6th-GP, $84k, Msw, 3yo, f, 1mT, 2:37p.m. ET
Richard Schermerhorn's $390,000 OBSAPR purchase LADY BETH (Hard Spun) will be unveiled on what looks like a very active Sunday of racing across the country. Drawn toward the middle in this Gulfstream maiden, she is the first registered foal for her dam, the Werthemier et Frere-bred and West Point-campaigned Boreale (Makfi {GB}); four times stakes-placed in her career in America as well as a multiple winner in France. This is the female family of MGSW Interactif (Broken Vow), GSP Stretching (Red Ransom), and the extended family of GSW Etonian (Ire) (Olympic Glory {Ire}), GISP Ocho Ocho Ocho, and MGSW Divine Oath (Broken Vow). Chad Brown sends her to post. To the inside is $320,000 KEESEP buy Le Beau (Mendelssohn), a half-sister to GSP Burn the Mortgage (Kitten's Joy) and three other multiple winners including that one's full-sister, SW Lien on Kitten. Christophe Clement trains the grey for Hoolie Racing Stable. TJCIS PPs

1st-SA, $67k, Msw, 3yo, f, 6 1/2f, 3:30p.m. ET
Bob Baffert and owners Baoma Corp team up once again with an $825,000 KEESEP procurement named CONQUISTAR (Quality Road). Coming into this contest on the back of a blowout bullet work Feb. 1 when she clicked through three furlongs in :35.20 in company, the bay is out of GSP My Miss Chiff (Into Mischief), herself hailing from a three-generation line of Louisiana Champions Day Ladies S./ Ladies Sprint S. winners or placers. The dam is a half-sister to Louisiana Cup Juvenile Fillies victress Silvercents (Goldencents). Not unexpectedly, the morning line has Conquistar tabbed as the 6-5 favorite. TJCIS PPs

8th-GP, $62k, AOC, 4yo/up, 1 1/16m, 3:37p.m. ET
The eighth contest on the Gulfstream card marks the return of GIII Dwyer S. winner CHARGE IT (Tapit), who ran off the screen in the aforementioned contest with his best impression of the hallowed Red Horse in New York. Gone since that 23-length romp, he's been on the work tab religiously in January for Todd Pletcher–posting a bullet five furlongs two works back at Palm Beach when going 1:00.59 in company with GISP Emmanuel (More Than Ready)–and will make his first start at 1 1/16-miles in this allowance optional claimer. TJCIS PPs

9th-GP, $84k, Msw, 3yo, f, 1mT, 4:06p.m. ET
The day for the greys continues as C R K Stable unveils their $800,000 FTSAUG daughter of Tapit, SILVER STRIPES. Out of Madame Stripes (Arg) (Equal Stripes {Arg})–Group 1-stakes placed in her native Argentina but also a Graded-stakes winner and Grade I-stakes placed in America–the Cherie DeVaux trainee lays claim to an Argentinean family rich with Group 1 runners, including her dam's full-sibling, MG1SP Equal Councellor (Arg). This is also the family of G1SW Cagnotte (Arg) (Sunray Spirit); Argentinean champion 3-year-old filly, MGISP-US Campagnarde (Arg) (Oak Dancer {GB}); GSW Rize (Theatrical {Ire}); and MGSP Calvados (Arg) (Snipewalk). The Repole stable will send out that filly's neighbor Nonna's Tiramisu (Medaglia d'Oro), a homebred half-sister to GISW Outwork (Uncle Mo), who also raced in their shared breeder's colors. Her dam is a 3/4 sister to Cairo Prince (Pioneerof the Nile). Todd Pletcher looks to cap what could be a big day in Florida, here. TJCIS PPs

