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Americanrevolution Dominant In Empire Classic Handicap At Belmont

China Horse Club and WinStar Farm's Americanrevolution poured on the speed in the stretch of the 1 1/8-mile Empire Classic Handicap to win by 11 3/4 lengths on Empire Showcase Day at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Breaking from the middle of the field of eight, jockey Luis Saez settled Americanrevolution in behind Sea Foam and Mr. Buff early, waiting for the far turn to make his bid for the lead. As Mr. Buff tired, Americanrevolution pulled even with Sea Foam entering the Big Sandy stretch and then pulled away with ease, leaving no doubt as to who the best horse in the field was. At the wire, the son of Consitution had a sizable lead while Wild Banker passed Sea Foam late to take second.

The final time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:49.11. Find this race's chart here.

Americanrevolution paid $2.90, $2.70, and $2.10. Wild Banker paid $18.20 and $5.60. Sea Foam paid $5.30.

“He's come a long way in a short period of time. He's a talented horse and showed last time that he belongs with some of the better 3-year-olds in the country, so it was great to have an opportunity like he had today,” trainer Todd Pletcher said after the race.

“The horse has always been learning and getting better and better. Last time he ran hard against Hot Rod Charlie [in the Pennsylvania Derby] and some other tough horses and finished third. Today, he came out well, came to the top of the stretch and had plenty of horse and he did it very easily,” Saez told the NYRA Press Office after the Empire Classic. “We got the trip we wanted. We were breaking outside the speed and so we just tried to sit and keep him comfortable. He came running down the stretch.”

Bred in New York by Fred W. Hertrich III and John D. Field, Americanrevolution is out of the Super Saver mare Polly Freeze. With his win in the Empire Classic Handicap, the 3-year-old colt has four wins in five starts in 2021 for a lifetime record of four wins in six starts and career earnings of $532,035.

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High Opinion Trying To ‘Turn The Tables’ In Noble Damsel

Trainer Anthony Dutrow saddles High Opinion in hopes of turning the tables on five-time race winner Chad Brown in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Noble Damsel for fillies and mares going one mile over the Widener turf course at Belmont Park.

Woodford Racing's and Team D's High Opinion broke her maiden last October at Belmont at odds of 97-1 before finishing second in the 1 1/16-mile Winter Memories on November 15 over good turf at Aqueduct Racetrack in her first start against winners.

Only off the board once in five starts since then, the 4-year-old daughter of Lemon Drop Kid put together a successful summer campaign at Saratoga Race Course with an allowance victory on July 31 ahead of a nose defeat last out to last year's Noble Damsel winner, Viadera, in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa.

Ridden by Luis Saez in the 1 1/16-mile Ballston Spa, High Opinion saved ground in fifth behind an honest pace set by Tamahere, who she will face again in the Noble Damsel. Saez asked the filly for more at the quarter pole and High Opinion answered, making a strong bid two-wide around the turn before tucking back in to the rail for one last try at new leader Viadera. Though she came up just shy of securing her first graded stakes victory, Dutrow said he was thrilled with his filly's effort.

“I was so happy that she was able to run so well against that competition,” Dutrow said of the dark bay filly's gusty performance. “People ask if I'm disappointed she lost the race. Yeah, I would have rather won the race than lost, but it was satisfying to see her race that well against those quality horses.”

Since her Ballston Spa effort, High Opinion has posted a series of works over Belmont's inner turf, most recently breezing a bullet four furlongs in 47.82 seconds Sunday.

Dutrow said he is confident the dark bay filly has carried her Saratoga form to Belmont.

“She was very good in her workout,” Dutrow said Sunday morning. “She was training fantastic at Saratoga and I believe I'm seeing very close to the same filly at Belmont this fall as I did this summer at Saratoga. I think a mile is very good for her, especially at Belmont. She loves that one turn there, so I'm feeling very good about her here.”

If High Opinion crosses the finish line first, it will be the first time a trainer other than Brown visits the winner circle to claim the Noble Damsel trophy in five years. Dutrow said he welcomes the challenge, hoping to play spoiler to Brown's attempt at a record sixth win in the stakes.

“You bet I want to turn the tables on Chad,” Dutrow said with a laugh. “I wouldn't want to trade places with anybody. I'm very happy and confident that our filly will give us a great effort.”

Saez gets the return call aboard High Opinion from post 3.

Brown, who is tied with Christophe Clement for most Noble Damsel scores, has won the event previously with Mrs McDougal [2016], Off Limits [2017], Uni [2018], Significant Form [2019] and Viadera [2020].

