Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher to saddle Overtook and Promise Keeper in Peter Pan
At 0h03, on May 7, 2021 • By BELMONT PARK
Newly minted Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will saddle graded-stakes placed Overtook and two-time winner Promise Keeper in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Peter Pan at Belmont Park.
The nine-furlong Peter Pan for sophomores is the traditional local prep for the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes slated for Saturday, June 5 at 1 1/2-miles on Big Sandy.
Saturday’s card features five graded stakes, led by the Grade 1, $700,000 Man o’ War at 1 3/8-miles on the turf for 4-year-olds and upward and is bolstered by the Grade 3, $150,000 Runhappy, a six-furlong sprint for older horses; the Grade 3, $150,000 Beaugay for older fillies and mares at 1 1/16-miles on turf; and the Grade 3, $150,000 Vagrancy at 6 1/2-furlongs on the main track for filly and mare sprinters 4-years-old and up.
Overtook, a $1 million purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale posted a bullet half-mile breeze in 48.32 seconds on April 30 at Palm Beach Downs and Pletcher said he is hoping Overtook will prove worthy of a run at the final leg of the Triple Crown.
“Historically, the Peter Pan has been a good stepping stone to the Belmont,” said Pletcher. “He has a pedigree that suggests he wants to go that far and now it’s time to see if he’s good enough.”
Hall of Famer John Velazquez, fresh off a Kentucky Oaks–Kentucky Derby double with the Pletcher-trained Malathaat and the Bob Baffert-conditioned Medina Spirit, respectively, will guide Overtook from the inside post. Velazquez captured the Peter Pan for Pletcher in 2004 with Purge and for conditioner Robert Barbara in 1996 aboard Jaimes First Punch.