6th-FG, $50k, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 4:45p.m. ET
Stonestreet homebred DREAMBOAT (Uncle Mo) will make his debut in this baby dash over the main track for Steve Asmussen. Out of GSP Supreme, the colt claims Claiborne stallion, GISW Silver State (Hard Spun) as his half-brother. Second dam Mon Belle (Maria's Mon) is the full-sister to Monarchos. John Oxley's $110,000 KEESEP grad Classic Dancer (Collected) will also make his first start here. The Mark Casse trainee is a half-brother to 2021 Queen's Plate winner Safe Conduct (Bodemeister), their dam herself a half-sister to Canadian Horse of the Year and champion sprinter Fatal Bullet (Red Bullet). TJCIS PPs

8th-OP, $105k, Alw, 4yo/up, 6f, 5:10p.m. ET
Drawn on the rail and rolling in with a three-strong string of bullet works at the Fair Grounds, COGBURN (Not This Time) returns to the races for the first time since his gutsy runner-up effort last May in Pimlico's GIII Chick Lang S. He'll face a salty group of runners including the returning MyRacehorse colt Chasing Time (Not This Time). TJCIS PPs

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Be it midweek in the winter, when most of the fair-to-middling Eastern time zone tracks do little to distinguish their products, or as a Saturday special during the summer when some C-level track could have an uncontested advantage for several hours as a lead-in to the attention-grabbing cards at Saratoga, the 10 a.m. to noon Eastern stretch remains an uncharted chasm.

Four years ago this month, shortly after the legalization of sports betting in the United States, I wrote a morning racing-related column for TDN that stated, “The time slot is there for the taking. In real estate, the money-making mantra is 'location, location, location.' The equivalent in simulcasting–if you're not a top track on the totem pole–is 'timing, timing, timing.'”

The revisit of this topic will tack on a slight correction to that 2018 story: The late-morning time slot is no longer completely wide open in terms of the overall wagering landscape. Major League Baseball (MLB) now sees Sunday morning starts at 11:30 a.m. Eastern as a lucrative opportunity.

Although the Sunday morning baseball games debuted with a soft-ish launch, MLB has inked a multi-year deal to lay claim to that time slot (some of the games later in the season will begin at noon, which is still at least an hour earlier than most traditional afternoon starts).

The streamed-only games can only be viewed by online subscribers who pay a monthly fee to watch them. And while MLB revenue executives are championing the early starts as a way to reach new fans outside of cable TV as viewing habits change, the unspoken but obvious message is that pro sports are staking out new territory, time-wise, to maximize revenue from gambling partnerships.

The National Football League figured this out with Monday Night Football broadcasts back in 1970. Although critics were initially skeptical that viewers would tune in to watch (and although it was illegal at the time, bet on) whatever two teams happened to be matched just because it was the only action on the tube, Monday Night Football eventually morphed into an eyeball-capturing juggernaut that spawned only-game-in-town football broadcast strategies on Thursday and Sunday evenings.

A heat wave across the Midwest at the end of June caused both and Churchill Downs (10:30 a.m.) Belterra Park (11:35 a.m.) to experiment with morning racing as a means to keep horses from competing at the hottest point of the afternoon. The one-off post time switches weren't pre-arranged with much notice or fanfare, hence a handle comparison wouldn't be of much value in these instances.

And since Churchill is an A-list track that has the benefit of lights to add flexibility to its scheduling of post times, regular morning racing there wouldn't make much sense.

But you could make a cogent case for Belterra taking a flyer on morning racing.

The Ohio track's current Tuesday-through-Friday schedule with 12:35 p.m. posts causes it to get lost in the shuffle against Saratoga, Monmouth, Gulfstream and Colonial Downs during the month of July. It would even benefit from standing out from the likes of Finger Lakes, Thistledown and Horseshoe Indianapolis, all of which overlap to some degree depending on the day of the week.

Beyer Blitz

Three Grade II stakes winners earned triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures last Saturday. Which was most impressive?

From a raw talent perspective, Life Is Good (Into Mischief)'s 112 wiring of the John Nerud S. over seven furlongs at Belmont Park was outright scary. Now 7-for-9 lifetime and having put together a string of seven consecutive triple-digit Beyers, this 'TDN Rising Star' scored by five after chewing up no-slouch rival Speaker's Corner (Street Sense). But beyond those two, the four-horse field was scant on competition, which allowed Life Is Good to motor home without any sort of a stretch tussle.

