A pair of Grade 1 turf contests for 3-year-olds at Belmont Park take center stage on the United States racing calendar this weekend: the Belmont Oaks and Belmont Derby Invitational. The two Grade 1s are part of four graded stakes scheduled for the penultimate day of racing at the Belmont Park spring/summer meet on Saturday.
Saturday also features the biggest days of horse racing for both Horseshoe Indianapolis and Prairie Meadows.
The former is comprised of Indiana Derby Day, the state's biggest day of horse racing with six listed stakes races and two graded. Two Kentucky Derby alums will contest the day's feature race, the Grade 3, $300,000 Indiana Derby: Verifying and Raise Cain.
At Iowa's Prairie Meadows, the $250,000 Iowa Derby drew a field of 14 3-year-olds. That Saturday race is supported by three other stakes races, including the Grade 3 Cornhusker over nine furlongs for older horses, while Friday's card includes four $100,000 stakes.
Delaware Park also has a big card on Saturday, with the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap the major race of the afternoon. Idiomatic is the 7-5 choice in a field of six.
The Los Alamitos Derby drew a field of six 3-year-olds, with John Shirreffs trainee Skinner expected to make his long-awaited return to the races. He will face Bob Baffert trainee Reincarnate.
Saturday's $85,000 Jersey Girl Handicap at Monmouth Park is a one-mile turf contest for New Jersey-bred fillies and mares, featuring a full field of 12 plus two also-eligibles. The top choice on the morning line is Bramble Bay, winner of this race last year but off the board in three starts so far this season.
Saturday
3:09 p.m. – Grade 2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park
Graded stakes-winner Charge It will stretch out in attempt of his second win of the year in Saturday's Grade 2, $350,000 Suburban, a 10-furlong main track route for older horses, at Belmont Park. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Charge It enters from an even fourth-place effort in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on June 10, where he mildly improved position under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez throughout before flattening out down the stretch and finishing 5 1/2 lengths behind the victorious Cody's Wish.
Tonal Impact [post 1, Jose Ortiz] streaks in off a pair of optional claiming conquests for conditioner Linda Rice. The 5-year-old Tonalist gelding has not missed the board in nine starts since being haltered for $40,000 out of a win in November at Churchill Downs. He makes his stakes debut while in search of his fourth trip to the winner's circle this year, boasting a lifetime record of 25-8-3-5 and earnings of $425,826.
Trainer Juan Alvarado will saddle Clapton in hopes of earning a second graded score after the Florida-bred son of Brethren took Gulfstream's Grade 3 Ghostzapper in April, just the second lifetime graded victory for Alvarado. Clapton was a last-out third in the May 19 Grade 3 Pimlico Special won by Rattle N Roll, earning the placing with a stalking trip under regular pilot Emisael Jaramillo. Clapton boasts a consistent 21-5-3-6 record with $452,890 in total purse earnings.
Red Run [post 2, Tyler Gaffalione] attempts his first victory since being haltered for $50,000 out of a game second-place effort in March. Trained by Mike Maker, the son of Gun Runner has placed in two stakes events since, including a runner-up effort in the 1 1/2-mile Isaac Murphy Marathon on May 3 at Churchill where he was bested a neck by Warrant.
Completing the field is trainer Jim Ryerson's Unbridled Bomber [post 5, Irad Ortiz, Jr.], a four-time winner from 16 starts who was last seen finishing a distant fourth in the Grade 3 Westchester on May 5 here. The 4-year-old Upstart colt has won 1-of-3 outings this year, notching an impressive nine-length score in a third-level optional claimer traveling one-mile in April at the Big A.
4:43 p.m. – Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational at Belmont Park
A wide open field of nine sophomore fillies will pursue Grade 1 glory in Saturday's 45th running of the $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Belmont Oaks Invitational, scheduled for 10 furlongs over the inner turf course at Belmont Park.
Both Graham Motion and Chad Brown will send out a pair of formidable contenders, with the former saddling graded/group winners Mission of Joy [post 1, Tyler Gaffalione] and Speirling Beag [post 3, John Velazquez]. Dual graded stakes winner Mission of Joy enters from a 1 1/2-length triumph in the Grade 3 Regret on June 3 at Churchill Downs, where she earned a career-best 90 Beyer Speed Figure. Speirling Beag defeated males when a narrow winner of the Group 3 Eyrefield in October at Leopardstown for her former trainer Jim Bolger. The daughter of Mastercraftsman made her sophomore debut for trainers Alessandro and Giuseppe Botti when fifth in the Group 3 Prix Penelope going 1 5/16 miles at Saint Cloud in France.
Four-time Eclipse Award-winning conditioner Chad Brown will seek his seventh Belmont Oaks conquest when he saddles undefeated stakes winner Aspray [post 7, Flavien Prat] and graded-stakes winner Prerequisite [post 5, Irad Ortiz, Jr.]. Aspray, by Quality Road, made up 11 lengths to capture the last out Hilltop going one mile on May 19 at Pimlico Race Course. The half-length conquest came following a pair of 2 1/2-length wins at Tampa Bay Downs, including an off-the-turf maiden victory and a triumph against winners on the turf. Prerequisite made a swift ascension from maiden to graded stakes winner as she enters her Grade 1 debut. The Upstart bay broke her maiden on May 7 at Belmont utilizing stalking tactics before going gate-to-wire in the Grade 2 Wonder Again on June 11 – the traditional local prep for the Belmont Oaks.
