Todd Pletcher Mulls Hopeful For Debut Winner Ted Noffey originally appeared on Paulick Report.

Spendthrift Farm’s Ted Noffey won the 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight opener on Whitney Day and has warranted consideration for the $300,000 Spendthrift Farm Hopeful (G1), a seven-furlong sprint for juveniles, on September 1 at Saratoga Race Course.

Advertisement

“I think so, yes,” said trainer Todd Pletcher of the Hopeful. “I thought that was excellent — very good debut. He had been training well, and we were looking forward to a good effort.”

The Into Mischief gray, with Hall of Famer John Velazquez up, stalked from the four-path through a half-mile in 46.35 seconds on the fast main track, taking the lead under a drive in upper stretch and holding off Criteria by 1 1/2 lengths under steady urging in a final time of 1:17.56.

The performance earned a 76 Beyer Speed Figure, but what caught most handicappers’ eyes was that the time was faster than the Saratoga Special (G2) two races later won by Ewing, who held off Sanford (G3) winner and fellow Rising Star Obliteration in 1:18.03.

“It was interesting to be faster than the stake,” said Pletcher. “I thought he did everything the right way. He came out of it excellent.”

Advertisement

Ted Noffey, named after a misspelling of Spendthrift Farm General Manager Ned Toffey, was a $650,000 purchase at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale who is out of the two-time graded-stakes placed Old Fashioned mare Streak of Luck.

Pletcher also updated on Derrick Smith, Repole Stable, Michael Tabor and Mrs. John Magnier’s Fierceness, who was fifth as the favorite in the Whitney (G1), a nine-furlong test for older horses.

The 4-year-old City of Light bay, piloted by Velazquez, sat third well behind longshots Mama’s Gold and Contrary Thinking, gained entering the second turn while encountering some traffic and took the lead nearing the quarter-pole. He lost his advantage before the eighth pole as Sierra Leone went on to win by one-length over Highland Falls.

“He looked very good this morning,” said Pletcher. “I thought it was a bit of a rough trip. He got parked out pretty wide on both turns and didn’t finish quite as well as we hoped.”

This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Aug 3, 2025, where it first appeared.