belmont park | Horse Racing Free Tips

Saturday Insights: $685K OBS Grad Debuts At Ellis

4th-ELP, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 3:16 p.m.
OXO Equine's BALTA (Munnings), a $685,000 '23 OBSMAR purchase who went :9 4/5 during the under tack show, debuts Saturday for Paulo Lobo. The 2-year-old chestnut colt's family tree includes GISW Cupid (Tapit) and is a half-brother to SW Opus Forty Two (Mendelssohn). Opposing him will be fellow firster, trained Kenny McPeek, Northern Flame (Flameaway), who brought $425,000 at the Fasig-Tipton August sale last year. Also entered is D. Wayne Lukas trainee Just Steel (Justify), who went for $500,000 at the '22 Keeneland September sale. TJCIS PPS

1st-BEL, $90K, Msw, 3yo, 6f, T, 1:05 p.m.
A $600,000 '21 FTSAUG purchase, MISCHIEVOUS ANGEL (Into Mischief) exits the gate on debut for Peter Brant and Parkland Thoroughbreds. Trained by Chad Brown, the bay gelding hails from a female family which includes GI Florida Derby hero Audible (Into Mischief), a half-brother to his dam. TJCIS PPS

5th-BEL, $90K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1 1/16th, 3:09 p.m.
DONEGAL FOREVER (Pioneerof the Nile), who sold for $170,000 at the '21 Keeneland September sale, will make his first start for trainer Todd Pletcher. The 3-year-old bay colt's second dam Tenacious Tina (Benchmark) is a half-sister to GISW Midnight Storm (Pioneerof the Nile). TJCIS PPS

7th-MTH, $55K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1 1/16th, T, 3:22 p.m.
Homebred ASKARI (Tapit) breaks from the extreme outside for Todd Pletcher in this first maiden try. The dark bay 3-year-old colt is a half-brother to GSW Promise Me Silver (Silver City), but digging a bit deeper, he also counts GISW Try Something New (Hail the Pirates) among his family. TJCIS PPS

6th-WO, $111K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5f, AW, 3:54 p.m.
AIROSA (Uncle Mo) was a $400,000 '22 KEESEP buy for Star Ladies Racing and X-Men Racing. The Ontario-bred is out of Mrs. Hudson, who own dam MGSW Sara Louise (Malibu Moon) is a half-sister to GSW Just Louise (Five Star Day), who is responsible for GISP & MGSW Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah). TJCIS PPS

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Baffert Runners Return To Santa Anita In Good Order

Both 'TDN Rising Star' Arabian Lion (Justify), winner of the GI Woody Stephens S. and National Treasure (Quality Road), the GI Preakness winner who faded to sixth after setting the pace in the GI Belmont S., were back at Santa Anita and doing well after competing on last Saturday's Belmont Stakes card at Belmont Park according to trainer Bob Baffert. Prospective next starts have not been named for either runner.

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NYRA: If Necessary, We’d Prefer Belmont-at-Saratoga

With the construction of the new Belmont Park scheduled to begin after the spring 2024 meet, and plans for the 2025 event still uncertain, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) expressed their preference that a non-Belmont-Park Belmont Stakes be held at Saratoga rather than Aqueduct.

“Should the construction of a new Belmont Park require the Belmont Stakes to be run at a different venue, then NYRA's preference would absolutely be to hold the event at Saratoga Racecourse,” said NYRA's Director of Communications, Patrick McKenna, in a text to the TDN on Monday.

In an interview on this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast, NYRA CEO David O'Rourke said that plans call for the new Belmont to be finished before the 2026 Belmont, and early conversation with NYRA had centered on possibly holding the Belmont at Aqueduct in 2025 and even 2026 if necessary. Other options, like tents at Belmont, have also been discussed. “Right now, we're in the master planning stage,” said O'Rourke on the Writers' Room. “Ideally, we'd like to have the project completed for the 2026 Belmont. I'm saying that before we have gone deep into the planning and the staging, but that is our goal entering into the process.”

