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NYRA Track Announcer John Imbriale Tests Positive for COVID-19

NYRA track announcer John Imbriale received a positive COVID-19 test result after experiencing mild symptoms following the conclusion of the Saratoga meeting, according to NYRA's Senior Director of Communications Patrick McKenna.

“As a result of the mandatory 10-day isolation period, Imbriale will miss the opening weekend of the fall meet and is scheduled to return Thursday, Sept. 23,” McKenna said. “In his absence, Frank Mirahmadi will handle the race calling duties Thursday, Sept. 16. Chris Griffin, who was named the lead race caller at Parx in March, will call Friday-Sunday.

He added, “Imbriale is fully vaccinated, doing well, and looking forward to returning to Belmont next week.”

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Grade 1 Steeplechase Action Highlights Belmont’s Opening Day Card

Steeplechase action will take center stage on Opening Day of the Belmont Park fall meet Thursday when Buttonwood Farm's The Mean Queen will look to best males for a second consecutive Grade 1 contest in the $150,000 Lonesome Glory for 4-year-olds and up competing at 2 1/2 miles.

The 12th running of the Lonesome Glory, slated as Race 2 on the nine-race card, will see a seven-horse field compete over National fences, including the Keri Brion-trained The Mean Queen, who captured a prestigious steeplechase stakes during the Saratoga summer meet with a 4 3/4-length victory in the Grade 1, $150,000 Jonathan Sheppard on August 18.

The Mean Queen has already provided Brion with a slew of memorable moments this year, including a victory in April at Ireland's Wexford Racecourse that made her conditioner the first U.S.-based trainer to win an Irish hurdle race. In just her third start overall and first over jumps, the 5-year-old daughter of Doyen was victorious and parlayed that momentum by racking up wins in her first two starts in North America.

Making her Saratoga debut, The Mean Queen led in the stretch in the Jonathan Kiser Novice on July 28 before she ducked in and unseated rider Thomas Garner. But with Garner back aboard in the Jonathan Sheppard – formerly the New York Turf Writers Cup that was renamed for the Hall of Famer in 2021 – The Mean Queen tracked in third for most of the trip before rallying past pace-setting Baltimore Bucko [also trained by Brion] and cruising to a score.

“It's crazy to say, but she actually gets better after every race,” Brion said. “She's doing the best now since I've had her. I'm really looking forward to it. This will probably be her toughest test. To be honest, I don't know how good she is. Everyone she works with in the morning, she just toys with. She's toyed with every field she's been against so far, but this is how we find out.”

Brion, who was an assistant to Sheppard before going out on her on upon his retirement, trained the trifecta in the Jonathan Sheppard, with Baltimore Bucko holding off French Light for second. She will now be looking to notch a victory in the lone Grade 1 steeplechase contested at Belmont this meet as she looks to see if The Mean Queen can sustain her form.

“She's really special,” Brion said. “I know it's early in my training career, but I'm not sure if I'll ever train a horse like her again. I worked for Jonathan for 11 years and no one he trained in that time compared to her. I don't know exactly how good she is, but I'm just really fortunate to get the opportunity to train her. She's different.”

Richard Condon will pick up the mount from post 2 with The Mean Queen carrying 157 pounds.

Brion will also send out Hudson River Farms' Galway Kid, who will making his third straight Grade 1 appearance after being eased in the Iroquois on June 26 at Prairie Meadows and finishing fifth last out in the A.P. Smithwick Memorial going 2 1/16 miles on July 22 at Saratoga.

After recovering from an illness following that race, Brion said Galway Kid will look to surprise as he enters on full rest.

“He was actually very sick coming out of his race in the A.P. Smithwick. He had a bad infection deep down in his lungs and that's why he missed the Jonathan Sheppard,” Brion said. “I was really happy with him going into the Smithwick. I do expect him to run a really good race. But he hasn't run in a little while and we're using this more as a race for him and then go on to Far Hills, which is more suitable to his running type and style.

Parker Hendricks will ride from post 3 with Galway Kid carrying 146 pounds.

“I could see him getting a piece of it and he's in at a nice, light weight,” Brion said. “He'll love the distance; the two and a half. I'm happy with him and I think he'll run a really good race.”

Bruton Street's Snap Decision enters off a nine-race win streak dating to 2019 and will be seeking his second consecutive Grade 1 victory after a 3 1/2-length score in the Calvin Houghland Iroquois in June at Percy Warner for Hall of Fame trainer Jack Fisher. That marked the second consecutive graded stakes win for the 7-year-old Hard Spun gelding, who started his campaign with a win in the Grade 2 Temple Gwathmey Handicap in May at Glenwood Park.