He will have two chances to earn another Noble Damsel victory with Swift Thoroughbreds, Madaket Stables, and Wonder Stable's graded stakes winner Tamahere, and John and Tanya Gunther's recent allowance winner, Love and Thunder.

Winner of the Grade 2 Sands Point at Belmont last year, Tamahere earned a Grade 1 placing in the Jenny Wiley at Keeneland in her first start of 2021.

Fourth behind Viadera and High Opinion in the Ballston Spa, she dominated in her next outing, scoring the listed Violet over yielding turf at Monmouth Park by 7 ¼ lengths on September 25.

A wire-to-wire winner in the Violet, Brown said being the one to catch is what works best for the 4-year-old daughter of Wootton Bassett.

“She's training well,” Brown said following the filly's five-furlong breeze in 1:02.11 over Belmont's inner turf course Saturday. “Letting her run freely on the front seems to be what she wants to do.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride from post 10.

Love and Thunder enters the Noble Damsel off an October 1 allowance victory going seven furlongs over firm turf at Belmont after being the bridesmaid in each of her four starts since moving stateside from England in April.

Runner-up to High Opinion in a July 31 allowance at Saratoga, Love and Thunder is seeking her first graded victory and returns to stakes company for the first time since a pair of off-the-board Group 3 efforts in England last year.

“She's knocked on the door in a lot of these races, so it was nice to see her punch through with a solid victory,” Brown's assistant Dan Stupp said of the filly's first American victory. “She's another one that's going the right way.”

Love and Thunder will break from post 6 with Jose Ortiz aboard.

Completing the field are stakes-placed Risky Mischief [post 9, Dylan Davis]; four-time winner Flower Point [post 2, Jose Lezcano]; last-out winner In a Hurry [post 1, Javier Castellano]; dual stakes winner Shifty She [post 5, Edwin Gonzalez]; Irish-bred Marlborough Road [post 7, Benjamin Hernandez]; and multiple graded stakes placed Platinum Paynter [post 4, Kendrick Carmouche].

Truth Hurts is entered for the main track only.

The Noble Damsel is slated as Race 8 on Saturday's 10-race card, which also features the Grade 2, $400,000 Hill Prince for sophomores going nine furlongs over the inner turf course in Race 9. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

Originally run as the Lexiable Stakes, the Noble Damsel is named for the daughter of Vaguely Noble who won Belmont's Grade 3 New York Handicap in 1982. Trained by Michael Kay, Noble Damsel was a four-time winner at Belmont and earned six other graded stakes placings in her four seasons of racing.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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Art Collector Goes Wire To Wire In Woodward Stakes

Art Collector planted his flag among the best in the older male division and earned his first Grade 1 victory on Saturday with a front-running triumph in the Woodward Stakes at Belmont Park.

The 4-year-old Bernardini colt was put on the lead early by jockey Luis Saez, challenged on the outside by longshot Mo Gotcha. Those two set an opening quarter-mile time of :24.02 seconds, tracked by a tightly bunched pack of Forza Di Oro, Code of Honor, and favorite Maxfield, with Dr Post trailing by several lengths.

Positions went relatively unchanged across the Belmont backstretch, with Art Collector going through a half-mile in :47.78 seconds, a half-length ahead of Mo Gotcha

Contenders behind the lead duo began to lodge their challenges as the field headed into the turn, led by Forza Di Oro on the outside, joined by Dr Post making his move from far back and far outside. Meanwhile, Maxfield approached from the inside, and moved just off the rail path to challenge Art Collector, as Mo Gotcha faded. Code of Honor also started to threaten from the inside path.

While many horses loomed, none of them were able to get close to Art Collector, who added to his two-length cushion at the top of the stretch under steady urging from Saez. After using the whip in the right hand, Saez flipped his crop to the left hand and flashed it at Art Collector repeatedly in the final eighth of a mile, helping him fend off any semblance of a challenge from his rivals and draw off to win the Woodward by 1 1/2 lengths over Maxfield. Dr. Post ran evenly down the stretch to finish a length behind Maxfield in third.

Art Collector completed the 1 1/8-mile race in 1:49.22 over a fast main track. He paid $7.50 to win as the field's second choice.

With the victory, Art Collector improved his lifetime record to eight wins in 15 starts for earnings of $1,535,305. He's been unbeaten in three starts since joining the barn of trainer Bill Mott earlier this year, also including victories in the listed Alydar Stakes at Saratoga and the G2 Charles Town Classic Stakes.

Art Collector races as a homebred for Bruce Lunsford, out of the Grade 1-placed stakes-winning Distorted Humor mare Distorted Legacy.

To view the full Equibase chart, click here.

