SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Reports of the demise of the Todd Pletcher Racing Stable have been greatly exaggerated.On Sunday morning, the Hall of Fame trainer stood outside his office at the Oklahoma Training Track and told the tale of an ugly start to his Saratoga summer. By early Sunday evening, it was all ice cream and balloons as all was right in the world for Pletcher and his staff.Pletcher came into Sunday–the seventh day of the Saratoga meet–mired in a uncharacteristic slump. According to Equibase, in his first 14 starts, he had one win, a second and three thirds in 14 starts.It prompted him to make light of a heavy situation.“Going into this meet, as we were getting close to 6,000 (career wins), I was thinking it would be cool to do it at Saratoga,” Pletcher said. “But I didn't mean in 2027.”Things started to return to normal by day's end. Pletcher won a pair of races and talk of a decline began to steadily subside. He had two horses on the nine-race card and both of them found the winner's circle. First, in the fourth race, Liam's Law (Colonel Liam) was victorious in a maiden special weight and, in the eighth, Highlands Way (Not This Time), a 4-year-old gelding, had a rousing rally down the stretch of the inner turf course to win by a neck.So, in the race to 6,000, Pletcher now has 5,988 career wins. Maybe he won't have to wait until next year. Flavien Prat rode both horses for Pletcher Sunday and both are owned by Robert and Lawana Low.“Yeah, I think so,” Pletcher said in the winner's circle after the eighth when asked if the slump was over. “We had a win on Friday, a couple (Sunday) and the horses ran competitively on Saturday.”On Sunday morning, Pletcher was reminded that in his prior 50 starts, he had a record of two wins, three seconds and nine thirds. That was all forgotten as he was absorbing win No. 2 on Sunday.“I remember one meet we started one-for-22, and we felt horrible, and we ended up winning the meet and set the record for 40 wins at the time (2017),” Pletcher said. “Aside from that, we have been fortunate not to have any huge losing streaks like that. Hopefully, we don't see it again.”This Saratoga season has been one like no other. It started in June with the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, and it was one to forget for Pletcher, who was winless in 27 starts (one second and five thirds). It carried over to the slow beginning to the regular Spa meet, which is a record 46 days and began on July 3.Pletcher has won the Saratoga training title outright 14 times; last year he shared it with Chad Brown, who has won or tied for the crown in eight of the last 10 years and is the one to beat this summer. But Pletcher has never been one to count out. The meet is young, and his barn can get hot in a hurry. He is hopeful that the two wins Sunday will be the igniter to bigger and better things ahead.In the early days of the season, some of the barn's big guns showed no sizzle. Antiquarian (Preservationist) finished fourth in the GII Suburban as the 3-2 favorite; Tommy Jo (Into Mischief) was last in the GIII Victory Ride as the 2-1 second choice in her first start since last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.Liam's Law with Flavien Prat aboard | Sarah AndrewPletcher's uncharacteristic start was akin to the New York Yankees starting the major league baseball season with a thud. It is expected they will win all the time, or so it seems. It's the same in horse racing with the Pletcher barn.“I think that is probably a good comparison, fair,” Pletcher said.To have a successful Saratoga run, Pletcher has always said it was imperative for his 2-year-olds to run well. Last year, he won 19 races with his juveniles on the way to 32 wins for the meet. In a span of nine hours Sunday, Pletcher's confidence rose multi octaves.“There is no medicine like winning,” he said in a now empty Saratoga winner's circle after the eighth. “That is what they say. We'll regroup tomorrow.”Ortiz Brothers Getting the Attention, but Prat Figures to be Right in Jockey RaceThe big news out of the Saratoga Jockey's Room Sunday was the return of Irad Ortiz Jr. The four-time defending champion rider made his first appearance of the Saratoga summer. After missing the first six days of the meet because of suspensions, Ortiz won the day's second race with 13-1 Malibu Smart (English Channel) for trainer Mike Maker.“Happy to be back,” Ortiz said. “I love this place.”It has been well documented that Ortiz will have a lot of catching up to do as his brother Jose and the ultra-consistent Flavien Prat have sprinted out to the early lead in the jockey's race. Prat has 15 wins; Jose Ortiz has 14. Prat won four races on Saturday and added three more on Sunday. Prat has never won a Saratoga riding title, and make no mistake, he would love to get one. But he won't make it his ultimate summer goal.“It's not the priority,” Prat said while making his rounds on the Oklahoma Training Track Sunday morning. “You want to win as many races as you can. If I have to go out of town, I will. My priority is to ride good horses, find good 2-year-olds.”Even though he and Jose Ortiz have built a decent early lead, with 39 racing days remaining, Prat will never discount Irad Ortiz Jr., who has won seven of the last 11 Saratoga riding titles“Irad has always been very tough,” Prat said. “He has been winning for so many years that it's hard to beat him. You can't count him out. It's a long meet; you never know what can happen.”Bobrovsky Making a Stop at Spa Next WeekendIt has been a minute since Bobrovsky (Daredevil) has been seen at the races.That ends next Sunday when the 3-year-old colt makes his graded stakes debut and first start since October in the 5 1/2-furlong $225,000 GII Quick Call Stakes at Saratoga.Trainer Dale Romans, who co-owns Bobrovsky with Steve Berg, watched him break his maiden at Saratoga last summer and then win the Skidmore Stakes, also at 5 ½ furlongs on the grass.The Quick Call will be Bobrovsky's first start since Oct. 25 when he finished fourth in the Indian Summer Stakes, another 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint, at Keeneland. Jockey Junior Alvarado, who rode him in the Skidmore and Indian Summer, will be back on board.“He just needed some time off,” Romans said after watching Bobrovsky work four furlongs in 47 seconds (1/147) on the Saratoga main track Sunday morning. “He has always worked well, always had a lot of power. I think he is the total package.”Romans and Berg decided to name the colt after Sergei Bobrovsky, the two-time Stanley Cup winning goalie of the NHL's Florida Panthers. Both have attended Panther games and are friends with team owner Vinnie Viola, who is also a horse owner.Bobrovsky the horse has been at his best when sprinting on the grass and Romans knows that is his strength. Eventually, he might go longer, but not much.“I don't think he is ever going to be a top two-turn horse,” he said. “Speed is dangerous, and he will probably stretch out a little bit. Right now, it's just one day at a time with him.” The post Saratoga Notebook, Presented by NYRA Bets: Slump? What Slump. Pletcher Climbs Out of Early Season Hole with Strong Sunday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.