belmont | Horse Racing Free Tips

Japan Possible For Joe Hirsch Classic

Coolmore partners Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith and Masaaki Matsushima's Japan (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) may return for Belmont's Oct. 9 GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, according to T.J. Comerford, traveling assistant for trainer Aidan O'Brien.

“He ran well at Saratoga. He was a little unlucky that he didn't get out, but he ran a really good race,” Comerford said. “He stays well. He actually seems to be getting better. He seems to be coming back to his old self, which is good. He's a Juddmonte winner at York and that was his last Group 1.”

The full-brother to MG1SW Mogul was runner-up in his most recent start in the GI Sword Dancer S. Aug. 28. At three, he won the G1 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp and York's G1 Juddmonte International. Winless in five starts at four, he kicked off his 5-year-old campaign winning the G3 Ormonde S. May 13 at Chester before capturing the G3 Green Room Meld S. July 15 at Leopardstown.

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All-Stakes Cross Country Pick 5 Features Racing From Belmont, Churchill, Woodbine

The New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA) will host an all-stakes Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday featuring action from Belmont Park, Churchill Downs and Woodbine Racetrack.

Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence are now available for download at https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/cross-country-wagers.

Saturday's sequence will kick off with a pair of Turf Triple series events from Belmont beginning with the $700,000 Jockey Club Oaks Invitational in Race 9 at 5:14 p.m.

The Jockey Club Oaks, a 1 3/8-mile inner turf test for sophomore fillies, features European invaders Creative Flair and Harajuku taking on five American-based contenders led by the Chad Brown-trained duo of Higher Truth and Shantisara.

The $1 million Jockey Club Derby Invitational [Race 10, 5:45 p.m.] for sophomores at 12 furlongs, features Grade 1-winner Bolshoi Ballet, who captured the Grade 1 Belmont Derby here for trainer Aidan O'Brien in July.

Providing steep opposition in the “Win and You're In” qualifier to the Grade 1, $4 million Longines Turf in November at Del Mar are recent Group 2-winner Yibir, a Godolphin homebred trained by Charlie Appleby; and Belmont Derby runner-up Tokyo Gold conditioned by Satoshi Kobayashi for owner-breeder Teruya Yoshida.

The middle leg will feature the Grade 1, $1 million Woodbine Mile [Race 10, 6:12 p.m.], contested at one turn on the E. P. Taylor Turf Course and featuring a trio of runners from Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse in March to the Arch, Olympic Runner and Ride a Comet. The Brown-trained Raging Bull, who was placed third in the 2019 Woodbine Mile, will look to add a fourth Grade 1 win to his ledger. The winner will receive a “Win and You're In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile.

The sequence will conclude with a pair of 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 events for 2-year-olds from the evening card at Churchill Downs both offering “Win and You're In” berths to the Breeders' Cup in November at Del Mar led by the Pocahontas for juvenile fillies in Race 8 at 9:39 p.m.

A talented field includes James McIngvale's Joyrunner, a Gun Runner chestnut, who is perfect in two starts at Indiana Grand for trainer Laura Wohlers. Hidden Connection, condition by Bret Calhoun, garnered a field-best 84 Beyer Speed Figure in a 7 1/2-length debut romp sprinting 5 1/2-furlongs at Colonial Downs, while the Norm Casse-trained Ontheonesandtwos will look to make amends following an off-the-board effort in the Grade 2 Adirondack at Saratoga.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen will saddle a pair of top juveniles in Stellar Tap and Guntown in the Iroquois [Race 9, 10:11 p.m.] to conclude the sequence.

Stellar Tap, a $250,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase by Tapit, romped by 5 1/4-lengths on debut sprinting seven furlongs on August 7 at Saratoga. Guntown, by Gun Runner and purchased for $750,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, graduated at second asking in a one-mile maiden special weight at Ellis Park.

