NYRA/Coglianese Photo

Belmont Stakes (G1) in play for Tap It to Win

by NYRA Press Office

• Sole Volante could get Gulfstream tuneup next week before G1 Belmont Stakes
• Donk will send out pair of veteran state-bred stakes contenders in G3 Intercontinental
• Nitrous looking for breakthrough win in G1 Runhappy Carter
• Mr Freeze targets G1 Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap
• Edwards leaning towards G1 Jenny Wiley with 'super athlete' Rushing Fall 
• Mandatory payout set for Empire 6 for Saturday, June 6 

When it comes to campaigning quality horses, Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse said he follows the "Run them when they're good" philosophy of late Hall of Famers Allen Jerkens and Woody Stephens.

Casse will look to live by that philosophy with Tap It to Win, an allowance winner on Thursday at Belmont Park, who is now eyeing the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes on June 20.

Owned by Charlotte Weber's Live Oak Plantation, the sophomore son of Tapit led at every point of call in the 1 1/16-mile first-level allowance event while recording swift fractions and kicked clear of his competition for a five-length victory. He garnered a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure for his final time of 1:39.76, just shy of Transparent's track record 1:39.22 from September 2018.

Casse expressed little concern at running the three-time winner off 16 days' rest in the Belmont Stakes, noting that some of his star athletes have notched big scores in the past.

"I've always said, run them when they're good," Casse said. "We won the Breeders' Cup [Filly and Mare Sprint] with Shamrock Rose [off of two week's rest] and last year we spun Got Stormy back off of a week's rest to beat colts in a Grade 1 [Fourstardave at Saratoga]. Sixteen days will be enough time.

"I thought that yesterday was a really tough race, but I believed we had a good chance," Casse added. "[Hall of Fame jockey] Johnny [Velazquez] told me that he galloped out really well so that makes me feel good."

Tap It to Win, who has won both of his sophomore starts, was highly regarded by Casse last year. Following a second out maiden win over the Saratoga main track, he recorded two well-beaten 10th-place efforts against stakes company in the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland and the Street Sense at Churchill Downs.

"I thought he was a Breeders' Cup horse last year," Casse said. "When we ran him in the Breeders' Futurity, he got away slow and was very rank. Tyler [Gaffalione] couldn't get him to settle. In the Street Sense, he hit the inside of his sesamoid and had a small sequestrum so we had to go in, get it fixed and have surgery."

Tap It to Win made a successful return to action against his Florida-bred counterparts in a May 9 allowance race going six furlongs at Gulfstream Park, where he beat next-out winner Whiskey Sunrise.

"What was really amazing was that during his time off, he really grew up," Casse said. "He's just a super-moving horse. We breezed at our training center in Ocala and every time we would watch, our mouths would be open when we watch him move. I told Tyler [Gaffalione] before his race at Gulfstream that he would be riding a different horse than he was on previously."

A homebred, Tap It to Win is out of the three-time stakes winning Medaglia d'Oro broodmare Onepointthreekarats and comes from the same family as Champion Filly Songbird.

Casse will be attempting a second straight Belmont Stakes victory after saddling Tracy Farmer's Sir Winston to an upset victory last year.

Casse said Sir Winston, a 4-year-old son of Awesome Again, is scheduled to make a return to action in the $80,000 Flat Out over Big Sandy on Thursday, June 11.

A Kentucky homebred, Sir Winston, who traveled overseas in March for the Dubai World Cup which was subsequently canceled, has not raced since defeating allowance company at Aqueduct on January 31 going a one-turn mile.

"It was disappointing that we didn't get to run him in Dubai. He was training really well," Casse said. "He's doing well now, he's happy, the distance won't hurt him, and we all know that he loves Belmont. We're just trying to get started."

Also for Casse and Farmer is Perfect Alibi, who has not raced since finishing fourth to British Idiom in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita in November, and will likely target the Grade 1, $300,000 Acorn; one of four Grade 1 events carded on Belmont Stakes Day.

The daughter of Sky Mesa won the Grade 2 Adirondack and the Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga last summer and has been training alongside Casse's New York division since mid-March. She recently recorded a half-mile move in 49.49 seconds over the Belmont main track.

Elsewhere, Casse plans on regrouping with Got Stormy following a lackluster fourth to Rushing Fall in the Grade 3 Beaugay on Wednesday and stated he would consider the Grade 1, $300,000 Just a Game on June 27.

"We probably just chased the best turf female in the country," Casse said. "We'll regroup and there's a possibility we'll run back in the Just a Game."

