Belmont Stakes Racing Festival Notes 6.6.18

by NYRA Press Office

• Hofburg looks to play spoiler to history in G1 Belmont Stakes
  
• Bravazo gallops, looks to improve on Preakness finish
• Awesome Slew seeks first Grade 1 win in Runhappy Met Mile
• Her Majesty's Call to Mind gallops on Belmont turf for BSRF engagement
• Two-year-old champion filly Caledonia Road strong in G1 Acorn gallop
• Romans excited to be part of history in Belmont Stakes
• 'Less stress and pressure' with Blended Citizen's outside post

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said he has a plan for the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets for Hofburg to have a chance to play spoiler when Justify attempts to become the 13th Triple Crown winner.

"You'd like to be within two, three lengths at the quarter-pole,'' said Mott on Wednesday morning at Belmont Park. "I've been observing a lot of these marathons on dirt, and I don't think you want to be a dozen lengths off the lead turning for home."

Mott has been through these races before, coming up a winner in 2010 with Drosselmeyer at odds of 12-1. This time, the 64-year-old trainer from South Dakota, saddles a 3-year-old colt tabbed the 9-2 second choice behind Grade 1 Kentucky Derby and Grade 1 Preakness winner Justify.

Of course, the biggest question is whether any of the 10 horses entered can handle the 1 ½-mile "Test of the Champion."

"You've got to have a horse that really wants to do that, genetically capable of doing it,'' said Mott. "That's probably one of the main ingredients. Horses are made a little different, move a little differently, and some have the capacity to do it. Training is part of it, but rather I'd rather have a horse that is capable of doing that rather than one that is challenging as a miler trying to stretch it out."

Hofburg seems to be well bred for the distance. He is by Tapit, the sire of three Belmont Stakes winners, including Tapwrit last year. On his dam side is Touch Gold, who won the 1997 Belmont and spoiled the Bob Baffert-trained Silver Charm's quest for a Triple Crown.

Hofburg finished eighth in the Derby under Irad Ortiz, Jr., then skipped the Preakness and returned to Saratoga to train up to the Belmont. The Juddmonte Farms chestnut made the trip downstate on Monday, and has acclimated well.

"We got real lucky with the weather. He had a good trip on a dry road,'' said Mott. "We've been through the paddock and he's good. He was on the race track this morning; wasn't too aggressive, pretty relaxed.

"He's very good. We went into Churchill Downs with all the hoopla in there and it didn't seem to faze him. He stays cool and calm. He knows what he's there for and doesn't seem to get too overly bothered. Until the race, he'll just have regular gallops each morning around Big Sandy."

Mott reported on two other horses he'll saddle on Saturday, Good Samaritan in the Grade 1, $1.2 million Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap and Channel Maker in the Grade 1, $1 million Woodford Reserve Manhattan.

"Good Samaritan seems to be doing well. We're anxious to run him at a flat mile to see what happens,'' said Mott of his 10-1 shot. "We know we're going to be a good ways back early in the race and hopefully he'll come with a big run at the end."

The 5-2 favorite for the race is Mind Your Biscuits, with Bolt d'Oro the second choice at 4-1 in the field of 11.

Channel Maker comes into the 1 ¼-mile Manhattan on the turf looking for his first victory in four starts this year. The son of English Channel will be ridden by Jose Ortiz and is 20-1 on the morning line.

Channel Maker finished fifth in the Grade 1 Old Forester Turf Classic Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 5.

"He had some traffic problems," Mott said. "He's a horse that probably needs to start his run a little earlier. He started, stopped and then redirected."

The Wachtel Stable and Gary Barber owned 4-year-old has two wins, three second and three third from 16 career starts, with earnings of $516,250.

*    *    *

Bravazo gallops, looks to improve on Preakness finish

According to Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, Belmont Stakes contender Bravazo has settled in nicely and taken well to "Big Sandy" since arriving by van on Monday. Early Wednesday morning, he resumed his light, local preparation for the "Test of the Champion" with a routine gallop as he continues to assert himself as a legitimate threat to thwart Justify's Triple Crown bid.

"The trip was easy and he had a good day on the track," said Lukas, who trains Bravazo for Calumet Farm. "He just galloped and did very well. He won't do anything of any consequence between now and the race. He's fit. Now I just need to keep him happy the rest of the way."