Fellow 'Rising Star' Charge It (Tapit) posted a gaudy 23-length victory in the one-turn-mile Dwyer S. at Belmont. His heaviest lifting involved bumping aside a pesky rival five-eighths out so he could maneuver off the fence and reel in the pacemaker, thus becoming the fourth also-ran out of the GI Kentucky Derby to win a next-out start. He earned a 111 Beyer, but only one of his five rivals had ever won a stakes (which was for Delaware-bred 2-year-olds last year), so the quality of competition angle applies here too.

It's difficult to believe that a horse can win five straight races with triple-digit Beyers yet still be considered a bit under the radar, but that's been the case with Olympiad (Speightstown), who is bound to get a lot more attention and respect after his no-nonsense cuffing of a decent field in Saturday's Stephen Foster S. over nine furlongs at Churchill.

Olympiad emerged from a five-horse, first-turn speed scrimmage to be a stalking second through robust splits. He then blasted off at the quarter pole and dug in furiously to repel a wall of contenders off the turn. His presence near the head of affairs early in the race combined with an ability to withstand significant pressure late to score by 2 1/4 lengths lends a nice glow of legitimacy to his 111 Beyer.

(Not yet) the end of an era

It might be a stretch to say Dr. Blarney (Dublin) is the “Last of the Mohicans.” But the 9-year-old sure looks like he'll wind up his career as the most impactful of the dwindling number of remaining Massachusetts-breds.

On July 4 at Finger Lakes, the good doctor won his 26th lifetime race, storming from off the pace to win a three-way photo by a neck for owner/breeder Joe DiRico and trainer Karl Grusmark.

The victory was even sweeter because Dr. Blarney was reunited with Tammi Piermarini, his horsebacking partner for most of his 37-race career.

Piermarini, 55, is the continent's third-winningest female jockey. She hurt her knee in a starting gate accident last November, and the ride on Dr. Blarney Monday was her first race back since that accident.

Fittingly, like her multiple stakes-winning mount, Piermarini was also born in Massachusetts, having started her career back in 1985 at Boston's Suffolk Downs.

Suffolk Downs is now three years defunct and the Massachusetts-bred program began to erode about a decade before the track closed for good in 2019.

Dr. Blarney won Massachusetts-bred stakes at least once a year between ages two and seven (to spend its remaining purse funds that were earmarked for stakes, the Massachusetts breeders' association ran those races at Fort Erie in 2020). Six of his lifetime victories have been by margins between 10 and 20 lengths.

Although many of those romps came at the mercy of overmatched restricted-stakes competition, he's also won a black-type stakes at Delaware Park and has bested open-company allowance horses at Finger Lakes.

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Code of Honor got his racing career off to a perfect start wiring the field in a maiden special weight at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in his two-year-old debut. This victory gave his Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey the confidence to target the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes where Code of Honor finished second, posting a 90 Beyer after stumbling badly at the start. Never competing out of graded stakes company after his debut, Code of Honor had made 16 graded stakes starts to date, hitting the board in 12 and winning 6. Early in his three-year-old career, he won the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes and finished third in the Grade 1 Florida Derby making him a leading contender for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby where he earned second place beaten less than a length. From there, Code of Honor won three graded stakes in a row to finish out his three-year-old career. The Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes set the stage for his three-length win in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes, posting a 105 Beyer. He annexed the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes in his follow-up race, posting a career-high 106 Beyer against older horses for the first time.

“Code of Honor impressed me from day one”, said trainer Shug McGaughey. “He is the type of horse every trainer dreams of: he is sound, balanced, and an efficient mover and takes to his training very well. What I saw him do as a two-year-old when breaking his maiden at Saratoga gave me the confidence to go straight to a grade one. Watching him overcome his bad break in the Champagne to run second was impressive and showed the heart and determination that's been a trademark of Code of Honor throughout his career.”

