Plesa to ‘Keep Going Forward’ With Mr. Jordan
Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. reported that Mr. Jordan was “100 percent” Sunday morning following his dazzling three-length romp at Gulfstream Park West in Saturday’s $100,000 Juvenile Sprint Stakes, one of seven $100,000 stakes on Sunshine Millions Preview Day.
In the 6 ½-furlong stakes for Florida-bred 2-year-olds, Mr. Jordan won handily under a motionless Paco Lopez, following up his 6 ¼-length debut victory at Monmouth Park to establish himself as an exciting prospect in the 2015 class of 3-year-olds.
“Needless to say, if you have a 2-year-old this time of year that shows you that talent, you’ve got to have it in the back of your mind, looking at the 3-year-old year,” Plesa said.
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Mr. Jordan, a flashy gray son of Kantharos, had always been highly regarded by his trainer, who also conditions Souper Colossal, a multiple-stakes winner who finished a troubled seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) at Santa Anita.
“(Mr. Jordan) has only run twice. He’s different than my other 2-year-old, Souper Colossal, who started from the get-go. I’m going to send Souper Colossal back to Live Oak for 30 days to give him a little freshening. This horse doesn’t need it. He’s a fresh horse right now,” Plesa said. “We’re going to keep going forward with him. He could be similar to Itsmyluckday. Itsmyluckyday had a few more races than this horse, but he never needed a break. We kept going forward him.”
Plesa, who saddled Itsmyluckyday for a second-place finish in the 2013 Preakness Stakes as well as multiple stakes wins, said he’d look for a two-turn race in about a month’s time for Mr. Jordan’s return to action.
Mr. Jordan was purchased for $155,000 at the OBS April 2-year-olds-in-training sale by Plesa for his wife, Laurie, David Melin and Leon Ellman. “He’s correct. He doesn’t have any flaws, conformation-wise. He’s just a nice-sized athletic horse that’s really grown into his body from the time I got him to now,” Plesa said. “He’s a bigger, stronger horse than when I bought him. He’s just gone the right way, not just from what he’s done on the racetrack, but from a physical standpoint.” Meanwhile, Plesa is pointing Itsmyluckyday to the $500,000 Cigar Mile (G1) at Aqueduct on Nov. 29.
“He’s going to run in the Cigar Mile on the 29th of November. Then, he’ll probably go to Spendthrift,” said Plesa, whose 4-year-old trainee is scheduled to stand at stud at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Ky. in 2015.
Itsmyluckyday, who captured the 2013 Gulfstream Park Derby and Holy Bull (G3), earned Grade 1 credentials while winning the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 30.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, and I can’t think of a horse race that’s been more gratifying to me for all the reasons you can imagine,” Plesa said. “He’s an unbelievable horse as far as I’m concerned. We’re looking forward to seeing what he can do at stud. He’s certainly brought my family, my partners and myself and the people who work with him an unbelievable amount of excitement. We’re really, really going to miss him.”