belmont park | Horse Racing Free Tips

Vekoma’s Partners Hoping Thrill Ride Continues In Runhappy Met Mile

After running the race of his life with an emphatic 7 1/4-length romp in the Grade 1 Runhappy Carter, R.A. Hill Stable and Gatsas Stables' Vekoma tackles an even tougher field assembled for Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Runhappy Met Mile at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The recent eye-popping victory under Hall of Fame rider Javier Castellano, which garnered a 110 Beyer, was a second start of the year for the Candy Ride chestnut colt who made his 2020 bow a winning one in the Sir Shackleton on March 28 at Gulfstream Park. Last year, Vekoma earned accolades heading into the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby after drawing away to victory in the Grade 2 Blue Grass at Keeneland for trainer George Weaver.

To earn a second Grade 1 victory, Vekoma will have to topple a field that includes last year's Grade 1 Runhappy Travers and Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup-victor Code of Honor and McKinzie, the winner of last year's Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga.

Already a winner going a one-turn mile during his 2-year-old campaign in the Grade 3 Nashua, Vekoma will be stretching back out to a mile from the seven-furlong Carter.

“He's got so much talent it's unreal,” said co-owner Mike Gatsas. “I think he can handle it. Javier knows the horse very well and he can get the distance without a problem. They have a great rapport with one another, so we'll let him decide on a trip.”

In both of his 4-year-old starts, Vekoma has displayed tactical speed sitting just off of the pacesetters before making a winning bid at the top of the stretch.

Gatsas anticipates that Vekoma will display a similar running style on Saturday.

“He has some early speed, so he'll help set the pace somewhat,” Gatsas said. “He won't be on the lead, but he should be forwardly placed. Javier rides him extremely well and understands him well, so he knows what he's doing.”

Vekoma, named after a Dutch manufacturing company of roller coasters as a nod to his champion-producing sire's name, has taken his connections on an exciting ride. Hill and Gatsas also partnered with graded stakes-placed Our Country, who ran eighth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf last November at Santa Anita as well as New York-bred stakes winner Funny Guy.

“It's such a great partnership, but what's really good about it is that it's also a great friendship,” Gatsas said. “We've had a lot of fun over the years. We've gone to the Derby, the Breeders' Cup together and we just won the Carter so it's been such a fun experience.”

Vekoma, bred in Kentucky by Alpha Delta Stables, is out of the Speightstown broodmare Mona de Momma who also is a Grade 1 winner going seven furlongs.

Being a Grade 1 winner with a Grade 1-winning sire and dam makes Vekoma quite enticing as a stallion prospect, but Gatsas said a triumph in the Runhappy Met Mile, which is known for being a “stallion making race”, could make his breeding value even more appealing.

“Hopefully this adds to his resume,” Gatsas said. “He also won the Blue Grass last year so I'm sure a lot of Kentucky farms would be interested in that. He took down that field real well, too.

“He's just such a special horse,” Gatsas added. “He's not a big, strapping colt, but he is really well-built.”

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New York-Bred Veteran Mr. Buff Stretching Out For Suburban Try

Chester and Mary Broman's multiple stakes-winning millionaire Mr. Buff will try 1 1/4-miles for the first time in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Suburban at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Trained by John Kimmel, the 6-year-old New York-bred son of Friend Or Foe has posted wins from seven furlongs up to a mile an eighth in a 37-race career that boasts eight stakes wins from an overall record of 14-7-4 and purse earnings of $1,076,536.

The sizable chestnut was in a good run of form over the winter at Aqueduct with scores in the Alex M. Robb, Jazil and Haynesfield before his training was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He returned off a four-month layoff last out to finish second to Funny Guy in the one-turn mile Commentator on June 12 at Belmont.

“He was rolling until they shut things down here. He missed a month of training,” said Kimmel. “He walked for a month at the farm and he didn't have the bottom into him that Funny Guy did, not to mention he carried 127 pounds. I thought he was going to get swallowed up, but he actually hung in there really well.”

Mr. Buff matched a career-best 106 Beyer Speed Figure with his 20-length score in the Haynesfield on February 22 when left alone on the front end under regular pilot Junior Alvarado.

That effort came on the heels of a similarly powerful score in the open Jazil at nine furlongs. Kimmel has tried Mr. Buff in graded company twice when off-the-board in the Grade 2 New Orleans on a track he didn't handle and was seventh last summer in the Grade 1 Woodward at Saratoga.