4:46 p.m. – Grade 2 Delaware Handicap at Delaware Park
Idiomatic tops a field of six in the 86th running of the Grade 2, $500,000 Delaware Handicap at Delaware Park on Saturday. This will be the first year the filly and mare race will be contested at the distance of 1 3/16 miles, after being run at a mile and a quarter every year since 1951 (except 2020 when the race was run at mile and an eighth due to the pandemic).
In her most recent, Idiomatic notched a 2 ½-length victory in the G3 Shawnee going 1 1/16 miles at Churchill Downs on June 3. Previously, the 4-year-old daughter of Curlin ran second in the G2 Ruffian at a mile at Belmont Park on May 6. The Kentucky-bred conditioned by Brad Cox has a career record of five wins, a second and two thirds from eight starts with earnings of $474,490.
Morning Matcha could give Robert “Butch,” Reid Jr. a rare training double by winning the Delaware Oaks and the Delaware Handicap in the same year. In her most recent, Morning Matcha, finished second, beaten a nose, in the local prep, the 1 1/16-mile Obeah Stakes on May 27. In her only other outing this year, the Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Central Banker posted a two-length triumph in the seven-furlong Unique Bella Stakes for Pennsylvania-breds at Parx on April 24. Last year, the 4-year-old had a record of two wins, two seconds and three thirds from 10 starts, including a third in the Delaware Oaks, a second in the G1 Cotillion at Parx and a third in the G3 Comely at Aqueduct. She has a career record of five wins, six seconds and five thirds from 19 starts with earnings of $743,390.
5:49 p.m. – Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational at Belmont Park
European invaders The Foxes and Silver Knott take on formidable U.S.-based opponents Kalik and Webslinger in Saturday's Grade 1, $750,000 Belmont Derby Invitational, a 1 1/4-mile inner turf test for 3-year-olds, at Belmont Park.
Trained by Andrew Balding, The Foxes (Churchill) captured the one-mile Group 2 Royal Lodge in September at Newmarket to close out a two-win juvenile campaign. He made his seasonal debut in April with a runner-up effort to Indestructible in the Group 3 Craven traveling one-mile at Newmarket ahead of a surging neck score over Group 3-winner White Birch in the 1 5/16-mile Group 2 Dante on May 18 at York. The Foxes arrives off a fifth-place finish in the 12-furlong Group 1 Epsom Derby on June 3 where he stumbled at the break and advanced to third with a furlong to run before flattening.
Dual Group 3-winner Silver Knott [post 6, Richie Mullen], trained by Charlie Appleby, will look to make amends after a troubled third last out in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Pennine Ridge won gate-to-wire by Kalik on June 3 over Belmont's inner turf. Silver Knott stayed at Belmont following the Pennine Ridge and has since visited the starting gate multiple times, including a three-eighths work from the gate in 35.65 on June 14 over the main track.
Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse will saddle a pair of top contenders in graded-stakes winners Webslinger [post 4, Javier Castellano] and Boppy O [post 2, Luis Saez]. Webslinger returned this year as a first-time gelding and has since posted a perfect in-the-money record of 5-3-1-1, including a deep-closing third in the Grade 3 Transylvania in April at Keeneland ahead of close-up efforts at Churchill Downs when victorious in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 American Turf on May 6 and the nine-furlong Audubon on June 3. Boppy O has hit the board in 4-of-5 starts this season, entering from a rallying one-length score in the one-mile Jersey Derby on June 3 over Talk of the Nation and third-place Turf King, who exited that event to win the Grade 3 Marine on Sunday at Woodbine.
Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will seek his first Belmont Derby score when he sends out Kalik [post 8, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] and Redistricting [post 10, Flavien Prat]. Kalik, by Collected, is a perfect 3-for-3 this campaign led by a frontrunning score last out in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Pennine Ridge where he set splits of 24.69 seconds, 49.17 and 1:13.01 over the firm ground en route to a one length score in a final time of 1:47.85.
6:03 p.m. – Grade 3 Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis
A filed of nine was entered for the $300,000 Indiana Derby, and eight are expected to compete. The group of 3-year-olds includes two starters from this year's Kentucky Derby plus the winner of the Texas Derby and the winner of the Hawthorne Derby in Chicago.
Verifying and Raise Cain both entered the gate for the Kentucky Derby and will lead the charge into Indiana's biggest horse race.
Verifying, from the Brad Cox barn, comes into the race off a second-place finish in the G3 Matt Winn Stakes held at Ellis Park. The Justify colt, purchased for $775,000 at the Keeneland Yearling Sale, will pick up the services of Horseshoe Indianapolis' three-time leading jockey Marcelino Pedroza. The duo starts from post five.
Entering the gate from post two is Raise Cain and Luan Machado. The Violence colt, trained by Ben Colebrook, has one win this season and finished fourth in the Matt Winn Stakes in his last start. Overall, he has more than $300,000 on his card.
Act a Fool from the Larry Rivelli barn is seeking to extend his four-race win streak in the Indiana Derby. The Oscar Performance colt was a winner in his last start in the $100,000 Hawthorne Derby over the turf. He begins from post three with Orlando Mojica, three-time leading jockey at Horseshoe Indianapolis, aboard.
Hayes Strike and Brian Hernandez will vie for their second Derby title this year from post seven. The Ken McPeek-trained Connect colt was a winner in the $300,000 Texas Derby two starts back and comes into the race off a third place finish in the G3 Ohio Derby. Hayes Strike is looking for his third win of 2023.
The post Weekend Lineup Presented By Monmouth Park: Belmont Draws Top Turf 3-Year-Olds appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