As a four-year-old and five-year-old, Code of Honor won the Grade 3 Westchester Stakes and the Grade 3 Philip H. Iselin Stakes posting a 105 Beyer while also hitting the board in the Grade 1 Met Mile, the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap, and the Grade 1 Clark Stakes, posting 102, 106, and 101 Beyers respectively.

“Code of Honor is a special horse on many different levels for us, and we're excited that he is returning home to the farm where he was born,” said Bill Farish of Lane's End. “He is what we like to see in a prospective stallion being a consistent performer at the highest level. He was a precocious two-year-old that developed into a classic horse winning at the elite level. He has the proven race record, desired physical attributes and deep pedigree to make him the complete stallion package.”

Code of Honor is by European Champion Noble Mission and out of the W.S. Farish homebred Reunited by Dixie Union, a winner of the Grade 3 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes at Keeneland and has produced eight winners from eight horses, including G2 Best Pal placed Big League.

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Trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey for owners West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm, Woodford Racing and Bobby Flay, First Captain arrived at the one-turn mile for 3-year-olds off a first-level victory against winners at Belmont on May 29.

The talented chestnut posted a sharp debut score by three-quarters of a length over eventual winners Mahaamel and Repo Rocks going seven furlongs over Big Sandy on April 24.

First Captain broke toward the rear of the compact five-horse field while Ridin With Biden was first in command through an opening quarter-mile in 23.47 seconds over the fast main track, 1 ½ lengths clear of Gershwin and Snow House, who battled for second.

Ridin With Biden's lead dwindled through a half-mile in 46.67 as jockey Jose Ortiz started getting busy aboard First Captain, who made a four-wide bid around the far turn.

First Captain confronted the pacesetter just past the eighth-pole en route to a 1 3/4-length score, completing the journey in 1:36.19. Ridin With Biden held second by a half-length over Snow House. Gershwin and Civil War competed the order of finish.

Ortiz, who piloted First Captain in both of his previous efforts, said First Captain improved significantly.

“Last time, he was in the clear most of the time. Today, he was a lot better. He was behind horses and took some dirt,” Ortiz said. “They were running. They went 46 and when I put him in the clear it took me awhile to get into high gear, but when he did it, he used that beautiful stride of his. He went by them as he is supposed to, and he galloped out really well. I think he's going to improve with distance.”

First Captain provided McGaughey with his fourth Dwyer triumph, adding to a list that includes Seeking the Gold [1988], Coronado's Quest [1998] and Code of Honor [2019]. The latter two went on to win their respective year's edition of the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga.

McGaughey said he would consider a start in the Grade 1, $1.25 Runhappy Travers on August 28 at Saratoga Race Course, but also didn't rule out the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy on July 31 – the Spa's local prep for the Mid-Summer Derby.

“We'll take a look at it,” McGaughey said. “I'll see how he comes back and how he is when he gets up there. That would be the best-case scenario. I'm glad to get this one.”

Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds said they initially considered running in his sire's namesake race, the nine-furlong $120,000 Curlin on July 30 at Saratoga, but the opportunity to garner a graded stakes win could not be passed up.

“He's never going to be a horse that just dazzles you, but you can tell he's just starting to get going,” Finley said. “We're very happy with him. We would have loved to have got him a little further in his third start, but it just wasn't to be. We were going back and forth to run in the Curlin, but this spot came up and it was too attractive. Now, I guess we can go to the Jim Dandy or wait for the Travers.”

Now 3-for-3, First Captain banked $137,500 in victory, over doubling his lifetime earnings to $237,500. Going off as the 2-5 favorite, First Captain returned $2.80 for a $2 win bet.

“He was a lot steadier today. I knew he was winning his first two races on ability, but I didn't really know what to think of him,” McGaughey said. “Today, he showed me something, especially that two turns is going to be in the bag, I think. I liked the way he took the dirt; he took it a lot better today than he did the last time. He was a little further back than I thought he would be. But that's why they are what they are. I thought we were in pretty good shape coming up to the quarter-pole.”