A dual Grade 1-winner, the daughter of Get Stormy arrived at the Beaugay off a runner-up effort in the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile on March 7 at Santa Anita. 

*         *         *

Early look at the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes

Saturday, June 20

Probable (10): Basin (Steve Asmussen), Charlatan (Bob Baffert), Dr Post (Todd Pletcher), Farmington Road Pletcher), Gouverneur Morris (Pletcher), Max Player (Linda Rice), Modernist (Bill Mott), Sole Volante (Patrick Biancone), Tap It to Win (Mark Casse), Tiz the Law (Barclay Tagg)

Possible (4): Maxfield (Brendan Walsh), Ny Traffic (Saffie Joseph, Jr.), Pneumatic (Steve Asmussen), Shivaree (Ralph Nicks)

*         *         *

Sole Volante could get Gulfstream tuneup next week before G1 Belmont Stakes

Sole Volante, an expected starter for the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, could have one tune-up race before the rescheduled Classic, with trainer Patrick Biancone saying an allowance contest on Wednesday at Gulfstream Park potentially serving as the springboard for his first trip to the Empire State.

"He's doing good, unfortunately we missed a work with the bad weather, but there's a race for us next Wednesday in the book and he's going to run that," Biancone said. "We need to give him a prep race. Nothing replaces a race, so we'll run him there and hopefully he runs like we expect and then he'll be in a van the following Monday for Belmont."

Sole Volante started his sophomore campaign running third in the Mucho Macho Man in January at Gulfstream before winning the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis on February 8 at Tampa Bay Downs. On the same track, the Karakontie colt ran second to 49-1 shot King Guillermo in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby on March 7.

Since then, Sole Volante has been training at Palm Meadows in Boynton Beach, Florida. His last recorded breeze was on May 29, with inclement weather nixing this week's scheduled workout.

"He galloped nice and happy for a month in April and re-started the program in May. Unfortunately, we got a bit of bad weather this week and missed a work on Wednesday, but it looks to be better coming up and we hope to get a good race," Biancone said.

Sole Volante, owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Andie Biancone and Limelight Stables, has never finished off the board, posting a 3-1-1 record in five starts with earnings of $266,310. His conditioner said the time off has helped him stay fresh while also providing time to put on weight.

"He's grown and matured everywhere - physically and mentally, too. He's a man now and he was a boy before," Biancone said.

The re-scheduled Belmont Stakes will have a different look this year, with the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent rescheduled races making the Belmont the first leg of the Triple Crown instead of the concluding race. The distance has also been scaled back from 1 ½ miles to 1 1/8 for this year's edition.

"They had no choice because to come back for a mile and a half, that would have been hard on the horses. I'm a little disappointed because Sole Volante might be the only [3-year-old] in the country who could go a mile and a half right now," Biancone said with a laugh. "But we have to take what he gives to us and hopefully he stays healthy and we'll get a better second part of the year than the first one."

*         *         *

Donk will send out pair of veteran state-bred stakes contenders in G3 Intercontinental

Two of David Donk's New York-bred veteran stakes winners will be coming off six-month layoffs in a challenging spot, with Jc's Shooting Star and Saratoga Treasure both entered in Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Intercontinental for older fillies and mares going seven furlongs on Belmont Park's Widener turf.

"They are both doing well and coming off long layoffs," Donk said. "They are in deep water. It's a pretty good race."

Patricia Generazio's Saratoga Treasure ended her 4-year-old campaign with momentum, posting a pair of turf wins at Aqueduct Racetrack, nosing out China Silk in a six-furlong allowance on November 7. Stepping up in class next out at the same distance, the daughter of Treasure Beach bested an eight-horse field by 3 ½ lengths to win the Autumn Days on December 7.

The Intercontinental is one of four graded stakes on Saturday's 11-race card, highlighted by the Grade 1, $250,000 Runhappy Carter offering a berth to the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

"I'll be curious how well Saratoga Treasure comes back. She got quite good late last year," Donk said. "The course was pretty soft when she won at Aqueduct, so I was thinking she liked the cut in the ground. So, a little rain wouldn't hurt. It's an ambitious spot first time out, but as with most of us, we've missed two months of racing and we have to start somewhere."

Saratoga Treasure, 12-1 on the morning line with Eric Cancel in the irons, drew post 11, with 5-2 favorite Significant Form next to her in the outermost post.