However, said McKenna, “A Belmont Stakes at Saratoga is an event that would capture the attention of the entire sports world while driving tourism and economic impact for upstate New York.”

The current Belmont was opened in 1968, and will be torn down and rebuilt courtesy of a $455-million loan from the state of New York.

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Upstart’s Prerequisite Wires the Wonder Again

First Row Partners and Team Hanley's Prerequisite went wire-to-wire to take the rescheduled GII Wonder Again S. in just her third career start at Belmont Park Sunday. Sent off at 7-1, the bay filly rushed up to take the lead into the first turn and she was tracked by Spansive (Karakontie {Jpn}) through fractions of :23.67 and :47.94 in a strung-out field down the backstretch. She scampered away into the lane and was clear in upper stretch, but was all out to hold off the late-closing Be Your Best.

“I hustled her out of the gate to get a good position and I found myself on the lead,” said winning rider Flavien Prat. “She was traveling well from there. She got really brave. Every time a horse came to her, she would dig in. It's a good sign that more distance will be fine.”

Fifth behind Spansive going one mile on debut over the Gulfstream lawn Apr. 1, Prerequisite graduated over the Wonder Again's course and nine-furlong distance May 7.

“I was really impressed with her maiden win here,” said winning trainer Chad Brown. “She's turning into a really nice filly and I appreciate the partners' patience. She wasn't able to make it there at two, and they did the right thing by letting us take our time with her and she's turned into quite a nice horse.”

The top three finishers of the Wonder Again received an automatic invitation to the July 8 GI Fasig-Tipton Belmont Oaks Invitational. The 1 1/4-mile turf test is the opening leg in the Fasig-Tipton Fillies Turf Triple, a series which also includes the Aug. 4 GIII Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks Invitational at Saratoga and the 11-furlong GIII Fasig-Tipton Jockey Club Oaks Invitational to be held during the Belmont at the Big A fall meet.

Pedigree Notes:

Prerequisite is the fourth graded winner for Upstart.

The unraced Etsu, a full-sister to multiple stakes-winner Homeland Security, has a 2-year-old colt by Summer Front who sold for $130,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton July sale. The mare produced a colt by Complexity last year and a colt by Upstart this year. Etsu's dam, Forever Beautiful is a half-sister to champion Farda Amiga (Broad Brush). She produced a colt by Runhappy last year and a filly by Street Boss this year.

Sunday, Belmont Park
WONDER AGAIN S.-GII, $200,000, Belmont, 6-11, 3yo, f, 1 1/8mT, 1:47.20, fm.
1–PREREQUISITE, 118, f, 3, by Upstart
       1st Dam: Etsu, by Smart Strike
       2nd Dam: Forever Beautiful, by Giant's Causeway
       3rd Dam: Fly North, by Pleasant Colony
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($47,000 Ylg
'21 KEESEP; $350,000 2yo '22 EASMAY). O-First Row Partners
and Team Hanley; B-Brereton C. Jones (KY); T-Chad C. Brown;
J-Flavien Prat. $110,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $163,000.
Werk Nick Rating: B.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Be Your Best (Ire), 122, f, 3, Muhaarar (GB)–Kamakura, by
Medaglia d'Oro. 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Michael J. Ryan;
B-St. Croix Bloodstock (Ire); T-Horacio De Paz. $40,000.
3–Revalita (Fr), 118, f, 3, Recoletos (Fr)–Ebareva (Ire), by
Machiavellian. (€12,000 Ylg '21 ARQDOY). O-Wise Racing LLC;
B-Sarl Darpat France (Fr); T-Chad C. Brown. $24,000.
Margins: NK, 1, 1 1/4. Odds: 7.00, 13.80, 1.40.
Also Ran: Spansive, Allamericanbeauty, Thirty Thou Kelvin, Venencia (Fr). Scratched: Juniper's Moon.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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