The improving Roger McQueen, by Unified, was a last out winner of the Runhappy Ellis Park Juvenile for trainer Larry Rivelli, garnering a 70 Beyer in the seven-furlong sprint. Roger McQueen was a $530,000 purchase at the OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will saddle $420,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase Major General, a dark bay son of Constitution, for his stakes debut following a first-out win sprinting 6 1/2-furlongs in August at the Spa.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, September 18:
Leg A: Belmont Park-Race 9, Jockey Club Oaks (5:14 p.m.)
Leg B: Belmont Park- Race 10, Jockey Club Derby (5:45 p.m.)
Leg C: Woodbine -Race 10, G1 Woodbine Mile (6:12 p.m.)
Leg D: Churchill -Race 8, G3 Pocahontas (9:39 p.m.)
Leg E: Churchill-Race 9, G3 Iroquois (10:11 p.m.)

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Lone Rock Will Try To Sustain Hot Streak In Grand Prix American Jockey Club Invitational

Flying P Stable's graded stakes-winner Lone Rock has won his last four starts and will look to extend his streak as part of a six-horse field in Saturday's $300,000 Grand Prix American Jockey Club Invitational for 4-year-olds and up competing at 1 5/8 miles over the Belmont Park main track.

The race's second-ever edition, slated as Race 4, is one of three stakes on Saturday's 11-race card, highlighted by the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Derby Invitational, for 3-year-olds going 1 1/2 miles on the Widener turf, in a “Win and You're In” qualifier to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf in November at Del Mar while also serving as the final leg of NYRA's Turf Triple series for males; and the $700,000 Jockey Club Oaks Invitational for sophomore fillies going 1 3/8 miles on the inner turf. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

Lone Rock has been a force in his 6-year-old campaign, winning five of his six starts for trainer Robertino Diodoro and seven of his last eight overall. His only non-win still resulted in a runner-up effort in the Temperence Hill in March at Oaklawn Park, which preceded victories in a pair of 1 1/2-mile contests in the Isaac Murphy Marathon in April at Churchill Downs followed by a dominating 11 1/4-length score in the Grade 2 Brooklyn presented by Northwell Health on Belmont Stakes Day June 5 over Big Sandy that netted Lone Rock a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure.

Lone Rock registered a four-length win in the 1 3/4-mile Birdstone on August 5 at historic Saratoga Race Course and will once again contest a marathon distance in running 13 furlongs. After spending the summer stabled at Saratoga, Lone Rock returned to Belmont and breezed four furlongs in 48.26 seconds over the main track on Saturday.

“He's doing great, He had a real good work this past weekend and he's just a monster right now,” Diodoro said. “He's training great, looks great and he's filled out over the past few months. We just have to keep him happy and healthy.”

The Majestic Warrior gelding will attempt to go 2-for-2 at Belmont, drawing post 4 with Ramon Vazquez, who has been aboard for all four wins in the streak, back in the irons.

“Ramon is one of the most underrated riders there is,” Diodoro said. “He has soft and quiet hands and this horse likes that. He puts him in position early, lets him do his thing and I think that's what this horse likes.”

Repole Stable and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Moretti ran on turf for the first time in 15 career starts last out, finishing seventh in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer on August 28 at Saratoga.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will now move the 5-year-old son of Medaglia d'Oro back to the more familiar main track, where Moretti racked up victories in the 2020 Flat Out and Birdstone at Belmont.

No stranger to long distances at Belmont, Moretti ran third in the Grade 2 Brooklyn and followed with a fourth-place effort in the 1 1/4-mile Grade 2 Suburban over a sloppy and sealed track on July 3.

After two starts at Saratoga – finishing third in the 1 3/4-mile Birdstone on August 5 before his foray to grass in the Sword Dancer – Moretti will return to Belmont, breaking from post 5 with Irad Ortiz, Jr. set to ride.

Empty Tomb, claimed for $80,000 out of a third-place finish in a 1 1/8-mile contest on August 7 at the Spa, will make his first start for owner John Grossi's Racing Corp and trainer Robert Falcone, Jr.