Jc's Shooting Star will look to finally start her 8-year-old campaign. The Miracle Man mare will be making her 52nd career start and seeking her first stakes win since 2015.

"Jc's in a little deeper water. Her numbers aren't quite as good as those horses, but she's in the same boat. I don't really have anywhere else to run her at the moment," Donk said. "This is probably a little tougher company than she needs. But it was either this, or not run. She likes the grass. If nothing else, it sets them both up for the next one."

Listed at 30-1, Jc's Shooting Star drew post 10 with jockey Dylan Davis set to ride.

"I think it [post position] helps both of them because they both want to come from off the pace," Donk said. "It probably lets them have a cleaner trip and just covers them up a bit and allows them to take their best chance."

Donk said he is looking to enter the duo in the $75,000 Hessonite on June 26 at Belmont. That race is for older filly and mare New York-breds going six furlongs on the turf.

"It's a new race, so this is a tune-up for that race, for both of them," Donk said.

NYRA returned to live racing on June 3 after a shutdown in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Donk earned his first win of the Belmont spring/summer meet when Riken won at 25-1 odds in Race 7 on Thursday, returning $52.50 on a $2 win wager.

"Eighty days without racing was a long time, so it's fun to get back," Donk said. "It's great for the owners. Everyone was really patient. My clients were phenomenal over this. The staff did a great job, and I commend everyone on the backstretch and at NYRA for helping us get through it. It's great to be back."

*         *         *

Nitrous looking for breakthrough win in G1 Runhappy Carter

Winchell Thoroughbreds and Stonestreet Stables dual stakes winner Nitrous will attempt to make his second start as a 4-year-old a winning one in Saturday's Grade 1, $250,000 Runhappy Carter.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, the son of Tapit made his 2020 debut in the Grade 3 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap, where he was fourth to multiple stakes winning Whitmore. This was the gray colt's first start since finishing fifth in the Grade 3 Franklin-Simpson on September 12 at Kentucky Downs.

"He cracked his knee in that race, but he got that repaired and we took most of the winter off with him," said Winchell Thoroughbreds racing and bloodstock manager David Fiske. "This is a tough race, but you can't win it if you're not in it."

The seven-furlong sprint for older horses attracted a salty field including multiple Grade 1-winner Mind Control and highly regarded graded-stakes winner Performer.

Nitrous raced seven times last year, posting wins in the Riley Allison Derby at Sunland Park and the Bachelor at Oaklawn Park. In his lone effort at Belmont Park, he was a close second to Hog Creek Hustle in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens before another runner-up effort in the Grade 2 Amsterdam at Saratoga.

"He's got some Grade 1 black type behind him," Fiske said. "Like most horses, he's gotten bigger and stronger at age four. He's wintered well and trained really well, so he should improve in his second start this year. It would be cool if he could win it."

Bred in Kentucky by Winchell, Nitrous is out of the three-time stakes winning City Zip broodmare Speedinthruthecity, who also was campaigned by Winchell and Asmussen.

Fiske said graded stakes-placed Pneumatic would likely not make the trip to Belmont Park for the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 20. Instead, the horse will focus mainly on preparing for a rescheduled edition of the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, which is slated for September 5 at Churchill Downs.

"It's still up in the air, but there seems to be Derby preps sprouting up like daisies all over the country," Fiske said.

A Kentucky homebred by Uncle Mo, Pneumatic was third in his two-turn debut behind Maxfield in the Grade 3 Matt Winn on May 23 at Churchill Downs. He began his career with two victories at Oaklawn Park against maiden and first level allowance company. 

*         *         *

Mr Freeze targets G1 Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap

Trainer Dale Romans is determined to make his three-time graded stakes winner Mr Freeze a potential stallion prospect, which is why the Louisville-based conditioner will target the Grade 1, $500,000 Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap with the 5-year-old son of To Honor and Serve.

Owned by Bakster Farm, Mr. Freeze has won both of his stakes efforts going a one-turn mile, the most recent of which took place in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile on February 29, where he recorded a career-best 107 Beyer for the three-length victory. As a 4-year-old, he won the Grade 3 Ack Ack at his Churchill Downs base going the one-turn mile.

"He deserves the chance to be in there," said Romans, who won the Met Mile in 2012 with Shackleford. "It's a stallion-making race so we want him in there."

The consistent Mr Freeze has finished in the money in 11 of 13 career starts and has garnered triple-digit figures in four of his last six races. His last start took place in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap on May 2 when finishing third as the lukewarm favorite to By My Standards. He began his 5-year-old season with a runner-up effort in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational behind Mucho Gusto.

