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Talented 3-Year-Olds Chasing Breeders’ Cup Turf Berth In Belmont Derby Invitational

A thrilling finish to the Saratoga Derby Invitational in August saw the top-five finishers separated by less than a length. The trifecta from that contest – Domestic Spending, Gufo and No Word – will engage again on Saturday as part of a talented nine-horse field of 3-year-olds going 1 1/4 miles on the inner turf in the Grade 1, $250,000 Belmont Derby Invitational.

The 71st running of the Belmont Derby is a “Win and You're In” qualifier to the Grade 1, $4 million Breeders' Cup Turf on November 7 at Keeneland. It also is the headliner on a stacked card that features five graded stakes, including the Grade 1, $250,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic for 3-year-olds and up going 1 ½ miles on the Widener turf; the Grade 2, $150,000 Gallant Bloom for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up sprinting 6 ½ furlongs on the main track; the Grade 2, $150,000 Kelso for 3-year-olds and up going one mile on Big Sandy and the Grade 2, $150,000 Pilgrim for juveniles contesting at 1 1/16 miles on the grass.

Otter Bend Stables' Gufo ran second by a head to Domestic Spending in the 1 3/16-mile Saratoga Derby and will look to turn the tables in a rematch for trainer Christophe Clement. The Declaration of War colt has won four of his six career starts, with his third-place debut effort in November at Aqueduct marking his only other non-winning effort.

Gufo registered a four-race winning streak heading into his first Saratoga start, including a 1 1/2-length win in the English Channel in May at Gulfstream Park and followed by a rallying half-length score in the Grade 3 Kent going 1 1/8 miles on July 4 at Delaware Park.

Gufo breezed four furlongs in 50.25 seconds on Belmont's inner turf Sunday with jockey Junior Alvarado aboard. Alvarado will have the call Saturday from post 2.

“Gufo went Sunday for his last work for the race and we're very happy with him,” Clement said. “He's been training very forwardly since the race at Saratoga. I had two choices; to run him here or go to Kentucky Downs. We trained for here because we think he's an ideal horse to run at Belmont with the wider turns and the mile and a quarter will be really good for him.”

Klaravich Stables' Domestic Spending was unraced as a juvenile but started his career with consecutive wins, breaking his maiden in February at Tampa Bay Downs at one mile before edging Don Juan Kitten by a neck in an allowance tilt in his first Belmont appearance on June 7.

The Chad Brown trainee stepped up to stakes company, running third behind the Clement-trained winner Decorated Invader in the Grade 2 Hall of Fame at 1 1/8 miles on July 18 at Saratoga. A month later, the English-bred son of Kingman earned his first stakes win and a career-best 93 Beyer Speed Figure for his win in the Saratoga Derby.

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano will be in the irons from post 4.

Wertheimer and Frere's No Word comprised the trifecta last out, just a half-length back to Gufo in the Saratoga Derby in his best stakes result. Trained by Todd Pletcher, No Word started his 3-year-old campaign with back-to-back third-place efforts before besting the field in an $80,000 optional claimer on July 9 at Belmont. Making his first stakes start as a sophomore, and first overall since running fifth in the Grade 3 Pilgrim in September 2019, No Word tallied a 92 Beyer for his stellar return to the Spa.

Jose Ortiz will ride from post 1.

Pletcher will also send out Repole Stable's Mo Ready, a last-out allowance winner on August 15 at Saratoga. Making his graded stakes bow, the son of Uncle Mo will be running at Belmont for the first time since his fourth-place debut effort in May 2019. Kenrick Carmouche will be aboard and break from post 3.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott will saddle a pair of contenders who previously were on the Triple Crown trail in South Bend and Moon Over Miami.

Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable, Peter Deutsch and Pantofel Stable's South Bend will be switching back to turf after running off the board in two prestigious Grade 1 dirt tests, running fourth in the Runhappy Travers on August 8 at Saratoga before finishing 15th in the Kentucky Derby on September 5 following a wide trip and tiring late.

But South Bend showed talent earlier in the campaign, running second in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby in June at Thistledown under previous trainer Stanley Hough. Before that, the Algorithms colt ran five consecutive times on the grass earlier in 2020, posting a runner-up effort in the Cutler Bay in March at Gulfstream Park and third-place efforts in the Dania Beach and the Grade 3 Palm Beach going a mile and 1 1/16 miles, respectively, on the Gulfstream turf.

“I don't know that he's any better on grass. The race he was in last time was just a really tough race,” Mott said. “He ran well in the Travers. He picked up a check and ran a pretty good race. I think he's fine on dirt, it's just the level of competition.”

Jockey Dylan Davis will pick up the mount for the first time, drawing post 5.

Summer Wind Equine's Moon Over Miami won his first stakes last out with a half-length score in the Dueling Grounds Derby on September 10. Stretched out to 1 5/16 miles, the son of Malibu Moon tracked in 10th-of-12 position before a late surge edged him clear of Big Dreaming, earning a personal-best 91 Beyer.
Moon Over Miami ran in a Kentucky Derby prep race in his final dirt start on February 15, finishing eighth in a division of the Grade 2 Risen Star at Fair Grounds. Mott moved him to turf next out, where he ran eighth in the Cutler Bay.

