By most any definition, Todd Pletcher has had the most remarkable meet by a trainer in the history of Saratoga. A 36-year-old who has been on his own for less than seven years, he has smashed the record for most winners at the meet and has several racing days left to fatten his total, which stands at 30 victories. Pletcher is competing at a level that has attracted most of the great trainers in the sport's history and has made winning races look like child's play.

But his finest moment at Saratoga, or for that matter, in the sport, has yet to occur. Pletcher's resume is noticeably void of a winner in the Triple Crown races, the Breeders' Cup or the Travers and he has trained just one champion, the ill-fated Left Bank. With 135 winners this year, he has had 71 more than Bobby Frankel, but no one would dare claim Pletcher is having the better year of the two. Frankel has won 18 Grade I stakes this year, while Pletcher has won two (the Donn and the United Nations).

It's not that he desperately needs to win a race like the Travers. He hasn't been around that long and he will surely win the race some time, maybe a bunch of times. It's just that he is surely on the verge of a major breakthrough and it might just happen Saturday. A win in the Travers would be more significant than anything Pletcher has done at this meet. It might just signal that he is ready to play at the highest level; that he, too, can be counted on to roll out a bunch of champions and win his share of prestigious races.

"To win the Travers, well, forget about training titles or anything like that," Pletcher said. "That is the kind of race that is bigger than a training title. "The Travers is Saratoga. That would cap a great meet."

Strong Hope is typical of the type of ammunition Pletcher is given by a large group of wealthy clients who aren't afraid to spend a couple of million at the sales. By Grand Slam, Strong Hope was bought by the deep-pocketed owners Eugene and Laura Melnyk at the 2001 yearling sales in Saratoga for $1.7 million. Pletcher gets dozens of expensive, talented and well-bred young horses to work with and he wastes little time getting them to the winner's circle. The strength of his operation this year has been his unbelievable arsenal of 2-year-old talent. He has won seven 2-year-old stakes races this year with five different horses, Chapel Royal, Ashado, Deputy Storm, Limehouse and Heckle.

But Pletcher is by no means one dimensional. He has won stakes this year with 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, older horses, on the grass, in sprints, in routes, with fillies, with males. He won a 1 3/8ths Grade I turf stakes this year with Balto Star, one of 22 grass winners he's had this year. He won the Grade I Donn Handicap with an older horse, Harlan's Holiday. He has won 71 sprint races and 64 routes.

With Strong Hope, he has again proven he can succeed in most any situation. A little slow to develop, Strong Hope did not make his career debut until a March 8 maiden race earlier this year at Gulfstream, putting him hopelessly behind the horses aiming for the Triple Crown races. Pletcher never showed any inclination to rush Strong Hope and has instead managed him perfectly since he lost his career debut by 10 lengths. He has been unbeaten in five starts since, improving at each stop along the way. After two allowance wins, he upset Sky Mesa in the Dwyer and Empire Maker in the Jim Dandy.

The Travers was the next logical step, but the circumstances of a crazy week have not worked in his favor. Pletcher is the only one in the race sorry that Empire Maker will be scratched. Empire Maker's defection means that stablemate Peace Rules will be running instead. Like Strong Hope, he is a front-runner, which sets up the distinct possibility that neither horse will get a favorable trip.

"I would have rather tried (Empire Maker) again," Pletcher said. "(Peace Rules) is obviously a really good horse who's overshadowed by his stablemate, but still is an awfully nice horse. Whether or not he's as good as Empire Maker, I don't know. But his running style is similar to Strong Hope and that changes the complexion of the race."

Now that it's unlikely he'll be able to use his early speed to his advantage, Strong Hope probably won't win the Travers. All that will mean is that Pletcher will have to wait another day for the elusive win in the type of races that generate the most headlines and prestige. A better test may come next year, when his current group of 2-year-olds should provide him with plenty of opportunities to win a Triple Crown race. Another possibility is that one of his 2-year-olds will give him his first Breeders' Cup win , in either this year's Juvenile or Juvenile Fillies.

So far, Pletcher's career has mirrored that of many of the good young horses that he trains. He is lightly raced, a tad unproven and has a ton of potential, but has not passed the stiffest tests as of yet. Surely, we haven't seen the best of him yet.