Bright Future battled Proxy down to the wire for the victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga Sept. 2. (Chelsea Durand)
Breeders’ Cup Notes
With two impressive performances at Saratoga this summer, BRIGHT FUTURE started living up to the name he was given by co-owners Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable. Following a head-scratching eighth of 10 in the June 10 Brooklyn Stakes (G2), the son of Curlin trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher found himself at Saratoga and picked up two victories. The second, a gritty win by a nose over Proxy in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), earned Bright Future a guaranteed berth in the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
“I think that was his coming-out-party, so to speak,” Pletcher said. “He’s a horse that we always had high expectations for. He had a few setbacks along the way. We maybe threw him to the wolves a little prematurely in the Brooklyn at a mile and a half. We regrouped after that, went back to an allowance race, which was an impressive win. That kind of got us to thinking about the Jockey Club. He was able to get his nose on the wire and in that race. It’s a huge win for him being a Grade 1 and a ‘Win and You’re In’ race and we’ve been pointing for the Classic since then.”
Mike Repole and St. Elias’ Vinnie Viola purchased Bright Future for $350,000 as a yearling and turned him over to Pletcher. At that point, his future was bright. However, physical issues kept him from debuting at Saratoga in 2021 and he did not make his first start until March 19, 2022. He won that day at Gulfstream Park but disappeared again after running third in a first-level allowance on June 11 at Belmont Park. He returned to competition 10 months later on April 1 with a victory but was lackluster in the Brooklyn and eased. At Saratoga he emerged as a top-caliber performer.
“Credit to the owners,” Pletcher said. “They’ve been very patient, partly because he’s a Curlin and he’s going to improve and partly because he had already always shown a lot of talent in his breezes.”
Starting from the outside in the field of eight in the Gold Cup, Bright Future was able to get into a pace-pressing position through the first half-mile. He moved up to challenge the leader in the second turn and had a 2 ½-length advantage at the top of the stretch. Proxy followed his move off the turn, came running in the stretch, but Bright Future managed to hold on and snag the victory.
“That was a heck of a finish, and we were we were on the right side of a head bob, but it was a good race,” Pletcher said. “Proxy’s a horse that’s well-seasoned in a lot of hard battles. For Bright Future, in really his only his second stakes race, to be able to fend off a horse like that says a lot about his quality.”
Two years after his connections figured he would show his stuff at Saratoga, Bright Future arrived.
“There were some frustrating times to get to that level, but I think the patience paid off,” Pletcher said. “We always had high hopes for him and were glad to see him finally, fulfill expectations.”
