A trainer and jockey accustomed to success. Beyond that, there came a first Derby win with a first Derby horse for the ownership team of Anthony Bonomo and Vinnie Viola, childhood friends from Brooklyn.
They could run him in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park with the hope of beginning to accumulate points needed to make the Kentucky Derby field or take a much easier path by entering an allowance race at Gulfstream.
While four of his Derby rivals tried the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last November, among other races, Always Dreaming didn't race from Aug. 20 to January 25, as the owners switched trainers from Dominick Schettino to Pletcher in early September after a third-place showing in June at Belmont Park and a second-place showing in August at Saratoga.
Super Saver only won the Kentucky Derby because he was the recipient of a ideal rail-skimming trip in a roughly run race; Always Dreaming ran away with the Run for the Roses because he proved, unequivocally, that he was a far superior horse to his 19 rivals.
"We've run a lot of horses in it, and some of them may not have run so well", said Pletcher.
"One thing we have going for us is that we brought a fresh horse to Kentucky".
However, that combination, along with Always Dreaming's three straight victories in five career starts, helped the horse surpass Classic Empire as the 9-2 favorite on Saturday morning.
A jubilant Velazquez said, "This is the best horse Todd (Pletcher) and I have ever come to the Kentucky Derby with. I think it will be a quiet environment, give us time to get him settled in and if we have to make any adjustments we'll have time to do that".
It was also the second win for jockey John Velazquez - the first was in 2011 with Animal Kingdom.
A succession of Brooklyn accents spoke loudly in the joyous aftermath of Always Dreaming's 23/4-length victory as the favorite.
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Classic Empire, the morning line favorite, got up for fourth despite getting nearly wiped out when the gates opened. "McCraken came and almost knocked us".
Velasquez said he wanted to get Always Dreaming comfortable before the final turn and then the three-year-old "ran beautifully on the backstretch". "I said to myself that they were going to have to go really fast to beat him". When we hit the quarter pole, I asked him and he responded. "He did it himself from there".
Thunder Snow, the Dubai-based entry, didn't finish. He broke poorly out of the starting gate and began bucking until he was caught by the outrider.
With that concern came the draw reins, which Pletcher patiently explained on Sunday.
While other favorites like Irish War Cry, McCraken and Classic Empire were jostled at the start of the race and had a hard time establishing position in the first quarter mile, Velazquez hustled Always Dreaming out of the gate and secured a favorable spot on the rail and in the clear. If an issue with fourth-place Classic Empire's right eye clears up, he could join them.
Big payouts • Despite a victory by the favorite, Always Dreaming, there were some big payouts in the Derby exotic wagering pools.
"I really felt that he had managed the horse in a very unique way", said co-owner Vincent Viola, "and I thought the horse was showing us, through his response, through his training, that he was progressing". McCraken, who was also sent off at 6-1 could fare no better than eighth.
That's because the runner-up Looking At Lee, went off at 33-1 odds. Battle of Midway finished third as a 40-1 chance, creating a $4,659.21 triactor payoff on a minimum 60-cent bet. The "super high five" (top five in order) returned $493,348.70 for a $1 bet.
As for Canadian-bred State of Honor, after setting the early pace, he faded to be the last horse to finish. Thunder Snow, victor of the UAE Derby in Dubai, was pulled up just after the start but walked off the track under his own power.
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