 Laurin planned to run Riva Ridge in the Hopeful Stakes after Turcotte was finished working with him, but the horse came down with a fever a few hours before the race and had to be scratched.Ultimately, Turcotte's idea worked, and Riva Ridge won four consecutive stakes in the fall of 1971, netting him honors as that year's two-year-old champion.In early 1972, Laurin announced that Riva Ridge would only run in three races prior to the Kentucky Derby, which shocked many observers.