Snap Decision, the 164-pound highweight, is 9-2-0 in 11 career starts over jumps. Previously trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey at the start of his career for flat racing, Snap Decision finished second in his first two races over hurdles before crafting his winning streak.

Graham Watters will be aboard Snap Decision from post 6.

“The Mean Queen is obviously going in against Snap Decision, who is a great horse, and it's the first time she's really been tested like that,” Brion said.

Silverton Hill's Bodes Well had his picture taken for the Jonathan Kiser at the Spa, powering to the wire a 4 1/2-length winner after looking like she was on her way to a strong second-place showing before The Mean Queen's late misstep. The 6-year-old Rock of Gibraltar gelding has finished on the board in his last three starts, posting consecutive third-place finishes in handicaps before winning his first North American stakes last out for trainer Leslie Young.

Garner will be in the irons from post 4. Bodes Well will carry 144 pounds.

Young will also saddle Sharon Sheppard's Redicean [carrying 148 pounds], who will be looking for his first win since the 2019 Jonathan Kiser. Redicean, fourth in the A.P. Smithwick and seventh in this Jonathan Sheppard, will see a slew of familiar faces in the Lonesome Glory, drawing post 5 with Gerard Galligan aboard.

Irvin Naylor's Amschel has earned black type in both starts to commence his 7-year-old campaign, running third in the Grade 2 Temple Gwathmey before running second in the Grade 1 Iroquois in for trainer Cyril Murphy. Barry Foley will be aboard Amschel [carrying 150 pounds] from post 1.

M.K. Johnston, Jr.'s Brianbakescookies was a stalwart on the NYRA flat circuit from 2015-18, winning three races in 24 starts before contesting hurdles starting in 2019 for Fisher. The now 8-year-old Giant's Causeway gelding has revived his career over jumps, posting a 3-3-1 mark in 12 starts, including a win in the Queen's Cup MPC in April at Charlotte.

Brianbakescookies [carrying 144 pounds] will be making his first steeplechase appearance at Belmont and first start overall at the historic track since a seventh-place finish in June 2018 in his penultimate flat start. Skylar McKenna will have the call from the outermost post.

Thursday at Belmont will also feature the $75,000 William Entenmann Memorial steeplechase and 4-year-olds and up going 2 1/4 miles in the opening race at 2:05 p.m. Eastern.

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Brion will send out Baltimore Bucko [post 3, Condon] and French Light [post 6, Hendricks], the respective second-and-third-place finishers in the Jonathan Sheppard, along with A Silent Player [post 4, Ross Geraghty]. The trio will compete against a field that includes the Young-trained Booby Trap [post 1, Galligan], Perfect Tapatino [post 2, Barry Foley] and Bassmatchi [post 5, Garner], as well as the Irvin Naylor-conditioned A Silent Player [post 4, Ross Geraghty] and Rtiz A.P., trained by Leslie Knopp [post 7, Watters].

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

Admission for the Belmont fall meet is available for just $5. Buy online at Ticketmaster.com or at the gate. Group hospitality seating in the West Wing and Top of the Stretch can be purchased by calling the NYRA box office at 844-NYRA-TIX. Box Seats can be purchased by emailing boxseats@nyrainc.com or calling 718-296-5172.

The Belmont Room will be open every Saturday and Sunday for dining reservations. Reserve your spot today at nyra.com/belmont/visit/dining.

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First-Out Winner: Arrogate Colt Affable Monarch Headed To Champagne Stakes

After patiently waiting to get promising 2-year-old Affable Monarch to the races until last Sunday at Monmouth Park, trainer Jorge Duarte doesn't intend to show nearly as much restraint before giving the son of late Arrogate his first significant test.

An impressive 6½-length winner against Maiden Special Weight company, Affable Monarch's next start could be in the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 2 if the Colts Neck Stables homebred stays on schedule. The Champagne is a “Win and You're In” race for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

“I think the way he came out of this race and what he got out of this race, it was a good learning experience. It didn't take anything out of him,” Duarte said. “He cooled out very fast. The way he ran and galloped out I think he wants to go longer for sure.

“The Champagne is a one-turn mile with those sweeping turns. He's a big, big horse who should like that. We'll have a couple of breezes and if he keeps training the way he has been I would take a shot in the Champagne to see what we have.”

