears to be warming up with them again. Those who are looking at his record of years past of scoring with first-timers at Gulfstream can throw the book away (for the record, he's 2 for 19 there over the last three years). Subsequent to the win by The Luckiest, which I posted about here, he sent out King Alliance for Kinsman Farm, and nice to see Nick still getting horses from the Boss, who has a new farm manager these days.

Calder, Philadephia Park, and Fair Grounds will be the only thoroughbred tracks running on Christmas Eve. Dallas Stewart is off to a good start at the New Orleans oval, with seven winners out of 22 runners. In the 4th today he sends out first-time two-year old Cat on the Line for West Point Thoroughbreds. By the good two-year old sire Tale of the Cat, this colt was purchased for $200,000 at the Fasig Tipton two-year old sale in February after working furlongs in 10.2 and 10.3. It's been a long road to the races for him since then. But note that Stewart and West Point combined to score with first-time juvenile Ollie Jet earlier in the meeting, and this one shows a similar work pattern.

Cat on the Line descends directly from the female family of the 1985 champion two-year old filly Family Style - his second dam is a half-sister to the venerable Wayne Lukas / Eugene Klein runner who won three Grade 1's at two - the Frizette, Spinaway, and the Arl-Washington Lassie. In the Juvenile Fillies, at the Big A, she settled for second to her stablemate Twilight Ridge; but she went on to run 35 times, and was a Grade 1 winner (La Canada) at four.