Bred in Kentucky by Siena Farms, Mr Freeze is out of the Tabasco Cat broodmare Heavenly Cat. 

*         *         *

Edwards leaning towards G1 Jenny Wiley with 'Super Athlete' Rushing Fall

Four-time Grade 1-winner Rushing Fall made a winning return for Bob Edwards' e Five Thoroughbred Racing in Wednesday's Grade 3 Beaugay at Belmont Park to highlight the 25-day spring/summer meet's Opening Day.

Trained by Chad Brown, the 5-year-old daughter of multiple champion-producing stallion More Than Ready is possible to protect her title in either the Grade 1, $300,000 Just a Game on June 27 over the Belmont turf or the Grade 1, $350,000 Jenny Wiley at Keeneland. While both races are in play for her next start, Edwards is slightly in favor of the Jenny Wiley, citing the extra two weeks of training.

"We'll look at both races, but I'd say we're leaning towards that," Edwards said. "I like the extra [two weeks] and she's a horse that does better with time. It's a tough decision to make, you got two races that she's won over two tracks that she really likes."

Rushing Fall, who was made the post time favorite in 11 of her 12 career starts, is a three-time winner over both the Belmont and Keeneland turf courses. Her lone off-the-board effort took place in the Grade 1 First Lady on October 5 at Keeneland, where she was fourth beaten 5 ¼ lengths to stable mate and subsequent Champion Turf Female Uni.

Rushing Fall's sensational career includes four Grade 1 victories which have taken place in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar, the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup and Jenny Wiley at Keeneland and the Just a Game at Belmont Park.

"She's a super athlete and just amazing to be around," Edwards said.

Edwards praised Hall of fame jockey Javier Castellano, aboard Rushing Fall for all of her starts, for keeping her energy level just right during Wednesday's race. 

"Javier did a really good job with her," Edwards said. "She just coasted past the wire and he did a really good job of keeping her energy level low."

A victory at either two potential spots would make Rushing Fall a Grade 1-winner at ages 2, 3, 4 and 5. According to Equibase, which has tracked Grade 1 races in the U.S.A. and Canada since 1976, the only North American-based females to accomplish this feat are champions Beholder and Lady Eli, the latter of whom occupied the same shed row as Rushing Fall at one point.

"Some pretty elite company. I'd love for her to be in the same conversation as those," Edwards said.

Bred in Kentucky by Fred W. Hertrich III & John D. Fielding, Rushing Fall is out of the Forestry broodmare Autumnal and was purchased for $320,000 from the Fasig-Tipon Saratoga Select Yearling Sale in 2016.

*         *         *

Mandatory payout set for Empire 6 for Saturday, June 6

Saturday's lucrative 11-race card at Belmont Park will be highlighted by a mandatory payout of the Empire 6, which boasts a jackpot of $78,246 heading into Friday's Belmont card.

Live coverage of all the races in the sequence are available with America's Day at the Races on FOX Sports and MSG+. Free Equibase-provided past performances are available for races that are part of the America's Day at the Races broadcast and can be accessed at https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

The Empire 6's first four legs will feature consecutive stakes, starting with the Grade 2, $150,000 Fort Marcy, featuring four contenders for trainer Chad Brown going 1 1/8 miles on the turf in Race 6 at 3:59 p.m.

The Grade 3, $100,000 Westchester, featuring the season debut of Code of Honor, will go off as Race 7, followed by the Grade 3, $100,000 Intercontinental in the following race for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up going seven furlongs on the Widener turf in Race 8.

The 120th running of the Grade 1, $250,000 Carter Handicap, carded as Race 9, is the centerpiece, with 11 contenders 3-years-old and up going seven furlongs on Big Sandy.

A 6 ½-furlong sprint for New York-breds in Race 10 will be followed by a one-mile maiden race on the Widener turf in the 11th-race finale to close the Empire 6 sequence.

The Empire 6 requires the bettor to select the first-place finisher of the final six races of the card. On non-mandatory payout days, if one unique ticket exists, then 100 percent of the net pool, plus the jackpot carryover if applicable, will be paid to the winner. If there is no unique wager selecting the first-place finisher in all six races, then 75 percent of the day's net pool will be distributed to those who selected the first-place finisher in the greatest number of races. The remainder will be added into the jackpot and carried to the next day's Empire 6.

For more information on the Empire 6, please visit http://www.nyrabets.com.