Todd Pletcher stood beside Ted Noffey in the quiet after-training light, palm against the colt’s shoulder, speaking with the sort of pride that softens even the most seasoned trainer. The undefeated two-year-old, now the most anticipated runner heading toward the Gulfstream Park Championship Meet, twitched an ear as if listening. Words followed that moment easily — “You can’t say enough good things about him,” Pletcher said — and with that, the road toward the Curlin Florida Derby began to feel almost tangible.
Ted Noffey is unbeaten, brilliant, and brimming with expectation. His 2026 return has already generated early-season electricity at Gulfstream Park, running just beneath headlines built for Pegasus Day. The Hall of Fame trainer, already an 18-time meet champion at the venue, will look to guide the young star through a campaign aimed squarely at the Curlin Florida Derby and the wider spring horizon.
The colt, last seen powering home in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar, completed his season like a horse in a hurry — debut win at Saratoga, a stylish Hopeful romp, and commanding successes in both the Breeders’ Futurity and the Juvenile. Each race asked more of him. Each time, he answered as if there were no ceiling.
Pletcher’s plans remain open by design. Ted Noffey is slated to return either in the Holy Bull (Jan. 31) or the Fountain of Youth (Feb. 28), with the Florida Derby standing ahead as the target that matters most. For now, November promises rest, grass underfoot, and space to grow.
“We’ll let him tell us when he’s ready,” Pletcher said. “Right now, he’s earned an easy month. Once training tightens again, he’ll guide the schedule.”
The resume already glitters. From Saratoga’s sharp 7-furlong debut to success at two turns, Ted Noffey handled every shift, surface, and distance without fuss — eight and a half lengths, two and three-quarter lengths, one length at the Breeders’ Cup, numbers that only tell half the story. The visual was better: ears pinned forward, stride lengthening, a runner still wanting more at the wire.
Pletcher’s Florida Derby history alone raises the stakes. Fierceness, Forte, Audible, Always Dreaming, Constitution — names tied to classic trails and future stars. Ted Noffey stands next in that lineage, and anticipation is heavier than breeze across the grandstand.
Around him, Pletcher’s barn remains deep but evolving. Final Score, another rising name, will take time in Ocala before surfacing late in the meet. The older division loses Fierceness, Mindframe and Locked to stud, though Antiquarian — last season’s Jockey Club Gold Cup hero — is expected back for another run after a brief Virginia freshening.
If Ted Noffey is the headline, he is also the promise of what a season can become. From the first jog-out morning to the Derby run that may follow, expectation sits like a drumbeat. Pletcher knows the rhythm well. He smiled once more at the colt and said everything without needing to raise his voice.
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