Stakes Quotes Courtesy Of NYRA Press Office

Bill Mott, winning trainer of Art Collector (No. 3, $7.50) and fifth-place Forza Di Oro (No. 6): “Nice race, strong race. He's put three of them together. He's a nice horse. He's just done enough to beat his company. Each one probably got a little tougher. It was tougher today, but he handled it.

“He was in great shape. He had the winter off and he was a fresh horse. They ran him at Churchill once going seven-eighths. It was an odd race. He didn't have the greatest trip. When he came to me, he had a race under his belt and was ready to go. He's done well since we had him. With racing, I think he's gotten stronger and better and today is the result.

“He's been lucky. Luis [Saez] gets him away well and gets him in good position and that's important.”

On going from three turns in the Charles Town Classic to one turn in the Woodward: “He's a pretty smart horse. He has a great disposition because it didn't confuse him.”

On potential start in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic: “I'm not afraid. I'll talk to [owner] Mr. [Bruce] Lunsford. He makes the final decision, but I don't know what we have to lose. I'd run him a mile and a quarter. A mile and an eighth hasn't been a problem for him, so why would I cut him back?”

Luis Saez, winning jockey aboard Art Collector (No. 3): “It was a wonderful race. I had a lot of confidence in my horse. He always tries so hard. He always comes with a run and finishes with run and today he ran his race. We expected to be on the lead. He broke so well and he was able to control the pace. That was an exciting race.

On his confidence turning for home: “I felt pretty good. I felt like I had a lot of power and a lot of horse and when I asked, he took off.”

Brendan Walsh, trainer of runner-up and beaten-favorite Maxfield (No. 2): “I don't know that we had a lot of excuses. We had a good spot even if it was down inside a little bit. All credit to the winner. He ran a good race and he's a good horse. We ran a good race to be second. This horse doesn't let us down ever.

“I don't think [the blinkers] made a whole lot of a difference. They definitely weren't a negative in any way. Jose [Ortiz] said he ran a good race and found the gears he wanted him to find, but he just got outrun by a horse that was better on the day.”

On a potential start in the Breeders' Cup Classic: “He still hasn't done anything wrong. Every race is different and our day will come, too. I can't see why not.”

Jose Ortiz, jockey aboard runner-up Maxfield (No. 2): “I had a good trip. I followed the horse that won and was second best.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. jockey aboard third-place Dr Post (No. 1): “He ran great. He did everything right, he just got beat by two nice horses.”

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Bella Sofia Dominant In Gallant Bloom At Belmont Park

In her first four lifetime starts, Bella Sofia had been victorious three times. In her fifth start in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., the 3-year-old filly had no trouble with the field of older fillies, taking the lead early and going gate-to-wire to get her second graded stakes win.

Bella Sofia took the initiative at the start, darting out to a one-length lead over Lady Rocket, who was able to take up second position despite stumbling at the break. The 3-year-old filly went :22.46 for the first quarter and then :45.40 for the half-mile, her lead three-quarters of a length going into the far turn, with Lady Rocket still second.

Into the stretch, jockey Luis Saez gave Bella Sofia the cue to go, the filly putting five lengths between her and the closest contender before Saez powered her down. At the wire, she was 3 1/2 lengths in front of Lady Rocket, traveling the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.69. Lake Avenue and Don't Call Me Mary rounded out the field.

Find this race's chart here.

Bella Sofia paid $2.80 and $2.10. Lady Rocket paid $3.90.

“Luis [Saez] and I talked before the race and if someone else wanted the lead we'd let them go, but she's so quick out of the gate. The one time we got beat [in the Jersey Girl] she stumbled out of the gate bad. I don't think she necessarily needs to be on the lead, but when you have this type of horse you have to take advantage of it” trainer Rudy Rodriguez said after the race.

“She's very special. From Day One when I rode her and broke her maiden here, she gave me a feeling she's a Grade 1-winner. In the Test, she proved she can really run and today was easy for her, ” Saez told the NYRA Press Office after the Gallant Bloom. “She finished up strong and did it easy. I had a lot of horse.”

Bred in Kentucky by Two Tone Farms, Bella Sofia is by Awesome Patriot out of the Consolidator mare Love Contract. She is owned by Michael Imperio, Medallion Racing, Sofia Soares, Vincent Scuderi, and Parkland Thoroughbreds. The filly was consigned by Grassroots Training and Sales at the 2020 Ocala Breeders' Sales Company July Two-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale and purchased by Sallusto and Albina, agent, for $20,000. With her win in the G2 Gallant Bloom, Bella Sofia has career earnings of $542,600.

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