Japan’s France Go De Ina ‘Moved Really Well’ In Final Breeze For Belmont Stakes

In his final piece of preparation for Saturday's Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes, France Go de Ina breezed five furlongs over a fast main track at Belmont Park.

Under mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s, Yuji Inaida's son of third crop sire Will Take Charge took to the track under exercise rider Masaki Takano at 7:30 a.m., and registered his final move for the 'Test of the Champion' while running off eighth-mile splits of 13.12, 25.78 and 49.23 before completing his breeze in 1:02.62.

Trainer Hideyuki Mori was on site to watch his two-time winner train for the final leg of the Triple Crown.

France Go de Ina, who was seventh last out in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, shipped to Belmont Park two days following the second American Classic and has been getting acclimated to his new surroundings.

“He moved really well. We were really happy with the work this morning,” Mori said through translator Kate Hunter. “The extra time between this race and shipping in from Japan gives him time to build his body up some more and add condition.”

France Go de Ina will be the first Belmont Stakes starter for Mori, whose first contender in an American Classic dates back to 1995 when Ski Captain finished 14th to Thunder Gulch in the Kentucky Derby.

“I would be very happy to add a Triple Crown race to my portfolio,” Mori said.

Ricardo Santana, Jr. will pilot France Go de Ina from post 5.

Godolphin's Essential Quality, the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the Belmont Stakes and reigning Champion 2-Year-Old Male, visited the Belmont main track for the first time at 5:30 a.m.

Trainer Brad Cox said the four-time graded stakes winner appeared to move well over Big Sandy.

“He stood for a minute and then jogged off the right way and galloped about a mile and three-eighths and he seemed to get over the ground really well,” said Cox. “My assistant, Dustin Dugas, was on him. It went very smooth. Dustin came back and said he's a very smooth-going horse and intelligent. That's what you want to hear from the guy on his back.”

Cox said Essential Quality, who will exit post 2 under Luis Saez on Saturday, will visit the starting gate on Thursday ahead of his regular gallop.

Also visiting the main tack Wednesday morning for Cox was Grade 1, $1 million Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap contender Knicks Go.

A multiple Grade 1-winner with more than $4.5 million in purse earnings, Knicks Go appeared to relish his daily exercise.

“He has the draw reins on and he's definitely a horse who grabs the bridle and does a little more,” said Cox. “That's him. That's his style. Essential Quality is a little more laid back.”

John and Diane Fradkin's Rombauer continued preparations for the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes when galloping 1 ½-miles over the main track after the break at 8:45 a.m.

Trained by Michael McCarthy, the Grade 1 Preakness-winner will break from post 3 under Hall of Famer John Velazquez in the Belmont.

The son of Twirling Candy shipped to Belmont Park the Monday following his Preakness triumph and has been stabled with trainer Jonathan Thomas.

“He's been here for nearly three weeks, so nothing is new to him at this point. He's been settling in nicely,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy, a former assistant to newly minted Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, expressed his appreciation for his time spent under the veteran conditioner.

“If I don't put the time in there with him, maybe I don't get to do this,” said McCarthy. “He's got an incredible amount of responsibility and has a lot going on. It's nice to follow what they do, even though I'm not there, I always pay attention to what's going on [with Pletcher's team].”

Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing, Strauss Bros Racing and Gainesway Thoroughbreds' Hot Rod Charlie, trained by Doug O'Neill, also visited the main track after the break under exercise rider Jonny Garcia.

“He got out there and he jogged about five-eighths and galloped a mile and a quarter,” said O'Neill. “It was very similar to what we do back home, but the mile and a half circumference here makes it a little different.”

Hot Rod Charlie, a front-running winner of the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby, quickened down the lane.

“Jonny is so good. Once he gets him in that comfortable leg stretch, he doesn't move his hands or ask him for more or try and slow him down,” said O'Neill. “He just lets him be comfortable out there, especially the last part of the gallop. He looked great and did it easy. One day at a time, but so far so good.”

Flavien Prat will pilot Hot Rod Charlie from post 4.

Hronis Racing and David Michael Talla's Rock Your World, winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in April, visited the main track near 7 a.m.

“He went for a routine gallop, about a mile and a quarter. He did it just easy,” said Juan Leyva, assistant to trainer John Sadler. “He's doing well. He's happy. He comes off the track with good energy.”

Rock Your World finished 17th in the Kentucky Derby after a troubled start, but Leyva said the colt is thriving heading into Saturday's test. The Candy Ride bay posted a bullet 58.40 five-furlong breeze on May 28 at Santa Anita.

“If you saw his work last week, the gallop out was super impressive. He went 1:40 for the mile and he did it all on his own,” said Leyva, a former jockey who guided Musical Romance to victory in the 2011 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. “He's a big, lanky colt. I don't think the distance will be a problem for him at all.”

Rock Your World will exit post 7 under Joel Rosario.

Sadler will also be represented at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival by Flagstaff in Friday's Grade 2, $300,000 True North, a 6 ½-furlong sprint for older horses; and by Campaign, who takes a second attempt at the Grade 2, $400,000 Brooklyn presented by Northwell Health, a 12-furlong test for older horses on Belmont Stakes Day, after finishing fourth in 2019.

