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Itsmyluckyday justifies Plesa's faith, now targeting Haskell Trilogy Stable and Laurie Plesa's Itsmyluckyday looked bright Sunday morning, earning high marks from trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. for the manner in which he exited his second-place finish behind Oxbow in Saturday's Preakness Stakes. "On a 1-to-10 scale, 10-plus," Plesa said. Itsmyluckyday, who had finished 15th over the sloppy Churchill Downs track in the Kentucky Derby, rebounded with a strong showing at Pimlico. The son of Lawyer Ron, who was forwardly placed in fourth as Oxbow set a comfortable pace along the backstretch, kicked in through the stretch but could get no closer than 1 3/4 lengths to trainer D. Wayne Lukas' sixth Preakness winner. "I wouldn't take anything away from Wayne's horse, but they went the half in 48-and-change. That's pretty much walking. Did that help his horse? Absolutely. Did it hurt my horse? Absolutely," Plesa said. "I won't say anything other than I wish the pace would have been quicker." Plesa said Itsmyluckyday's dismal Derby showing did nothing to undermine his confidence in his colt's abilities, but he was happy that the Kentucky-bred got a chance to prove his critics wrong. "Everybody was throwing him out because he couldn't get the distance and he ran a lousy race. I hate to use slop as an excuse, but it was a valid excuse. We all knew that," Plesa said. "Not for us, but for other people, it validates his ability. "That's not a bad thing. They're like your children. You don't like to read something bad about your children. We know what we have. He's an exceptional horse; there's no doubt about it." A start in the Belmont Stakes is far from a definite for the Gulfstream Park Derby and Holy Bull winner. "It's 50-50 at best," Plesa stated. Itsmyluckyday, who was scheduled to ship to Monmouth Park Sunday, is a far more definite candidate to run in the Grade 1, $1 million Haskell Invitational at the New Jersey track on July 28. "The Haskell is on my list. God willing, that's a certainty," Plesa said. Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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