After earning his first win on grass in a 1 1/8-mile allowance tilt on June 20 at Churchill – the first of three straight races he's worn blinkers – Moon Over Miami ran fourth in the Grade 2 Hall of Fame in July at Saratoga before his stakes win earlier this month. He will now return to Belmont for the first time since his fourth-place debut effort on Big Sandy in October 2019.

“He'll be fit. The race comes back a little quick for him,” Mott said. “The timing isn't ideal coming back from three and a half weeks. Generally, off a race like that, you would want a little more time, but this is one of the last straight 3-year-old races so we're going to give it a shot.

“It seems like the blinkers have helped,” he added. “He just seemed to be getting a little distracted.”

Eric Cancel will ride from post 8.

Godolphin's ultra-consistent Pixelate has never finished off the board in 11 starts [3-5-3] and has handled a step up in company, finishing second behind Gufo in the Grade 3 Kent before notching his first graded stakes score by outlasting Margot's Boy by a head in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby going 1 1/8 miles on September 6.

Trained by Michael Stidham, Pixelate, a son of City Zip, ran second in his only previous Belmont start, finishing a neck behind Buy Land and See in the Awad last October.

“We've been really happy with his training,” Stidham said. “He's raced at many different tracks with different riders and seems to always go out there and try hard, so we're excited to run him in a Grade 1. He's just an honest horse who goes out there and gives a big effort every single time.”

Jose Lezcano, the Belmont fall meet's current leading rider, has the call from post 6.

Rounding out the field is Venezuelan Hug, who ran sixth in the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge in June at Belmont before coming back to best allowance company on August 9 at Saraoga, for trainer Danny Gargan [post 7, Manny Franco]; and Ajourneytofreedom, who will make his first start for trainer Mike Maker after running second in an $80,000 optional claiming turf contest on August 31 at Del Mar [post 9, Benjamin Hernandez].

The Belmont Derby is slated as Race 9 on Saturday's 10-race program, which offers a first post of 12:40 p.m. Eastern. America's Day at the Races will present daily television coverage of the fall meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete America's Day at the Races broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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Clement’s ‘Declaration Of War’ On Belmont Derby Led By Decorated Invader, Gufo

Trainer Christophe Clement breezed a number of turf workers on Sunday morning at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., including the graded stakes-winning pair of Decorated Invader and Gufo, both of whom are targeting the Grade 1, $250,000 Belmont Derby Invitational at 10 furlongs for sophomores on October 3 over the inner turf.

The two 3-year-old sons of Declaration of War worked in company, covering a half-mile in an easy 51.01 seconds over the inner turf.

“They both had a very good work together,” Clement said. “They started slow but finished up great. They will be nominated to the Belmont Derby and we'll go from there. A back up race could be a race like the [Grade 2, $150,000] Hill Prince [on October 12], but at the moment both are being trained to the Belmont Derby.”

Owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, William T. Freeman, William Sandbrook and Cheryl Manning, Decorated Invader finished a close fifth in the Saratoga Derby Invitational on August 15 as the beaten favorite, where Otter Bend Stables' Gufo finished a closing second, a head back to Domestic Spending.

A three-time graded stakes winner, Decorated Invader won last year's Grade 1 Summer at Woodbine before recording a productive sophomore campaign, with victories in the Cutler Bay on March 28 at Gulfstream Park, the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge on June 20 at Belmont and the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame on July 18 at Saratoga.

Never off the board in six lifetime starts, Gufo captured his stakes debut from well off the pace in the English Channel on May 2 at Gulfstream Park before capturing the Grade 3 Kent on July 4 at Delaware Park over next-out stakes winners Pixelate and Vanzzy.

Clement said City Man, who worked a half-mile in 50.66 seconds over the inner turf Sunday, could also target the Belmont Derby. Owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, and Peter and Patty Searles, the son of Mucho Macho Man was a recent second in the Albany at Saratoga.

Bred in New York by Moonstar Farm, City Man is 2-2-1 in nine career starts.

Michael Dubb, Madaket Stable and Bethlehem Stable's Plum Ali logged her first work since winning the Mint Juvenile Fillies on September 7 at Kentucky Downs with a half-mile effort in 50.66 over the inner turf and will target the Grade 2, $150,000 Miss Grillo on October 4.

“It was her first work since winning at Kentucky Downs. That was a half-million dollar race so it was a good race to win,” Clement said. “The plan is to run her in the Miss Grillo. I wanted to run in Saratoga, but the P.G. Johnson came off the turf.”

A 2-year-old daughter of First Samurai, Plum Ali won her career debut going 1 1/16 miles over the Mellon turf at Saratoga on July 23.

Clement also spoke of Space Launch, a first-out winner on Friday afternoon's program who broke his maiden by 1 1/2 lengths going one mile over the Widener turf and registered a 71 Beyer Speed Figure for the debut win.