Bred in Kentucky by Bobby Flay, First Captain is by multiple-champion producing sire Curlin and out of the graded stakes-winning A.P. Indy broodmare America. He is a direct descendant of influential broodmare Best in Show – a prominent line that includes American classic winners Jazil, Rags to Riches and War of Will, as well as Grade/Group 1 turf winners Peeping Fawn, Denon, Good Journey, Chimes of Freedom, Spinning World, Domedriver, and popular Japanese champion Almond Eye.

First Captain was a $1.5 million acquisition from the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale, where he was consigned by Stone Farm.

Live racing resumes on Friday afternoon with a nine-race card. First post is 1 p.m. ET.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the 48-day spring/summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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“He was behind horses and took some dirt,” winning jockey Jose Ortiz said of his trip. “They were running. They went [:46.67] and when I put him in the clear, it took me awhile to get into high gear, but when he did it, he used that beautiful stride of his. He went by them as he is supposed to and he galloped out really good. I think he's going to improve with distance.”

West Point Thoroughbreds president Terry Finley expects First Captain to only improve from here.

“He's never going to be a horse that just dazzles you, but you can tell he's just starting to get going,” said Finley. “We're very happy with him. We would have loved to have got him a little farther in his third start, but it just wasn't to be. We were going back and forth to run in the [July 30 nine-furlong] Curlin S. [at Saratoga], but this spot came up and it was too attractive. Now, I guess we can go to the [July 31 GII] Jim Dandy S. or wait for the [Aug. 28 GI Runhappy] Travers S.”

First Captain, a $1.5-million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling, debuted a winner going seven furlongs at Belmont Apr. 24 and was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' after being headed and battling back to win a one-mile allowance May 29.

His charge's progression through his first three starts has impressed trainer Shug McGaughey.

“He was a lot more steady today,” McCaughey said. “I knew he was winning his first two races on ability, but I didn't really know what to think of him. Today, he showed me something, especially that two turns is going to be in the bag, I think. I liked the way he took the dirt; he took it a lot better today than he did the last time. He was a little farther back than I thought he would be. But that's why they are what they are.”

Of a potential next start in the Jim Dandy, McGaughey said, “We'll take a look at it. I'll see how he comes back and how he is when he gets up there. That would be the best-case scenario. I'm glad to get this one.”

Pedigree Notes:

Breeder Bobby Flay purchased First Captain's second dam Lacadena privately after the stakes-placed mare RNA'd for $1.4 million at the 2007 Fasig-Tipton November sale. Her daughter America, who RNA'd for $725,000 at the 2012 Keeneland September sale, won the GIII Turnback the Alarm H. and was third in the GI Mother Goose S. and GI Delaware H. First Captain is her first foal. She also has an unraced 2-year-old filly named American Caviar (Curlin), a yearling colt by Uncle Mo and she produced a Curlin filly this year. America RNA'd for $3.1-million while carrying the Uncle Mo colt at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton November sale.

Lacadena is also the dam of Paris Bikini (Bernardini), who produced last year's GI Coaching Club American Oaks winner Paris Lights (Curlin). Paris Bikini has a weanling filly by Uncle Mo and a yearling colt by Always Dreaming.

First Captain's third dam, Butterfly Blue (Ire), is a half-sister to broodmare of the year Better Than Honour (Deputy Minister).

First Captain is the 44th graded winner for Curlin. He is the 113th graded winner out of an A.P. Indy mare and the fourth sired by Curlin. The same cross produced last year's GI Woodward S. winner Global Campaign (Curlin).