The 5-year-old son of Speightstown is 4-4-5 in 20 career starts and will be making his first stakes appearance since running sixth in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Stephen Foster in June at Churchill Downs for then-conditioner Mike Maker. Empty Tomb will be seeking his first career stakes win, exiting from post 3 with Luis Saez picking up the mount following a successful Saratoga meet in which he won the Angel Cordero Jr. riding title.

Locally Owned, who like Lone Rock is owned by Flying P Stable, will return to stakes company for the first time in seven starts. The gelded son of Distorted Humor has finished in the money in two of his four starts since trainer Tom Morley took over the training duties after Locally Owned as claimed for $40,000 out of a seventh-place finish in February at Fair Grounds.

Under Morley's care, Locally Owned bested optional claimers by a half length going 1 1/16 miles over Big Sandy on April 30. Following an off-the-board finish in May at Belmont going a one-turn mile, Locally Owned finished second in a 1 1/8-mile off-the-turf contest on July 25 at Saratoga before running eighth last out on the same track on September 5.

Jockey Dylan Davis will pick up the mount in breaking from the outermost post 6.

Knights R B Stable's Mo Gotcha crossed the wire second in his start two weeks ago but was elevated to first when Candy Tycoon was disqualified. Trainer Naipaul Chatterpaul claimed Mo Gotcha for $40,000 out of that contest, and the 5-year-old Uncle Mo gelding will now make his first start for his new connections in his first-ever stakes appearance in his 21st career start overall.

Jalon Samuel will be aboard Mo Gotcha for the first time, exiting post 1.

Robert Amendola's Chris and Dave has finished on the board in his last nine starts spanning four different trainers. The now 8-year-old Bluegrass Cat gelding has been a popular claiming horse and has done well for current conditioner Mertkan Kantarmaci, who saddled Chris and Dave to a second-place finish in a one-mile off-the-turf optional claimer on July 3 at Belmont before he ran third in a 1 1/8-mile optional claiming race that was also taken off the turf on July 25 at Saratoga.

Kantarmaci, who has won four straight NYRA “Under 20s Claiming Challenges,” will see Manny Franco take over as jockey for Chris and Dave, drawing post 2.

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Creative Flair, Harajuku Add European Flair To Saturday’s Jockey Club Oaks Invitational

Godolphin's Creative Flair and Flaxman Stable's Group 3 winner Harajuku will invade from across the pond when taking on five American-based contenders in Saturday's second running of the $700,000 Jockey Club Oaks Invitational going 1 3/8 miles over the inner turf at Belmont Park.

The Jockey Club Oaks Invitational is the final leg of the filly division of the NYRA's Turf Triple series for 3-year-olds, which also consists of the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational and Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational. Its male counterpart race, the $1 million Jockey Club Derby Invitational, also is scheduled for Saturday's 11-race card.

Trainer Charlie Appleby enjoyed success shipping Godolphin-owned Althiqa to New York this season, capturing the Grade 1 Longines Just a Game at Belmont Park and Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga.

For the Jockey Club Oaks, Appleby sends out Creative Flair, who was a last-out third in the Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational in her North American debut. The daughter of Dubawi, who was off a step slow, saved ground under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith down the backstretch, angled several paths wide just past the quarter pole and finished third, beaten two lengths.

“The race didn't ever really set up for her. She jumped a little slowly and got a little bit of a knock,” said Appleby assistant Chris Connett. “The team wanted her to sit a bit closer to the pace than she ended up being and it just didn't pan out. She's had a nice break and seems fresh and well and ready to run a big race for us.”

Creative Flair was a three-time winner in England at distances ranging from seven furlongs to 1 ¼ miles. She ventured outside England for the first time when a close third in the Group 3 Prix Chloe on July 18 at Chantilly in France.

Connett said Creative Flair is arriving at Saturday's test in good order following her Saratoga effort.

“She traveled back to Newmarket with the rest of the team and had an easy week to 10 days before coming back to full training,” Connett said. “She clearly showed the right signs for Charlie to aim her back here. She's travelled well and I'm really happy with her. All systems go for Saturday.”