“Space Launch is a nice horse,” Clement said. “He's trained well and we have always liked him. He always trained better on the turf than on dirt. He's a well-bred horse. So far, he came back in good shape.”

Owned by Athlone Racing, Daniel Burke and Jane Burke, the son of Bernardini is out of multiple black type-producing Awesome Again mare Spacy Tracy, who also produced main track graded stakes winners Benner Island and Victim of Love.

“That [the main track graded-stakes winning progeny] was the reason I kept asking myself if I was doing the right thing by running him on turf,” Clement said. “But his turf works were just so much better than his dirt works.”

Clement said that Space Launch could return to action in the $80,000 Awad on October 31 at Belmont Park.

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Christophe Clement Joins TDN Writers’ Room

There was no hotter trainer on the grounds through opening weekend at Saratoga than Christophe Clement, which is saying something considering the array of champion and Hall of Fame conditioners that occupy the backstretch of America’s premier race meet. After winning five races from 13 starters in the first four days of the stand, including a pair of graded stakes victories, Clement joined the TDN Writers’ Room presented by Keeneland to discuss his hot start.

Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, the French-born trainer also touched on the increased competition for imports from Europe, summer and fall plans for his leading 3-year-old turfers and how his stable bounced back from tragedy earlier in the year.

Asked about hitting the ground running following the coronavirus-forced interruption of racing in New York, Clement said, “The pandemic has been a challenge regarding the workforce and the organization of the barn, but I think we’re very lucky in New York. NYRA and Martin Panza did a great job and we’re just lucky to race here. It’s probably more challenging for the people who only have one string, but we’re lucky because we do have a string in Saratoga before the meet. That makes it much easier.”

In addition to capturing the GII Hall of Fame S. and GII Lake Placid S. last weekend at the Spa, Clement also unveiled a ‘TDN Rising Star’ with Momos (Distorted Humor) romping in the first 2-year-old race of the meet.

“I’ve got a very good group of 2-year-olds this year,” Clement said. “Momos is all about speed. He’s built like a very fast horse. He’s not big, but he’s very well balanced. My only instruction to [Manny] Franco was, ‘We know the horse is very fast, don’t make it too complicated.’ He gave a very good ride and he was always in control. That’s pretty exciting.”

Clement’s operation is likely a sentimental favorite for many in the industry this year after dealing with the devastation of losing 10 horses in a trailer fire on the New Jersey Turnpike last month. Speaking candidly about how to cope with that kind of loss, Clement said simply, you can’t.

“I don’t think you cope with that,” he said. “That phone call, I think it was 3:45 or 4:00 in the morning from the state trooper, it’s the worst of the worst. I’m lucky in a way because I train for amazing owners, so in a way they made it easy on me. But no, nobody can cope with that. That’s the worst.”

Elsewhere on the show, the writers gave their takeaways from the rest of the weekend’s big racing including the GI Haskell S., discussed the temporary closure of Del Mar and the increasing unlikelihood of fans in the stands for the GI Kentucky Derby. Then, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, they used the return of Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) as an opportunity to look back on whether anything has changed with racing’s drug problems in the four-plus months since the bombshell FBI indictments. Click here to listen to the podcast and click here to watch it on Vimeo.

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‘Invader’ Looks Imposing in Hall of Fame

Four-for-six Decorated Invader (Declaration of War) appears awful tough to beat in Saturday’s GII National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame S. at Saratoga. Second to subsequent MGSW Field Pass (Lemon Drop Kid) on local debut here a year ago, he broke through convincingly next out before notching a big win in Woodbine’s GI Summer S. in September. He could only manage fourth in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf after a tough trip that had many arguing that he might’ve been best, and he’s lent support to that claim so far this season. He flew home from far back to annex Gulfstream’s Cutler Bay S. Mar. 28, and made short work of five rivals in the GII Pennine Ridge S. at Belmont June 20. The biggest question for Decorated Invader appears to be how he’ll handle nine furlongs–all his prior efforts have come over at least a sixteenth shorter.

“The challenge is when you have a horse that’s a standout in a short field, there’s going to be a target on his back,” said Terry Finley of co-ownerWest Point Thoroughbreds. “The break and the first eighth of a mile will be important. Ultimately, it will be up to [jockey] Joel [Rosario]. He really fits the horse. When they walk out of the paddock, you just have so much confidence and no concerns that you’ll get a top class ride from him. It’s very good to have the option to be a closer, but we have seen time and time again where you have the best horse in the race, and they [the pacesetters] don’t come back.”

Decorated Invader isn’t the only Christophe Clement-trained son of Declaration of War entered in the Hall of Fame–he’ll also send out Gufo, who has won his last four starts, including Delaware’s GIII Kent S. over this distance two weeks ago.

Hall of Famer Bill Mott owns a record seven victories in this race–including in 2019–and will be represented by June 20 Churchill allowance winner Moon Over Miami (Malibu Moon). Future Hall of Famer won this event four years in a row from 2015 to 2018 (he also won it in 2011), and will saddle two-for-two Domestic Spending (GB) (Kingman {GB}) for Seth Klarman’s Klarvich Stables.

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