No horse has come closer to besting the undefeated Justify than Bravazo in the Preakness - in which he fell short by a half-length over a sloppy, sealed track at Pimlico - and if things had gone a bit differently, Lukas said his horse may have been the one to wear the Black-eyed Susans.

In the early stages of the Preakness, Bravazo was sitting in the catbird seat as Justify and Good Magic, the Kentucky Derby top-two finishers, duked it out on the lead. Around the far turn, the Calumet color-bearer dropped back a few lengths with no apparent mishap, only to re-emerge from the fog in deep stretch and nearly nail Justify on the wire.

"He had a very good trip in the Preakness," said Lukas. "What we would change if we could change it, to make the outcome a little better, would be to maybe move a little earlier. When Justify came off the [far] turn, he moved and then we moved. If we moved when he moved we might have been able to upset him."

Bravazo - the only horse in the Belmont other than Justify to have contested both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness - is tied with Blended Citizen as the most experienced horse in the field, with 10 starts under his belt, including five this year. This added seasoning may be just what he needs to turn the tables on his ballyhooed rival, according to Lukas.

"The foundation, just being fit, is going to help his chances," said the trainer. "They're all doing well; I've watched them all train. With the big configuration of the racetrack and the sweeping turns, we should have a good trip. I think it'll get down to which horses have the pedigree and the stamina to finish."

As far as whether or not he believes his charge has the necessary pedigree, the Hall of Famer simply offered, "on paper it looks that way, we'll see what happens."

Should Bravazo run according to his pedigree and navigate the 1 ½ miles of the Belmont oval faster than his nine rivals, it would give Lukas a record 15th victory in a Triple Crown race.

*    *    *

Awesome Slew seeks first Grade 1 win in Runhappy Met Mile

Live Oak Plantation's multiple Grade 3 winner Awesome Slew returns to Belmont Park for Saturday's $1.2 million Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap with another chance to fill what trainer Mark Casse said is the only blank spot on the 5-year-old's resume - a Grade 1 victory.

A Florida-bred son and grandson of two-time Grade 1 winners Awesome Again and Seeking the Gold, Awesome Slew is the only one of 11 graded-stakes winners entered for the 125th Met Mile to have run in last year's race, finishing fourth.

As he did in 2017, Awesome Slew drew the far outside post for the Met Mile, though one spot closer than last year. He has raced twice this year, both at seven furlongs, finishing second as the favorite to Army Mule in the Grade 1 Carter Handicap April 7 at Aqueduct in his first start in five months.

Awesome Slew followed up to be third by a neck in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs May 5 on the Kentucky Derby undercard, contested over a sloppy, sealed track. The two horses that finished in front of him, Limousine Liberal and Warrior's Club, both return in the Met Mile.

"It's an extremely tough race but that's why they're Grade 1s, right?" Casse said. "He's doing extremely well. I thought his first race back of the year, we kind of felt like he was training better than ever. Obviously, he ran into a very good horse in Army Mule. I thought he ran well, had a wide trip.

"He came back and, you know what, I was a little disappointed. I thought he had every shot to win the Churchill Downs, but he didn't," he added. "The racetrack was very, very difficult that day. I don't know whether that was a factor or not; I'm hoping it was. It looks like there's a fair amount of speed in the Met Mile, and I like our post position, so we'll see what happens."

Though winless in two career tries at Belmont, including a second to probable Met Mile favorite Mind Your Biscuits in the 2017 Grade 2 Belmont Sprint Championship, Awesome Slew has been successful going one mile, winning the Grade 3 Ack Ack last fall at Churchill Downs. Also last year, he was second in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Handicap and third in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

Awesome Slew also owns a win at 1 1/16 miles, going all the way on the lead to beat 13 rivals in the Grade 3 Smarty Jones in 2016.

"In the last race he made the lead with about a sixteenth of a mile to go and that horse beat him in the stretch. It was a ding-dong battle, really, down to the wire," Casse said. "I know that the mile is not a problem for him. He's won up to a mile and a sixteenth already, against a pretty good field. The mile's not going to hurt his feelings at all."

A member of the Canadian Racing Hall of Fame and a finalist for the second straight year in 2018 for enshrinement in the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame, Casse won the Met Mile in 2001 with another Florida-bred, Exciting Story.

