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​Anaconda vies for first stakes conquest in $150K Elusive Quality

by Mary Eddy

Three Diamonds Farm’s multiple stakes-placed Anaconda will look to notch his first career stakes win in Saturday’s $150,000 Elusive Quality, a seven-furlong sprint over the Widener turf for older horses, at Belmont Park. 

Trained by Joe Sharp, Anaconda was last seen finishing a close second to the Christophe Clement-trained Big Everest in the one-mile Danger’s Hour on April 15 at Aqueduct Racetrack. 

The 6-year-old son of Pioneerof the Nile raced in last of the three-horse field and saved ground as Big Everest led the trio down the backstretch. Anaconda brushed with the retreating Eleven Central as they rounded the turn and went wide in pursuit of Big Everest, gaining ground with every stride down the lane but missed by a nose at the wire. He was awarded a career-high 97 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort. 

The Danger’s Hour was the second time Anaconda has finished a game second in stakes company, adding to a half-length loss in the Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship in November over the Big A turf at odds of 17-1 behind Nothing Better, who went on to set a course record in an April 13 allowance at Aqueduct. The dark bay horse is in search of his first victory since a strong 2 1/4-length victory in a November optional claimer traveling one-mile at Laurel Park. 

Kendrick Carmouche picks up the mount from post 1. 

West Point Thoroughbreds’ graded stakes-placed Voodoo Zip [post 3, Dylan Davis] will make his second start of the year after finishing third in the aforementioned April 13 allowance at Aqueduct for conditioner Christophe Clement. 

The 6-year-old City Zip gelding made his first start off a five-month layoff last out, stalking the pace in seventh-of-9 and showing a strong turn of foot under Dylan Davis to make up ground late. He finished just 2 1/4 lengths behind the winning Nothing Better, who completed the six furlongs in a course record time of 1:06.80. 

Clement, who also nominated Big Everest to this race, said Voodoo Zip has done very well since his last race. 

“He's very happy,” said Clement. “I have not breezed him back as I don't need to - he keeps himself fit. I think Voodoo Zip bounced out of his race in better shape than Big Everest, so he's the one I want to run back.

“He comes from off-the-pace and if we get a decent pace, we have that long stretch which works out well for him,” Clement added. 

The David Donk-trained pair of Thin White Duke [post 5, Jorge Vargas, Jr.] and Yes and Yes [post 8, Jose Gomez] also enter the Elusive Quality from the same allowance as Voodoo Zip, where they finished a respective fifth and fourth just noses apart and 2 1/2 lengths behind Nothing Better. 

Thin White Duke, co-owned by breeder and former trainer Phil Gleaves with Steven Crist, Ken deRegt and Bryan Hilliard, Thin White Duke boasted a 6-for-11 in-the-money record last season, led by a gutsy nose victory in the Lucky Coin at Saratoga Race Course and a close third-place finish in the Spa's Grade 3 Troy a neck behind multiple Grade 1-winner Golden Pal, earning a field-best 99 Beyer. 

Yes and Yes, also co-owned by breeder and former trainer Gleaves with Joseph Straus, Jr. and Hugh Fitzsimons, won three allowance races over the Belmont turf before earning his first graded placing when third in the Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint in October over the Aqueduct lawn. His best finish in stakes company came in the Da Hoss in September at Colonial Downs where he crossed the wire a closing third but was elevated to second after the disqualification of Oceanic. 

Edge Racing and Brent Malmstrom’s stakes-winner Heaven Street [post 6, Trevor McCarthy] will hope to improve on a close sixth-place finish in his seasonal debut on April 2 at Gulfstream Park for conditioner Brendan Walsh. 

The 4-year-old son of Street Sense stalked a moderate tempo set by the victorious Get Smokin in the 7 1/2-furlong optional claimer and swung six-wide in the stretch to make a run at the leader, but made up little ground and was defeated 2 1/4 lengths. 

Walsh said the pace was not in Heaven Street’s favor. 

“I think he did run well and he wasn’t beat by much,” said Walsh. “It was a decent run and it was nice to get that into him. I think the distance will suit him very well at Belmont, so that’s kind of a reason to go there more than anything.” 

Heaven Street is in pursuit of his first win for Walsh after being transferred last summer from the barn of Christophe Clement, who saddled him to victory in the one-mile Columbia last March at Tampa Bay Downs. He made his first start for Walsh with a third-place finish in the Mystic Lake Derby in June at Canterbury Park and ran off-the-board in two more starts before shutting down for a seven-month respite. 

“He’s come along good and it took us a while to get to know him, but he had a couple nice races last year,” said Walsh. “It was nice he had the break – he went to Palm Meadows this winter and he did great down there.” 

Completing the field are the Rafael Romero-trained graded stakes-placed Surprise Boss [post 2, Nik Juarez]; multiple graded stakes-placed Lucky Curlin [post 4, Jose Morelos] for trainer Fernando Abreu; New York-bred multiple stakes-winner Ocala Dream [post 7, Eric Cancel] for trainer Tom Morley; and 2021 Grade 2 Saratoga Special-winner High Oak [post 9, Katie Davis], who makes his turf debut for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. 

The Elusive Quality is slated as Race 8 on Saturday’s 11-race card, which also features the Grade 2, $200,000 Fort Marcy in Race 9 and the Grade 2, $200,000 Ruffian in Race 10. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern. Gates for the Kentucky Derby Day card will open at 10 a.m. 

America's Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Belmont Park spring/summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule/. 

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