Stretch move propels Advice to Lexington Stakes win

Consider Advice all grown up after winning the Lexington Stakes, just in time for the Kentucky Derby. “He’s a horse that’s shown a lot of ability,” said Pletcher, who watched the race from Florida. “We were just hoping he would put it all together and obviously he’s working in that direction. I still don’t think we’ve seen the best of him.”

That’s heady praise after Advice put together a masterful move in the stretch, surging by Square Eddie then holding off Conservative by a length to pick up his first win as a 3-year-old. Advice, with Garrett Gomez up, covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.33 and paid $33.60, $15 and $7.80.

Pletcher is certain Advice has the toughness to navigate the 1 1/4 mile Derby, but he and owners Windstar Farm will wait to decide whether to send him to Churchill Downs.

“I think we’ll take it a step at a time,” said WinStar Farm president Doug Cauthen. “We were just hopeful that we could run well here. We’ll cross that bridge (on Sunday).”

Cauthen told reporters to “talk to Todd” about the Derby, and Pletcher has little doubt Advice can handle the short turnaround.

“The one thing we recognized about this horse from Day One is that he never gets tired,” Pletcher said. “He’s a high-energy horse. I think the two-week (layoff) is OK for him and he’s got a lot of stamina. We’re not going to rule any-thing out.”

Square Eddie already has a spot in the Derby after a solid 2-year-old campaign that included a win in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keene land last fall. That race stamped him as an early favorite for this year’s Derby, but a shin injury that popped up in February knocked him off the Derby trail. Trainer Doug O’Neill and owner J. Paul Reddam weren’t looking for a win in his return, just a solid effort. They got it after Square Eddie recovered from the poor start to take the lead after a remarkable surge that pushed him from ninth to first in seconds.

It wasn’t enough to hold off Advice, but it was probably enough to put Square Eddie in the Derby if he looks healthy on Sunday morning.

“He ran a dynamite race,” O’Neill said. “He got a little tired, but that’s not unexpected.”