Thursday afternoon the Churchill Downs stewards were notified that trainer Todd Pletcher's Stanford has been withdrawn from Saturday's 141st Kentucky Derby allowing also eligible Frammento to start the Run for the Roses.
Stanford, owned by Stonestreet Stables, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, was one of four 3-year-olds from Pletcher's barn to enter the Kentucky Derby, drawing post 11 in the 20-horse field with Florent Geroux set to make his riding debut in the race. The colt was 30-1 in the morning line.
"We entered the horse in the race to see what sort of post he might draw," Pletcher said. "We were on the fence as to whether or not to run him, but we thought we'd take a look. But after seeing the draw and talking to the owners, we decided it might be best to take him out and consider other options.
"The horse is fine. We'll train him tomorrow morning and we'll probably work him the morning of the Derby before we ship him to New York. We didn't wait to scratch him. We did it now to ensure that the also eligibles would have their chance to run. We think him coming out now is for the best of all."
Trained by Hall of Famer Nick Zito, Frammento will start the 1 1/4-mile Run for the Roses from post 20 with Corey Nakatani riding. The veteran jockey has never won the Kentucky Derby, but Zito won with Strike the Gold (1991) and Go for Gin (1994).
"I got the call from the racing office this afternoon," Zito said. "We are all excited. We made it. Everybody is happy. He has been training great. I know we will have to break from the 20, but that is a lot better than Post Zero!"
Frammento is 50-1 in the program and is coming off a fourth behind Carpe Diem in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 4.
[SportsNetwork.com]
