Newly minted sophomore Nearly delivered an ultra-impressive effort as our first runner of 2026! The talented colt withstood a hard bump out of the gate, maintained his composure, and poured it on down the stretch. His five-length victory earned a gaudy 96 Beyer speed figure and gave every indication to target bigger goals next time out. Dr. Carr and Paula Parsons picked out a seriously nice colt, Paula and her team in Middleburg prepared him with aplomb, and the Pletcher barn (including groom Jose and rider Humberto) has done a tremendous job. He’s got a phenomenal group of partners and we couldn’t be happier for them. The Thoroughbred Daily News has more here.
Florida-bred Nearly made the most of his return to his home state! The exciting juvenile catapulted from a green New York debut to an impressive winner as our first starter of the season at Gulfstream Park. A tremendous amount of credit goes to the Pletcher barn, including riders Adele and Hector and groom Jose, for the transformation and to his patient partners who let him figure it out on his own timeline. The great John Velazquez knows him well and rode him to perfection. Like all of our horses, he was selected by Dr. Carr and Paula Parsons, and came up through Paula’s program at our farm in Middleburg. We can’t wait to see what he does next!
