The brilliantly marked Ted Noffey passed his two-turn test at Keeneland with an A-plus run
Danny Brewer
This is the time of year when two-year-old Thoroughbreds can show their racing intelligence as the real tests are taken. All the perceived potential can begin to pan out as those afternoon exams are taken on the track. When the grades are posted for the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland, one team will be looking like Einstein.
Ted Noffey strolled into the starting gates at the historic Keeneland Race Course on October 4 as a highly thought of son of Into Mischief. This Spendthrift Farms owned colt had aced his first grade 1 quiz with a commanding 8 ¼ length romp in the seven-furlong Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga on September 1. Long considered a major launch point for the run towards the Breeders’ Cup and of course the Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown chase, Keeneland’s two-turn test would tell us a lot more about this Todd Pletcher trainee and his IQ.
The gates opened and the brilliantly marked Ted Noffey assumed his stalking position just off a moderate pace (23.96 opening quarter, 48.23 half mile) set by the aptly named Litmus Test. Rolling with confidence under jockey John Velazquez, this grandson of Old Fashioned was poised to pounce. Midway through the far turn, Ted turned on the jets and ran right by the leader and assumed command. Gliding down the short stretch in this mile and a sixteenth drive over the Kentucky dirt, Pletcher’s pupil finished a geared down 2 ¾ lengths ahead of Blackout Time. Covering the distance in 1:43.98, there was no doubt as to who earned the honor braids on this day.
“This race was everything we were hoping for”, says Pletcher, who has now won the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity five times. “He’s a push button horse that does a lot of things right. He’s like a complete race horse package that makes guys like me look smart.”
The Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity win was the second grade 1 victory for Ted Noffey
Danny Brewer
The win at Keeneland ran Ted Noffey’s career record to three wins in three starts with two grade 1 scores. He is also now guaranteed a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on October 31 at Del Mar and has earned qualifying points towards entrance into the 2026 Kentucky Derby. He was purchased by Spendthrift as a yearling for $650,000 and has on-track earnings of $617,963.