"[A Met Mile win] would mean everything. This horse, he's a beautiful horse. He's got a good pedigree. He's good looking, has a great mind. He's got the entire package. The one thing he's lacking right now is a Grade 1 win," Casse said. "The Grade 1 would be huge, but the Met Mile Grade 1 is probably one of the most important races that a stallion prospect could win, and it would just elevate him to another level as a stallion prospect if he were able to win it."

*    *    *

Her Majesty's Call to Mind gallops on Belmont turf for BSRF engagement

Call to Mind, a 4-year-old owned and bred by Her Majesty, The Queen, took to the Belmont grass for the first time on Tuesday, galloping over the inner turf course in preparation for the Grade 2, $400,000 Belmont Gold Cup Invitational on Friday.

The homebred, who arrived at Belmont last Friday, stepped onto the course around 9 a.m. and turned in a strong gallop under exercise rider Simon Scott. Galloping ahead of him was Prince of Arran, who also will be competing in the two-mile Belmont Gold Cup.

"I thought [Call to Mind] looked great," said Harry Eustace, assistant to trainer William Haggas. "We went [to the turf] just to check his leads, and in that respect we were very happy. He popped his lead going into the bend and popped it coming off the bend into the straight. From our perspective, he did everything we wanted him to. He's fit and ready. I think he was a bit exuberant once he got into his stride coming down the stretch. Simon said he was quite keen to keep going. We're just keeping a lid on that and saving it for race day."

Call to Mind has won two of eight starts, including a 1 3/4-mile listed stakes last August at Goodwood. The Galileo colt enters the Belmont Gold Cup off a third in the Group 2, 1 3/4-mile Yorkshire Cup on May 18 at York. 

Eustace said Call to Mind will gallop on the main track tomorrow and might jog the morning of the race. 

"We have quite a late race, so he might jog the wrong way Friday morning," Eustace explained. "We want to keep him in a routine and get him out of his stall for the morning."

Call to Mind will be Elizabeth II's first starter at Belmont since Dawn Glory, trained by Christophe Clement, finished third in a maiden special weight in October 2012.

*    *    *

Two-year-old champion filly Caledonia Road strong in G1 Acorn gallop

A nice early-morning, 1 ¼-mile gallop around Belmont Park has Caledonia Road just about set to take on Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks winner Monomoy Girl and five other 3-year-old fillies in the Grade 1, $700,000 Acorn on Saturday at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.

Assistant trainer Heather Smullen was aboard for the gallop and said the 2017 2-year-old filly champion would school at the gate later Wednesday and perhaps on Thursday afternoon.

Caledonia Road, owned by Zoom and Fish Stable Inc., Charlie Spiring and Newtown Anner Stud, has displayed her talent around two turns, winning the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and starting 2018 with a win in a one-mile optional claimer on Apri; 29 at Belmont.

The Acorn is a one-turn mile, and Smullen said she's not sure how the daughter of Quality Road will perform against the likes of Monomoy Girl, trained by Brad Cox, and Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante winner Moonshine Memories.

"Caledonia Road is doing really well, '' said Smullen, the assistant to Ralph Nicks, who is expected to arrive at Belmont Park later Wednesday. "The only thing is it's a one-turn mile and we know she's stronger around two turns.

"Brad's filly [Kentucky Oaks winner Monomoy Girl] is nice. It's a good group of horses. Moonshine Memories is no slouch. But our filly is doing well and it ought to set her up for Saratoga because we know she likes Saratoga and we know we have two-turn races. Ideally, the [Grade 1] Alabama is the goal, so we'll go from there."

Caledonia Road was purchased for $140,000 at the 2016 Keeneland Sale and won her first start, a seven-furlong race at Saratoga last September. A month later, she stepped up into Grade 1 company and finished second in the Grade 1 Frizette. Then came her 3 ¼-length victory in the Breeders' Cup under Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith, who will be aboard her for the Acorn.

In four races, the filly has career earnings of $1,277,800.