Monday, Belmont Park
DWYER S.-GIII, $242,500, Belmont, 7-5, 3yo, 1m, 1:36.19, ft.
1–FIRST CAPTAIN, 118, c, 3, by Curlin
1st Dam: America (GSW & MGISP, $580,532), by A.P. Indy
2nd Dam: Lacadena, by Fasliyev
3rd Dam: Butterfly Blue (Ire), by Sadler's Wells
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($1,500,000 Ylg '19 FTSAUG). O-West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm LLC, Bobby Flay & Woodford Racing, LLC; B-B Flay Thoroughbreds (KY); T-Claude R McGaughey III; J-Jose L Ortiz. $137,500. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $237,600. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*.
2–Ridin With Biden, 118, c, 3, Constitution–Allemande, by Medaglia d'Oro. ($80,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP; $85,000 2yo '20 EASMAY). O-Cash is King LLC & LC Racing; B-William Harrigan & Mike Pietrangelo (KY); T-Robert E Reid Jr. $50,000.
3–Snow House, 118, c, 3, Twirling Candy–Structure, by Bernardini. O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Inc (KY); T-Brad H Cox. $30,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, HF, 7HF. Odds: 0.40, 11.70, 3.05.
Also Ran: Gershwin, Civil War.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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First Captain is owned by a powerful conglomerate led by West Point Thoroughbreds and conditioned by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey.

“We're super excited and it's a wonderful and really powerful partnership assembled,” West Point's Terry Finley said. “We've got Siena Farm, who we owned part of the [2017 GI] Kentucky Derby winner [Always Dreaming] with, Woodford who are a part of the Lanes' End partnership and, of course, [First Captain's breeder] Bobby Flay. He breeds really good horses and is just one of the many class horses he bred. I remember when his mother ran and Bobby owned her, too. Everyone is excited. This is what you go to these yearling sales for.”

The First Captain team is hopeful their charge can stake his claim on a wide-open 3-year-old division during this second half of the season.

“We know that there are moving parts in every division,” Finley said. “You have horses that come back from the Triple Crown in races like the Haskell and Jim Dandy. We'd like to think that he would be able to throw his hat in the ring. The beautiful part of our industry is that it doesn't matter what we think or what we say, what matters is what the horse does on the track. Opinions don't matter, it's all about getting to the wire first.”

Juddmonte homebred Snow House (Twirling Candy) appears to be First Captain's main challenger. After finishing fourth on debut over the Fair Grounds turf in March, he has reeled off back-to-back wins of his own for Brad Cox, at Keeneland Apr. 21 and in a Churchill optional claimer May 29. Godolphin's Gershwin (Distorted Humor–Music Note) scratched out of Delaware's GIII Kent S. Saturday for this. He was last seen taking the rained-off GIII Penn Mile in the slop May 28.

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Belmont's Independence Day weekend slate runs July 3 through Monday, July 5, offering six stakes races including a pair of Breeders' Cup Win and You're In qualifiers led by the Grade 2 Suburban [Classic] and the $250,000 Grade 2 John A. Nerud [Sprint], which will see 4-year-olds and up contest at seven furlongs on July 4.

The holiday weekend kicks off July 3 with the $100,000 Perfect Sting Stakes and continues on July 4 with the $100,000 Manila Stakes, while the $250,000 Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes anchors a Monday, July 5 card that also offers the $150,000 Grand Couturier Stakes.

Wertheimer and Frere's Happy Saver, a 4-year-old Super Saver chestnut, completed his sophomore season by making the grade in the 10-furlong Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup with a three-quarter length win over Suburban-rival Mystic Guide in October at Belmont Park.

Happy Saver made his seasonal debut a winning one last out with a one-length score in an optional-claiming mile on May 28 on Big Sandy. At 7:45 a.m. Sunday, a rail-riding Happy Saver worked a half-mile in company with fellow Suburban contender Country Grammer in :49.26 on the Belmont dirt training track.

“I thought it was a good work from both. Happy Saver was just a little bit better at the end of the gallop out, but they both worked well,” said Pletcher. “We'll see how they bounce out of it. I'll talk to Elliott [Walden] at WinStar and talk about the Suburban potentially for Country Grammer. We'll firm that up tomorrow.”