Kentucky-bred Affable Monarch became the just the second son of Arrogate to reach the winner's circle, with Adversity beating him there by an hour at Saratoga on Sunday.

Duarte said patience may be the key to any Arrogate offspring.

“I believe the Arrogates are a little late bloomers,” he said. “He just had his first two winners on Sunday. Maybe that is the way they are going to trend. I can just go by what I have. I have a couple of Arrogates and this is the first one I got to the races. I know I have an Arrogate filly that may be a late one.

“But it's also not a bad time of the year to get them started if you think you have a good one.”

Duarte's last try at the Champagne came in 2019, when Big City Bob finished third to Tiz the Law after breaking his maiden at Monmouth Park and winning the Sapling Stakes at the track.

He's also having the type of meet at Monmouth Park that suggests trying the Champagne may not be overly ambitious.

Duarte, Colts Neck Stables' private trainer, is 12-for-27 at Monmouth Park this year, having won with 10 of his past 19 starters. As a result, Colts Neck Stables tops the owner standings with 12 winners, five more than anyone else.

He has the added hope that Affable Monarch – who made his debut without Lasix — will be a good one because of the colt's dam, Social Queen. He's a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Force the Pass (Speightstown-Social Queen), who earned more than $1.3 million for Duarte and Colts Neck Stable.

He's also a half-brother to a Speightstown-Social Queen yearling who goes as Hip 154 in the first book of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale that starts on Sept. 13.

“We raced the mare (Social Queen), too,” said Duarte. “She has been very good to us.”

She may not be done returning dividends if Affable Monarch can live up to expectations.

“He's such a big colt. It just took him a little time to get into a rhythm,” said Duarte. “He was always well-regarded by us. We always thought the way he was training he had a chance to be a good one. We were very excited to bring him to the races because they don't come along all the time, horses like him.”

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On to Breeders’ Cup for Max Player

George Hall and Sport BLX Thoroughbreds' Max Player (Honor Code) will train up to the Nov. 6 GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar following his win in Saturday's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup, trainer Steve Asmussen confirmed Sunday.

“Max Player is better than he's ever been and physically he's developed into this,” Asmussen said. “There's more of him. He's a horse that's continued to grow, fill out and mature. There's a lot more of Max Player as a 4-year-old than there was as a 3-year-old. He's bigger and stronger. His next race will be the Breeders' Cup Classic.”

When Del Mar last hosted the Breeders' Cup in 2017, Asmussen was represented by Classic winner Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) and he plans to follow a similar schedule ahead of this year's championship weekend with Max Player.

“We just want to acclimate them to West Coast time,” Asmussen said. “For previous Breeders' Cups in California, we like to get out there and be on Pacific Coast time and I think we've gotten solid runs doing that, so we're planning on doing the same this time. Last time the Breeders' Cup was at Del Mar, we had Gun Runner. He went out and trained at Santa Anita before going to Del Mar.”

Also expected to train up to the Breeders' Cup Classic is Wertheimer and Frere's Happy Saver (Super Saver), who was second while attempting to defend his title in Saturday's Jockey Club Gold Cup for trainer Todd Pletcher.

“There wasn't a lot of pace and he was sort of bottled up. He was wanting to advance, but didn't really get the opportunity until it was too late. The winner was very good and he got the jump on him,” Pletcher said of the Gold Cup result. “I was happy with his performance and he closed well, which is probably a little better suited to a race where there's more pace and everybody spreads out a little more. He got a good trip, but it was behind the wrong pace scenario. He came back in good shape.”

Pletcher also saddled Bass Racing's Annapolis (War Front) to a 'TDN Rising Star' debut over the turf at Saratoga Saturday.

“I was very pleased with him. He trained well into it and delivered the type of performance we were hoping for,” Pletcher said. “The race was slow to develop and the early fractions weren't really fast, but I liked the way he picked it up around the turn. He finished strongly and galloped out well.”

Pletcher said the colt, a son of graded stakes winner My Miss Sophia (Unbridled's Song), would likely make his next start in the Oct. 3 GII Pilgrim S. over the Belmont lawn, but he did not rule out eventually starting the colt over the dirt.

“At this stage, he's shown us he's a little better on the turf, but he's a big, strong colt,” Pletcher said. “Obviously the mare was second in the Kentucky Oaks, but sometimes these type of horses, as they mature, they get better on the dirt, but for now we'll stay focused on the turf.”

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