*   *    *

Romans excited to be part of history in Belmont Stakes

For the fourth time in his career, trainer Dale Romans brings a horse to Belmont Park with designs on spoiling a Triple Crown bid. Albaugh Family Stables' Grade 1 winner Free Drop Billy will be a decided long shot against Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Justify in Saturday's Belmont Stakes, but Romans wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

"Wayne Lukas told me a long time ago when I was just getting started ... he said he's made millions of dollars running horses where people told him he didn't belong, and if your horse is doing good don't be afraid to give them a chance," Romans said. "I've kind of stuck to that."

Free Drop Billy, 16th in the May 5 Kentucky Derby last time out, will break from post-position 2 in a field of 10 as a 30-1 outsider in the program. The only horse inside him will be Justify, attempting to become the 13th horse to sweep the Triple Crown and just the second to do so without a loss.

"There's only limited chances to run in a race like this," Romans said. "After the Derby we didn't know what we were going to do with him, but he's just trained so well and he's had some good breezes since the Derby. He's doing great and I just think he deserves a chance to run with the best. We'll try him out one more time."

Romans was seventh in the 2012 Belmont with Dullahan, who inherited the favorite's role when Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner I'll Have Another was scratched on the eve of the race with a career-ending injury. Two years later, Romans-trained Medal Count - sent off at 24-1 - was third to Tonalist but three-quarters of a length ahead of California Chrome, who dead-heated for fourth in his Triple Crown attempt.

Keen Ice was 17-1 in 2015 when he finished third behind American Pharoah, whose victory ended a 37-year Triple Crown drought. Keen Ice would go on to become the only horse to beat American Pharoah during his 3-year-old season in the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga Race Course.

"It's fun and exciting to be a part of something that could be historic, like when we ran third the year Pharoah won," Romans said. "Just being there and a racing fan, I was glad to be a participant and feel the electricity and energy from all the people and the fans that day. It makes the whole day a little bit more special."

Free Drop Billy trained early Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs before boarding the same flight bringing Justify to New York. They were expected to arrive at Belmont Park in early afternoon.

*    *    *

'Less stress and pressure' with Blended Citizen's outside post

Gary Hall, SayJay Racing and Brooke Hubbard's Belmont Stakes starter Blended Citizen will navigate the 1 ½ miles of Belmont Park's main track from the outside post 10 in Saturday's Grade 1, $1.5 million classic, and will be one of nine others looking to prevent Justify from becoming the 13th winner of the Triple Crown. 

The colt galloped once around the main track early Wednesday morning, and will continue the same regimen until race day.

The Doug O'Neill-trained colt by Proud Citizen is the lone starter in the 150th Belmont Stakes who owns a start and a victory at Belmont after he won the May 12 Grade 3 Peter Pan by 1 ½ lengths.

The post-position draw was just another step closer to race day, and not a major concern for Team O'Neill according to assistant trainer Leandro Mora.

"Being outside helps, but it's a long race so you have plenty of time," Mora said. "It really doesn't matter much. It's not like the Kentucky Derby where everybody is fighting for position. We're happy. First of all, it's a 10-horse field, and he's going to be the last one to load. Usually there's less stress and pressure, and now Justify is on the inside, he got the number that nobody wanted to have. So, for us it's good."

The big brown Kentucky-bred was labeled a slow learner early on. After three starts on dirt where he was unplaced, he was tried on grass where he began to progress, but it wasn't until he debuted with blinkers in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park that the colt turned the corner.

"Early on at Santa Anita my exercise rider was telling me that the horse was seeing a lot when he was training in the morning," said Mora. "We decided to put blinkers on in training. We brought him to Golden Gate, and I mentioned it to Doug. sI put blinkers on him, but I forgot to enter [the race] with blinkers, so the paddock judge took them off, and we still finished third. In the very next race, we remembered to enter with blinkers, and that's when he won the Jeff Ruby. He also had them in the Blue Grass, but that was a tough race. Now he's getting more and more mature, but we want to keep them on."

Riding a horse with Blended Citizen's style takes a jockey who can judge the pace as well as knowing when to send a long-striding horse according to Mora. Kyle Frey, who has been aboard the colt for his last four races and will ride in his first Belmont Stakes on Saturday, fits his horse perfectly.

"He got along with the horse really well, and he even admitted he should have been a little better in the Blue Grass," Mora said. "He got a little bit out of position, but that's horse racing. This horse doesn't have a good turn of foot, but he's a grinder, so a rider knowing the horse, he knows when he has to start making the move."