Pletcher said Happy Saver's previous work – five-eighths in :59.40 on the dirt training track in company with Repole Stable and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Moretti – was also impressive.

“We gave him a really solid five-eighths work last week with a big gallop out; that was the one we were looking for,” said Pletcher. “He is coming off just the one start and we're stretching him out to a mile and a quarter, so we wanted to get a good one into him last week.”

Moretti, who is also targeting the Suburban, worked a half-mile in 48.75 Saturday on the Belmont dirt training track.

“We breezed Moretti yesterday, and I think we're on target with him, so we could have as many as three in there,” said Pletcher.

A 5-year-old son of Medaglia d'Oro, out of the Grade 1-winning Concerto mare Rigoletta, Moretti is a half-brother to 2017 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile-winner Battle of Midway.

Last week, WinStar Farm's Country Grammer worked a half-mile in :49.05 on June 21 in company with Mahaamel on the Belmont training track.

Country Grammer, a 4-year-old Tonalist bay, captured the Grade 1 Gold Cup last out on May 31 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. He was recently transferred to Pletcher.

Pletcher said the change of work partners for Country Grammer was a matter of timing.

“I didn't want to work him too quickly after arriving and I wanted to space him out to get there, so that's just the way it worked out from the time he arrived,” said Pletcher.

In trying to separate a number of his top sophomores, Pletcher said Shadwell Stable's Mahaamel, an Into Mischief colt bred in Kentucky by Clarkland Farm, will target next Monday's one-turn mile G3 Dwyer, while Spendthrift Farm's Following Sea, a Runhappy colt, is pointed to the nine-furlong $1 million Grade 1 Haskell Invitational on July 17 at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

“I think we'll go in the Dwyer with Mahaamel. He's going to breeze tomorrow and assuming we're happy with that, we'll go to the Dwyer with him,” said Pletcher. “I spoke to Ned Toffey at Spendthrift and we've decided we'll go to the Haskell with Following Sea.”

A $700,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Mahaamel earned a 99 Beyer with the addition of blinkers in his second-out graduation in a seven-furlong maiden special weight on June 4 at Belmont.

Following Sea earned a career-best 100 Beyer winning a 6 ½-furlong allowance sprint against older horses by 6 1/2-lengths on June 3 on Big Sandy.

Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables' multiple Grade 1-winning 5-year-old Mind Control, recently transferred to Pletcher, worked a half-mile in :48.06 Sunday on the Belmont dirt training track in preparation for the John A. Nerud Stakes.

“He's been a terrific work horse since he came in,” said Pletcher. “We've been targeting this race for a while and he looks good. He's proven he's a really nice horse and he's trained the way you'd expect for a horse with his credentials. He seems like he's doing really well.”

Mind Control, a five-time graded-stakes winner for his former trainer Gregg Sacco, posted both of his Grade 1 wins at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, Ny., capturing the 2018 Hopeful Stakes as a juvenile and added the H. Allen Jerkens Stakes to conclude his sophomore season.

Pletcher said a good result in the Nerud could propel Mind Control to another Grade 1 engagement at Saratoga, with the $600,000 Forego Stakes, a seven-furlong test for older horses on August 28, a possibility.

“We'll see how he does in here, but something like the Forego could be on the radar,” said Pletcher.

Pletcher said Donegal Racing's Shamrocket, a 4-year-old Tonalist colt, could return in the $150,000 Grand Couturier Stakes, a 12-furlong Widener turf test for older horses on July 5 at Belmont. Also under consideration is the 11-furlong Grade 1 United Nations on July 17 at Monmouth Park.

“The Grand Couturier is a possibility,” said Pletcher. “He'll work tomorrow. We've kicked around the United Nations a little bit or even an allowance race at Saratoga.”

Two starts back, Shamrocket closed to finish fourth in the Grade 1 Man o' War Stakes on May 8 at Belmont Park and returned last out to win a 10-furlong turf allowance by a neck on June 11 on the same course.

Repole Stable, Phipps Stable, and St. Elias Stable's Dynamic One breezed five-eighths in 1:01.90 Friday on the Belmont dirt training track.

