G3 Westchester, G3 Fort Marcy top weekend stakes action at Belmont

by NYRA Press Office

Belmont Park will host the first of 32 graded stakes races of the spring/summer meet with the 67th running of the Grade 3, $200,000 Vagrancy for female sprinters on Kentucky Oaks Day, Friday, May 5. Kentucky Derby Day will offer a trio of graded stakes races: the Grade 2, $200,000 Sheepshead Bay and the Grade 3, $150,000 Fort Marcy, and the Grade 3, $200,000 Westchester, the traditional prep for the Grade 1, $1.2 million Metropolitan Handicap ("Met Mile") on Belmont Stakes Day, on June 10.

Paul Pompa, Jr.'s Connect and Shadwell Stable's Mohaymen will look to start their respective 4-year-old seasons in the Westchester for 4-year-olds and up at a mile.

Connect, trained by Chad Brown, will be making his first start since winning the Grade 1 Cigar Mile Handicap, where he closed out his sophomore season with a hard-fought head victory on November 26 at Aqueduct. Prior to the Cigar Mile, the Curlin colt racked up four wins in five tries in 2016, including a one-length score in the Curlin at Saratoga and a half-length win in the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby. His only defeat of the year came with a sixth-place finish in the Grade 1 Travers, well behind the ultra-impressive Arrogate. Connect will be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr. from post 4.

The Kiaran McLaughlin-trained Mohaymen started off his career with five straight wins, including four Grade 2 victories. A $2.2 million yearling purchase, the Tapit colt lost steam in the second half of the year with a trio of fourth-place finishes in two-turn stakes, including the Kentucky Derby, before ending his sophomore campaign with an 11th-place finish against sprinters in the Grade 1 Kings Bishop. Mohaymen will break from post 3 with Manny Franco aboard.

Also on tap for the Westchester are Grade 3 Fred Hooper runner-up Realm for trainer Barclay Tagg; Greenpointcrusader, seventh last time out in the Fred Hooper for Todd Pletcher; Virtual Machine, 2-for-2 on the Aqueduct inner track this year since moving to the David Cannizzo barn; Cathal Lynch trainee Vorticity, a 1 ¼-length winner of an optional claimer March 31; and Frammento for Hall of Famer Nick Zito.

Highland Sky will make in his first appearance since winning an optional claimer on February 25, returning to stakes company after a two-month layoff as part of a veteran field of eight 4-year-olds and up in the Fort Marcy on the inner turf. It will be the first time the Tagg trainee will run at Belmont since he finished a neck behind Deauville in an impressive runner-up effort in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby on July 9. Paco Lopez will have the mount from post 9.

Joseph Allen's Jay Gatsby will also be looking to follow Highland Sky's route, returning to a graded stakes after winning an optional claimer by a head on March 10. Trained by Jimmy Jerkens, Jay Gatsby made three graded stakes appearances in 2016, posting a pair of impressive runner-up performances, including a close second to Heart to Heart in the Grade 3 Knickerbocker last fall, where he registered a career-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure. Chris DeCarlo will ride from post 2.

Suffused will try for her third straight win in the 59th running of the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay for older fillies and mares at 1 3/8 miles on the inner turf. Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the 5-year-old mare by Champs Elysees posted back-to-back graded stakes wins this winter at Gulfstream, including a five-length score in the Grade 3 Very One last time out on March 3.

Also on tap for the Sheepshead Bay are Achnaha, Zipessa, Apple Betty, Guilty Twelve, Voila La Victoire, and Sea Calisi.

By the Moon will look to maintain her consistent success in stakes starts as part of an 11-horse field in Friday's Vagrancy Handicap for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up at 6 ½ furlongs on the main track.

By the Moon, the winner of the Grade 3 Bed of Roses, was the runner-up in her last two starts, in the Grade 2 Barbara Fritchie and Thirty Eight Go Go, following a fifth-place effort in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

Carrumba, the winner of the Grade 3 Top Flight and runner-up in the Grade 2 Ruffian, drew post 7 carrying 116 pounds for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey. Pretty N Cool will return to Belmont for the first time since winning the 2015 Grade 2 Matron for fellow Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. She will carry the high weight of 120. 

Also running in the Vagrancy's 67th edition are Bar of Gold, Wheatfield, Fusaichi Red, Quezon, Kalabaka, Anydayismyday, Jemmabelle, and Kathryn the Wise. 

As New York's Triple Crown headquarters, Belmont Park will host a full simulcast of all the Kentucky Derby action at Churchill Downs on Saturday, complemented by a full day of live racing along with a host of family fun activities, and a commemorative Triple Crown clock giveaway, featuring the silks of every Triple Crown winner, including American Pharoah, included with paid admission while supplies last.

Derby Day will also host the first-ever "Boot, Scoot, & Derby" event, celebrating the charms of Kentucky. "Boot, Scoot, & Derby" will feature a three-hour barbeque buffet, two drink tickets, a cash bar, a DJ for country line dancing and a mechanical bull. From 2-7 p.m. at the North Shore Terrace (fourth floor) tickets are $45 for adults, $26 for kids and include admission to Belmont Park and a race program. Tickets can be purchased by calling 844-NYRA-TIX.

Also on Derby Day, students from area schools will be able to take advantage of Belmont's annual "College Day," offering an array of activities and prizes to college students with a valid student I.D.

Kentucky Derby weekend at Belmont Park, at a glance:

Kentucky Oaks Day

• Date: Friday, May 5, 2017
• Time: First post at Belmont,1:30 p.m. ET; gates open at 11:30 a.m.
• Kentucky Oaks simulcast: First postat Churchill Downs, 10:30 a.m.; Kentucky Oaks post time, 6:12 p.m.
• General Admission: $5; general parking is free, preferred parking $3 and $7 for the clubhouse lot.

Kentucky Derby Day

• Date: Saturday, May 6, 2017
• Time: First post at Belmont,12:50 p.m. ET; gates open at 10 a.m.
• Kentucky Derby simulcast: First postat Churchill Downs, 10:30 a.m.; Kentucky Derby post time, 6:34 p.m.
• General Admission: $5; general parking is free, preferred parking $3 and $7 for the clubhouse lot.
• "Boot, Scoot & Derby": Celebrating all things Kentucky, featuring a barbeque buffet, country line dancing and a mechanical bull, from 2-7 p.m. at the North Shore Terrace (fourth floor). Tickets are $45 for adults, $26 for kids and include admission to Belmont Park and a race program, available online and by calling 844-NYRA-TIX.
• "College Day": The first 500 college students will receive a complimentary program and a College Day t-shirt, as well as other activities and prizes for students with a valid student I.D. Please visit the College Day Activation Area in the backyard (between the duck pond and playground).
• Commemorative Triple Crown clock giveaway: Featuring the silks of every Triple Crown winner, including American Pharoah. The first 10,000 individuals to enter Belmont upon admission will be given a giveaway coupon, redeemable at the Giveaway Location inside the grandstand.
• NYRA Bets Squad: Located in the backyard between the duck pond and playground, the Bets Squad will be available to provide the "ins and outs" of thoroughbred racing, as well as expert tips and other wagering information.
• Backyard activities: Family fun activities, including a petting zoo, pony rides, backyard games, giant inflatables, arts and crafts, as well as food trucks available in the backyard.
• NYRA Bets offer: For a limited time only, NYRA Bets is offering a $200 Sign Up Bonus. To earn the $200, a new member must wager $200 within 14 days of registering, $100 of which must be wagered on Belmont racing. This promotion ends Monday, May 8. For more information, please visit NYRABets.com.