On Saturday, the 17.2 hands tall Mr. Buff will have a significant weight break carrying just 118 pounds against a field headlined by 2019 Grade 1 Belmont Stakes champ Sir Winston [124 pounds] and multiple graded-stakes winner Tacitus [122 pounds].

Kimmel said the added distance may help Mr. Buff ease into his significant stride.

“I contemplated running him a little further if I had the chance and this looked like the right opportunity,” said Kimmel. “A mile and a quarter will have a much more reasonable pace scenario and maybe he won't have any issued with his lead transitions like he does sometimes at a flat mile and the pace is a little faster.

“When he gets going 45 to the half and three quarters in 10 and change, sometimes he doesn't make that switch to his outside lead,” added Kimmel. “But he's been pretty good at it when he goes around two turns, so we'll see how he does at one and a half turns.”

Mr. Buff will exit post 4 under Alvarado in the Suburban which will close out Saturday's 11-race card.

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Terranova: Time Is Right To Pitch Dream Friend Into Stakes Company

Dream Friend has been a bit of a late-bloomer, breaking his maiden late in his 3-year-old year in November 2018. But after finishing in the money in his last six starts, trainer John Terranova is moving the son of Ghostzapper up to stakes company for the first time in 10 starts in the Grade 3, $150,000 Poker on Saturday, Met Mile Day, at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Owned by Eric Fein, Christopher McKenna, Harris Fein, Guri Singh and Jerry Walia, Dream Friend returned off a seven-month layoff to run third in an optional claimer on June 3 over the Belmont turf.

“He's doing really well. We were potentially looking at a couple of allowance spots, but it didn't materialize,” Terranova said. “It just seemed like a good time. He's doing well coming out of that first race off the layoff. Hopefully he'll take a bit of a jump forward and stay competitive at this level.”

Dream Friend has been the pacesetter in five of his last six starts and was in second position in the other, a runner up effort in September in a one-mile turf route at Belmont. The Poker, contested at one mile on the Widener turf course, could allow Dream Friend to be forwardly placed again.

“He has been consistent. Pace wise, he has speed. The race doesn't look like it has too many frontrunners in there,” Terranova said. “We'll see what happens weather wise tonight if everyone stays in or not. He's ready and doing really well, hopefully we'll have a big effort out of him again.”

Nine horses entered the Poker, with one main-track only entrant, led by 5-2 Value Proposition. Dream Friend, listed at 8-1, drew the inside post with Jose Lezcano, who was aboard last month.

“He's always good from the gate so hopefully that continues. He's a speedy type of horse so if he gets away cleanly, hopefully things will go well,” Terranova said.

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Frank’s Rockette Easy Choice in Victory Ride

‘TDN Rising Star’ Frank’s Rockette (Into Mischief), never worse than second in seven lifetime starts, seeks her first graded win in Belmont’s GIII Victory Ride S. at 6 1/2 furlongs. While her only black-type win was the ungraded Any Limit S. Feb. 22 at Gulfstream, she had a trio of seconds last year in the GI Frizette S., GI Spinaway S., and GII Adirondack S. ranging from 6 1/2 panels to eight furlongs. Since shipping up from Payson Park, the Bill Mott pupil has had three works at Belmont–two of them bullets–including a smoking :46 4/5 (1/45) June 28 in company with multiple GII winner Tacitus (Tapit). Frank’s Rockette is always at or near the lead and she has the highest Beyers in the field, including a career-best 98 in the Any Limit. Her last race was a 3 1/2-length score in an allowance/optional claimer May 25 at Churchill.

The lightly raced Center Aisle (Into Mischief) makes her first foray into stakes company after a brilliant debut with an 88 Beyer in a six-furlong Gulfstream maiden Mar. 29. She regressed in her next out, a disappointing allowance/optional claimer May 22 at Churchill where she ran wide and green. A return to her debut form would put the Chad Brown trainee right in the thick of things.

Up in Smoke (The Big Beast) has been on a tear in Florida for George Weaver, making five starts since her Feb. 8 debut at Gulfstream. She’s won four of the five, all by open daylight, including a score at this distance in the June 6 Game Face S. Her only loss came when stretching out to a route. Two-for-three Reagan’s Edge (Competitive Edge) and longshot Miss Peppina (Bayern) complete the field.

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