Connett said the wide, sweeping turns at Belmont should suit Creative Flair.

“I think this course will help any of the European horses in the race that are used to a slightly more galloping type track,” Connett said. “Hopefully, with a longer straight and ideally sitting a little closer, it should really help.”

An Irish homebred, Creative Flair is out of the Shamardal mare Hidden Gold, whose dam Melikah is a half-sister to the late internationally acclaimed stallion Galileo and 2009 Cartier Horse of the Year Sea the Stars.

Jockey Jamie Spencer ships stateside to pilot Creative Flair from post 1.

Flaxman Holdings' Harajuku will look to give France a second Jockey Club Oaks triumph, after Edisa shipped to capture the inaugural edition in 2019.

Trained by Andre Fabre, the bay daughter of Deep Impact captured the Group 3 Prix Cleopatre on May 1 at Saint-Cloud going 1 5/16 miles over next out Group 1 winner Incarville. She arrives off a narrow fourth in the Group Prix de la Nonette on August 23 at Deauville.

An Irish homebred, Harajuku is out of the Galileo mare Phaenomena, who is a full-sister to Group 1-winner Nightime – the dam of 2020 Cartier Horse of the Year Ghaiyyath and Grade 1-winner Zhukova.

Jockey Stephane Pasquier, who guided Wonderment to a runner-up effort in the inaugural Jockey Club Oaks in 2019, ships from France to engineer the trip from post 7.

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The Chad Brown-trained pair of Higher Truth and Shantisara are two of five other American-based contenders looking to defend their home turf.

Owned by Mike Ryan, Jeff Drown and Team Hanley, Higher Truth is the only filly to compete in all three legs of this year's filly division of the Turf Triple series. The daughter of Galileo was beaten by margins of less than a length in both the Belmont Oaks and Saratoga Oaks. After running third beaten a half-length to Santa Barbara in the Belmont Oaks, she missed by three-quarters of a length to Con Lima in the Saratoga Oaks, finishing second.

Higher Truth will be ridden by Jose Ortiz from post 2.

Shantisara, owned by Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables and Robert V. LaPenta, will see an increase in ground after making the grade in the Grade 3 Pucker Up at nine furlongs on August 14 at Arlington Park. The daughter of Coulsty made her second start in North America in the Pucker Up, which was her first victory on grass. Previously campaigned in France by trainer Frederic Rossi, Shantisara won twice over the all-weather surface at Chantilly and Marseille in her final two starts of last year.

Jockey Flavien Prat will ride from post 6.

Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey will give third-out maiden winner Baby Blythe a considerable jump in class following a seven-length romp on August 14 in a 1 3/16-mile maiden special weight at Saratoga.

Owned by Donald and Donna Adam's Courtlandt Farms, the daughter of American Pharoah displayed a devastating turn of foot around the far turn of her maiden score, going from a close fourth to in front by 5 ½ lengths at the next point of call. Third on debut in December at Aqueduct, Baby Blythe did not race until July 24 when sixth to subsequent stakes-winner Rastafara.

“Distance won't be an issue with her. She has a great turn-of-foot and had a half-sister [Family Way] who won going 10 ½ furlongs at Kentucky Downs,” McGaughey said. “She probably needed her second race since she hadn't run in so long. We got it in her and next time she won.”

Jockey Luis Saez, fresh off a riding title at Saratoga, will ride Baby Blythe from post 3.

Completing the field are Augustin Stables' Be Up [post 4, Irad Ortiz, Jr.], a two-time winner for trainer Jonathan Thomas, and Kaleem Shah's Madone [post 5, John Velazquez], a dual graded stakes winning West Coast invader for trainer Simon Callaghan.

The Jockey Club Oaks Invitational is slated as Race 9 on Saturday's 11-race card, which also features the $1 million Jockey Club Derby Invitational at 12 furlongs on turf in Race 10; as well as the $300,000 Grand Prix American Jockey Club Invitational at 13 furlongs on the main track in Race 4. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

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