HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – He’s a turf horse. He’s a dirt horse. He’s a turf horse and a dirt horse. Trainer Todd Pletcher is still not sure which of those descriptions fit the versatile Noted, who will close out his 2-year-old campaign as the likely favorite in Saturday’s $100,000 Pulpit Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The Pulpit, which is carded at 7 1/2 furlongs on the turf, will share top billing on the 11-race program along with its filly counterpart, the $100,000 Wait a While. Noted has run big races on both turf and dirt during his juvenile campaign. He won his maiden and finished second in the Grade 2 Bourbon on grass, sandwiching those performances around a victory over the main track at Monmouth Park in the one-mile Sapling in which he overcame a wide trip to defeat Dornoch by a length. The Sapling was certainly flattered with Dornoch winning his next two starts, including the Grade 2 Remsen in game fashion last weekend at Aqueduct. Pletcher had a tough call to make heading into the Breeders’ Cup with Noted, opting at the last minute to put him back on dirt for the Juvenile rather than keep him on grass for the Juvenile Turf. Pletcher may have regretted that decision after Noted turned in a disappointing effort, finishing a well-beaten ninth behind his stablemate Fierceness. “We didn’t decide which way to go for the Breeders’ Cup until entry day,” Pletcher recalled. “We already knew at that time Dornoch had come back with a big maiden win. And we also figured he’d need to be lucky to work out a trip in a 14-horse field in the Juvenile Turf. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports “Obviously if we knew at the time Fierceness was going to blow everyone away like that in the Juvenile, we probably would have put him in the [Juvenile] Turf. But in the end we figured we had more to gain by running him on dirt. A lot of horses were having trouble with the kickback, which was pretty severe that day on the main track, and unfortunately he just didn’t fire at all.” Pletcher said his chief concern on Saturday is the distance, which he feels is a bit shorter than Noted would probably prefer. “I think he definitely wants to go a little longer,” Pletcher said. “Hopefully his class will prevail.” A field of 11 2-year-olds was entered for the Pulpit, with Noted likely to face his sternest test from Liam’s Journey, who comes into the race still a maiden but off a solid third-place finish behind Pletcher’s Agate Road in the Grade 2 Pilgrim at Aqueduct on Oct. 4. Trained by Mike Maker, Liam’s Journey has been working sensationally over the main track since arriving locally, posting a pair of 58-and-change five-furlong works in preparation for his local debut. Palm Tree and Double Your Money, who finished seventh and eighth, respectively, but less than three lengths behind race winner Can Group in the Bourbon, will face Noted again in the Pulpit. Palm Tree has been gelded since the Bourbon, which came five weeks after a well-graded maiden win going 6 1/2 furlongs over the turf at Kentucky Downs. Double Your Money set a contested pace after breaking from the extreme outside in the Bourbon and still led a furlong from the wire before ultimately succumbing from his early efforts. The local contingent is led by Prevent and Reminder, who finished second and third over the Tapeta in the Armed Forces Stakes here on Nov. 4. Wait a While Ozara, who was run down late by the 16-1 Living Magic when second best in the Chelsey Flower at Aqueduct on Oct. 27, will likely be favored over nine other 2-year-old fillies in the Wait a While. Ozara rallied from just off the pace to a clear lead a furlong from the wire in the Chelsey Flower but could not resist the winner going 1 1/16 miles and might benefit from the turnback in distance in her juvenile finale. She is one of two horses trainer Christophe Clement will send out in the co-feature along with recent maiden winner Beach Cruiser. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. Maker also has a key contender in the Wait a While, the graded stakes-placed Buttercream Babe, who like Noted exits a very disappointing effort in the Breeders’ Cup, finishing last while never a factor in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Buttercream Babe was graded stakes-placed four weeks earlier on the turf at Santa Anita when beaten a neck following a prolonged stretch duel in the Grade 3 Surfer Girl. Great Venezuela has won her last two starts by a combined 11 lengths but will have to prove she can stay two turns while duplicating that form switching from Tapeta to grass for the first time on Saturday. She projects as part of the early pace scenario along with Done Enough and Mist on the stretch-out. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.