The racing action this weekend in the northeast U.S. and Canada will be heating up as New York's Belmont Park presents a trio of graded stakes on Saturday, led by the Grade 1 Man o' War Stakes for older turf marathoners.
One of the other stakes on the card is the Grade 3 Peter Pan for 3-year-olds whose connections might have possible designs on a run in the June 10 Belmont Stakes, final leg of the Triple Crown.
Monmouth Park kicks off its summer meet Saturday on the Jersey Shore, and Woodbine in Toronto, Ontario, offers its first graded stakes of the year on Saturday and Sunday with a pair of Grade 3 sprints on the synthetic Tapeta surface.
Out west, Santa Anita's Grade 3 San Luis Rey Stakes has attracted a field of eight horses going a mile and a half on grass.
Saturday
3:07 p.m. ET – Grade 1 Man o' War at Belmont Park
There are not one, but two, 9-year-olds in the Man o' War lineup, Red Knight, a multiple graded stakes now trained by Michael Maker, and Channel Maker, from the barn of William Mott, who formerly trained Red Knight. Favoritism is likely to fall on the Great Britain-bred Godolphin homebred gelding, Warren Point, a 4-year-old by Dubawi who has not started since winning a G1 race in Qatar on Feb. 18. Trained by Charles Appleby – who has a formidable success rate when shipping to New York from his UK headquarters – Warren Point has won five of eight career starts, with two seconds and a third. Lanfranco Dettori, fresh off success in a Group 1 Classic last week at Newmarket, will ride.
3:40 p.m. – Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park
Henry Q is the only North American stakes winner in the field of nine sophomores entered in the Peter Pan, having won the Mine That Bird Derby at Sunland Park Feb. 28 by 14 3/4 lengths. He then finished third in the G3 Sunland Derby. The Blame colt, who was conditioned by Todd Fincher while in New Mexico, has returned to the barn of Doug O'Neill, who had Henry Q for his first three career starts. Dettori has ridden Henry Q twice and will be reunited in the Peter Pan, where he was installed an 8-1 outsider.
Bishops Bay looks to be the heavy favorite in the race for trainer Brad Cox. Unbeaten in two starts at Fair Grounds – most recently in a March 19 allowance/optional claiming race – the Uncle Mo colt will have regular rider Florent Geroux in the irons and was made the 8-5 morning line favorite. Cox has a second Peter Pan runner, Slip Mahoney, who finished a disappointing sixth in the G2 Wood Memorial. Joel Rosario will ride.
4:48 p.m. – Grade 3 Whimsical Stakes at Woodbine
Our Flash Drive, runner-up in 2022 Sovereign Award voting in the female sprint division, makes her 2023 debut in the Whimsical for Mark Casse and is pegged as the even-money favorite. She's won three of four stars on the Woodbine main track, with one second, and will be ridden by Patrick Husband. Baby No Worries is a Tapeta veteran, racing with success on the surface at Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania and, more recently, Turfway Park in Kentucky.
5:18 p.m. – Grade 3 Runhappy Stakes at Belmont Park
Drafted, a 9-year-old gelding trained by David Duggan, is back to defend his title in the Runhappy. The winner of 10 of 35 starts and earnings of nearly $1.2 million ran three subpar races over the winter at Aqueduct but can never be counted out. The contentious field also includes win-machine Beren (11 for 27) and Pennsylvania-bred Twisted Ride, who comes into the Runhappy off four consecutive wins this year. Both horses ship up from Parx Racing.
8:00 p.m. – Grade 3 San Luis Rey Stakes at Santa Anita
Trainer Phil D'Amato has been dominating the turf distance division in California but he's only got one entry in the San Luis Rey line-up, the 12-1 Irish-bred longshot Agatino. Michael McCarthy-trained Offlee Naughty, coming off a victory in the G2 Charles Whittingham Stakes April 8, is the 8-5 morning line favorite to successfully stretch out from that 1 1/4-mile race to the 1 1/2-mile San Luis Rey. Umberto Rispoli will ride. Richard Mandella sends out Brazilian-bred Planetario, a G1 winner in his home country and making his second U.S. start. Hector Berrios rides.
Sunday
4:16 p.m. – Grade 3 Jacques Cartier Stakes at Woodbine
Anarchist was knocking heads with some of Southern California's top sprinters while trained by Doug O'Neill, both on dirt and turf, and the Distorted Humor colt tries the synthetic Tapeta track for the first time. Now conditioned by Josie Carroll, Anarchist has had a touch of seconditis, with five runner-up efforts in eight career starts. Luis Contreras will try to get him back in the winner's circle. Arzak, trained by Michael Trombetta, was made the 2-1 morning line favorite as he attempts for a second consecutive Jacques Cartier win. He's got a ways to go to catch four-time race winner Pink Lloyd.
4:40 p.m. – Grade 3 Vagrancy Stakes at Belmont Park
Funny How had a five-race win streak come to an end in the G3 Distaff Handicap on April 7 but was not disgraced by winner Mommasgottarun. Trainer Ray Handal gives Katie Davis a leg up aboard the New York-bred filly by Overanalyze. Caramel Swirl likely needed her last race at Tampa as it was her first start since finishing a good second to female sprint champion Goodnight Olive in the G1 Ballerina Handicap at Saratoga last summer. Junior Alvarado teams up with William Mott.
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