“Flagstaff is doing great. I think we know he's a seven-furlong specialist but I think the 6 1/2-furlongs is well within his range,” said Leyva. “Campaign ran here two years and he got stuck inside and wasn't able to get through and make his run, but he still finished well. He's coming into the race well.”

Pletcher sent his trio of Belmont Stakes contenders – Known Agenda, Bourbonic and Overtook, to the main track at 6 a.m. to gallop 1 ½-miles. The veteran conditioner said all are in good order.

The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival runs from Thursday through Saturday, June 5, culminating with the 153rd running of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets. The festival will encompass 17 total stakes, including eight Grade 1s on Belmont Stakes Day, capped by the “Test of the Champion” for 3-year-olds in the 1 1/2-mile final leg of the Triple Crown.

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Rombauer, ‘France’ Ship Safely to Belmont

Classic hero Rombauer (Twirling Candy), who races for John and Diane Fradkin, shipped in to Belmont Park around 10 a.m. Monday ahead of an intended start in the June 5 $1.5-million GI Belmont S. presented by NYRA Bets. The colt earned a 102 Beyer for his GI Preakness S. heroics at Pimlico Saturday for trainer Michael McCarthy. He will be stabled with trainer Jonathan Thomas. Groom Leonel Orantes Aguilar reported that Rombauer had vanned to New York “very well”.

“It seems like he's in good physical shape,” McCarthy said, who is back at his southern California base. “He was pretty bright and alert on Sunday morning. He's a horse that takes very good care of himself, so we sort of read the signs from him and see what he's telling us. From what I can tell, he's no worse for wear.”

Second in the GI American Pharoah S. from four starts as a juvenile, Rombauer captured the Listed El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Feb. 13 before a third in Keeneland's GII Toyota Blue Grass S. in early April.

Reflecting on his colt's win he added, “I got a lot of nice messages from people and there were a lot of people that reached out who I hadn't heard from in quite some time, so it was very nice.”

Also arriving at Belmont on Monday was Yuji Inaida's well-traveled France Go de Ina (Will Take Charge), who will also contest the third jewel of the Triple Crown. The chestnut colt, who was sixth in the G2 UAE Derby in March and seventh in the Preakness S., was accompanied by trainer Hideyuki Mori's traveling assistant Masaki Takano. The dual winner will resume training Friday, May 21.

“He seemed to travel really well, it was a trouble free trip,” said Takano through translator Kate Hunter. “This is a good experience for the horse because the racing here is so different. Over the course of the time that he's been here, he's been able to get used to the American style of doing things. That's helped him relax into the routine and hopefully it will lead to a better performance in the future.

“The extra length of the Belmont, and the experience he's gotten from racing once here already, it's likely we'll have a better chance to perform better based off his pedigree. We're looking forward to giving it another go.”

There is a $1-million bonus for any Japan-based horse who wins the Belmont.

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France Go De Ina ‘Fine’ After Eventful Morning At Pimlico

There were some anxious moments for Yuji Inaida's France Go de Ina at Pimlico Race Course Wednesday morning. The colt from Japan had just completed his four-furlong breeze when exercise rider Masaki Takano suddenly fell off the son of Will Take Charge just after he passed the finish line.

There were no other horses on the track. France Go de Ina prepares for Saturday's Preakness Stakes (G1) each day following regular training hours due to quarantine regulations.

Takano slowly got to his feet as France Go de Ina continued on before being apprehended by Pimlico outriders. Both Takano and the horse are fine, according to Kate Hunter, the Preakness field representative for the Japan Racing Association.

“[Takano] slipped a bit from the stirrup on the left side and lost his balance,” Hunter said. “The horse is fine.”

Trainer Hideyuki Mori was trackside and bolted towards the winner's circle, where Takano stood and waited for France Go de Ina to be retrieved and brought back. Takano then got back on board and was led into the Pimlico paddock, where he took several laps in a schooling session.

After watching video of the incident, Mori was relieved that France Go de Ina did not stumble or take a bad step.

“It had nothing to do with the horse,” Mori said through Hunter, who serves as his interpreter. “He breezed well. Luckily, or unluckily, the rider fell off after the goal, just after the finish line, after he finished his workout.”

France Go de Ina, who finished sixth in the March UAE Derby (G2) in Dubai after winning two of three starts in Japan, was timed in 49.40 seconds. Having a workout three days before a major race is not common in the United States, but Hunter said it's quite common in Japan.

She also said that after an exercise rider falls or is thrown from a horse in Japan, things are different.

“In Japan, there are no outriders,” Hunter said, “So, they kind of let the horse stop and the guy who fell off has to go catch it.”

Mori said this incident will not affect Preakness preparations for the rest of the week. France Go de Ina is scheduled to school in the Preakness starting gate on Friday.

After he walked back to the barn with Takano on his back, France Go de Ina did his normal hour of walking at the isolation barn following his visit to the track.

“We are just very happy that the horse is OK,” Mori said.

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