Pretension forged to the lead a furlong from the wire to go on to a 1 1/4-length win $75,000 Sweet Envoy S. Feb. 11 at Aqueduct, giving the 3-year-old Bluegrass Cat colt his first added-money victory. Bluegrass Cat is a top-10 third-crop sire after finishing 2011 ranked second on the second-crop list.
Pretension came from fourth after a half-mile, coming three wide into the stretch to hit the front with a determined run. The winner got the 1 mile and 70 yards in 1:43.87.
The win was the second from five career starts, to go along with three second-place finishes, for Pretension, owned by Kidwell Petite Stable and trained by the Maryland-based Christopher Grove.
“I couldn’t have been happier, it was exactly what Javier (winning rider Castellano) and I talked about – just sit right off of them,” Grove said. “I thought he might actually show a little more speed. It was a good ride.”
A Triple Crown nominee, Pretension will likely return to New York for the Grade 3, $400,000 Gotham S. on March 3, Grove said.
“The Gotham is on the calendar even though it’s in three weeks,” Grove said. “We’ll see how he comes out of (today’s race).”
