Klaravich Stables' multiple graded stakes-placed Crowded Trade will make his grass debut in Friday's inaugural running of the $100,000 Carle Place, a seven-furlong Widener turf sprint for sophomores at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
Trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown, the More Than Ready chestnut graduated at first asking sprinting six furlongs in January at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y. The chestnut colt followed with a pair of game efforts at the Big A, finishing second by a nose to Weyburn in the one-mile Grade 3 Gotham in March and third to Bourbonic in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Wood Memorial in April.
Following an even fifth in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., Crowded Trade did not return until August when a distant third in the Grade 2 Amsterdam, contested over a sloppy and sealed main track at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
He enters from a troubled fifth in a 6 1/2-furlong allowance sprint on September 4 at Saratoga won by Baby Yoda, who exited that effort to finish third in the Grade 2 Vosburgh here last Saturday.
A $185,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, Crowded Trade breezed five-eighths over the Oklahoma training turf Friday in 1:02.95 as Brown looks to re-invent the talented colt.
“He breezed well on it. He's certainly bred on top for it,” Brown said. “I'm going to try and change it up with that horse a little bit. He didn't develop the way we hoped on the dirt, so we'll try this.”
Joel Rosario has the call from the inside post.
Crown's Way Racing's Smokin' Jay rallied past Momos in the final jumps to capture the $100,000 Allied Forces on September 17 at Belmont, providing trainer Kelsey Danner her first career stakes win.
The versatile Cairo Prince gray entered the six-furlong Widener turf sprint for sophomores from a narrow nose loss to Carle Place-rival Arzak in the six-furlong Tom Ridge, contested at six furlongs over the synthetic at Presque Isle in Erie, Penn., on August 2.
Jose Ortiz picks up the mount from post 3.
Sonata Stable's Arzak, a Not This Time chestnut trained by Mike Trombetta, endured a troubled trip in the Allied Forces when bumped at the start, trailing the field of eight by eight lengths. Arzak was tipped out for the stretch run by Irad Ortiz, Jr. and closed to finish third.
A $575,000 purchase at the OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, Arzak was also compromised at the start when third in the My Frenchman, a 5 ½-furlong sprint over yielding turf at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., three starts back on July 11.
“He's been a little unlucky and I'm hoping we can turn that around,” Trombetta said. “He's not really fast out of the gate. He has a lot of speed but that first step or two he's not as fast as you'd like him to be and inevitably he seems to find a way to get next to a horse that likes to bump into us. We just need everyone to get out of there straight and he'll be fine.”
The durable Arzak has posted a record of 8-2-1-1 in 2021, including a 3 1/4-length optional-claiming score traveling one mile over the Tampa Bay turf in his seasonal debut in addition to his Tom Ridge coup.
“He's solid. He's run with good horses and I'm hoping his turn is coming,” Trombetta said. “He ran really good at Presque Isle and I do think he has an affinity for the synthetic as well, so we'll do that again at some point also.”
Manny Franco picks up the mount from post 6.
Breeze Easy's Easy Time, a dark bay son of Not This Time, has made his last three starts in graded company, including a win in the Grade 3 Marine at 1 1/16-miles over the Tapeta at Woodbine Race Track in Toronto, Ontario in July.
Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, Easy Time followed with a fifth in the one-mile Grade 2 Hall of Fame in August on the Saratoga turf ahead of a closing second last out in the 6 1/2-furlong Franklin-Simpson on September 11 at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky.
Easy Time will emerge from post 5 under Luis Saez.
Rounding out the field are Ocala Dream [post 2, Dylan Davis], Indian Lake [post 4, Ruben Silvera], Town of Gold [post 7, Javier Castellano], Wolfie's Dynaghost [post 8, Irad Ortiz, Jr.], Resist the Devil [post 9, Jorge Vargas, Jr.], Rustler [post 10, Joseph Rocco, Jr.], Kawhi Me a River [post 11, Jose Lezcano], Snow House [post 12, John Velazquez],
The Carle Place is slated as Race 9 on Friday's 10-race card. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.
America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.
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