The Union Rags chestnut, who finished second in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino on April 3 at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York, Ny., finished 18th last out in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 1 at Churchill Downs.

Pletcher said Dynamic One could point to the $120,000 Curlin Stakes, a nine-furlong test for sophomores on July 30 at Saratoga.

“He'll either go to an allowance race or the Curlin,” said Pletcher. “We gave him a little bit of time after the Derby and he's done really well physically and put on some weight. We've freshened him up with a couple of races at Saratoga in mind.”

St. Elias Stable's graded stakes winner Dr Post added blinkers for a half-mile breeze Friday in :49.42 on the Belmont dirt training track.

The Quality Road colt captured the Grade 3 Westchester in his seasonal debut on May 1 at Belmont and finished fifth last out in the Grade 1 Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap on June 5.

“We put blinkers on him and I liked the response we got. I'm not sure where his next start will be, but it will be with the addition of blinkers,” said Pletcher.

Dr Post tracked a moderate pace from fifth in the Met Mile but wasn't able to make up ground in the stretch run as a more prominent Silver State pounced to a one-length score.

“He got too far back, and, for a race on paper that you thought would have a lot of pace, it never really developed,” said Pletcher. “He was starting to close into a pace-less race, but it just didn't work out.

“I've had blinkers in mind for a little while,” added Pletcher. “But when he won the Westchester off the layoff, I didn't want to make an equipment change. Now we can make that move.”

Pletcher saddled a pair of contenders in Con Lima and Jouster in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Wonder Again Stakes for sophomore fillies on June 3 on the Belmont turf, a key prep for the 10-furlong  $700,000 Grade 1 Belmont Oaks, the first leg of the Turf Triple series for sophomore fillies on July 10.

Although sent to post as the longer price at 8-1, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Joseph Graffeo, Del Toro, Eric Nikolaus, and Troy Johnson's Con Lima prevailed by a half-length, while the pacesetting Jouster settled for fourth for owners Starlight Racing and Glen Hill Farm.

Pletcher said the experienced Con Lima, who boasts a record of 11-6-4-0 with purse earnings of $379,865, showed more than enough to start the first leg of the Turf Triple.

“She's ultra-consistent. She shows up and runs hard every time,” said Pletcher. “I thought she handled the mile and an eighth really well and it gives us optimism that she'll handle the mile and a quarter.”

Pletcher said Jouster, who captured the one-mile Grade 2 Appalachian Stakes on April 3 at Keeneland, will point to the one-mile $150,000 Grade 3 Lake George Stakes on July 23 at Saratoga.

“She'll go the Lake George. She didn't quite see out the mile and an eighth, so we'll focus on shorter races,” said Pletcher. “That's why we wanted to go in the Wonder Again, to see if maybe we could stretch her out for these lucrative races at longer distances, but I think she's best at a mile.”

Lawana and Robert Low's Sweet Melania, a 4-year-old American Pharoah chestnut, breezed a half-mile in :50.97 on the Oklahoma training turf at Saratoga on Friday.

The multiple graded stakes winner captured last year's Grade 3 Wonder Again but has not raced since finishing last-of-9 in the License Fee Stakes on April 30 at Belmont.

Pletcher said Sweet Melania is under consideration for Saturday's $100,000 Perfect Sting Stakes, a one-mile Widener turf test for older fillies and mares.

“I've not firmly decided yet. I'm looking to see what options I have at Saratoga with her,” said Pletcher.

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It was the second win from three starts for the John Gunther-owned homebred, and trainer Chad Brown told the Daily Racing Form that Stage Raider could be pointed to the G3 Dwyer Stakes on July 5 at Belmont for his graded stakes debut.

“The time wasn't going to turn any heads,” Brown told DRF of the allowance win. “He got a good education out of it, being down inside and going up the rail. Sometimes these kinds of horses that still need a little bit of seasoning, that's the most important part of running in these races, to get more experience.”

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

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