Brown Wins Fifth Straight Belmont Spring Title

Chad Brown notched 23 wins to finish as the leading trainer at the Belmont spring/summer meet for the fifth consecutive time and jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. posted 34 victories to lead all riders as the 25-day meet concluded Sunday at Belmont Park. Klaravich Stables led all owners with 13 wins, outpacing second-place finisher Michael Dubb, who had seven victories.

“I’m really proud of our team. We had a late start to the year and it was frustrating for everybody–the staff, the owners, everybody involved,” Brown said. “Our team held it together. We had to change plans with several horses. We had to change plans with living arrangements for people on our team. Everyone had to make sacrifices and alter their life–and that’s not just our stable, that’s other stables, racetrack management and all around in other industries.”

Ortiz was the leading rider for the second time in the last three Belmont spring/summer meets, compiling a 34-23-13 record in 128 mounts, winning at more than a 26% clip.

“I’ve done well in the spring here. I’m thankful to all the trainers and the owners,” Ortiz said.

Live racing shifts to upstate New York when the 40-day Saratoga meet opens July 16.

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Prat Latest Southern California Jockey to Test Positive for Coronavirus

According to his agent, Derek Lawson, top California rider Flavien Prat has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Because he left California to ride Saturday at Keeneland, Prat was required to take a test Sunday before being allowed to ride at Del Mar. The test results were positive and Prat had to take off all his mounts.

“These athletes, they know their bodies,” Lawson said. “When I picked him up at the airport, he said, ‘I think I have it.'”

Lawson said that Prat is feeling fine and will return to his home in the Los Angeles area to wait out the quarantine period.

Along with Victor Espinoza, Martin Garcia and Luis Saez, Prat becomes the fourth jockey who rode on the July 4 card at Los Alamitos to test positive. For Saez, it cost him the mount on Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) in Saturday’s GII San Diego H. He will be replaced by Abel Cedillo, but trainer Bob Baffert told the Daily Racing Form that Saez will regain the mount once his quarantine period is over.

Prat, who was the leading rider at the 2019 summer meet at Del Mar, will also lose several important mounts and Lawson was quick to blame Los Alamitos for his predicament.

“All of this transpired at Los Alamitos,” Lawson said. “They were so careful at Santa Anita and then at Los Alamitos it was like the wild, wild west. They let everything get out of hand. We only went over there to ride Bellafina and for Baffert. They didn’t do anything. It was like, ‘Come on in, everyone is welcome.’ After how well everything went at Santa Anita, what a shame.”

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Laoban Colt Earns Furlong Bullet at OBS Under-Tack Finale

A colt by Laoban work the co-fastest furlong of the week Sunday during the sixth and final session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s July 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale under-tack show. The session, originally scheduled for Saturday, was delayed a day after lightning damaged the track’s timing equipment.

From the first crop of GII Jim Dandy S. winner Laoban (Uncle Mo), hip 983 was the second juvenile to work the furlong in :9 4/5 during the under-tack show. Out of One Look (Henny Hughes), the bay is consigned by Jesse Hoppel’s Coastal Equine.

“This track has played really weird all week,” Hoppel said. “But the way he prepped, we thought he’d be a :10 flat type horse. If you think they are in one spot, you get lucky and they go a little bit faster and, if you have some bad luck, sometimes they go a little bit slower. But he was really spot on today. He did really good.”

A full 27 juveniles worked the furlong in :10 flat during the week. Hip 983 and hip 640, a daughter of Not This Time, were the only of the week to work in under :10.

“I think it will highlight him for sure,” Hoppel said of the bullet. “But if the horse made a good video-which I think he did, he’s got a really good way of moving–then he will be just fine. I don’t think you have to necessarily be the bullet to sell a horse well. As long as the horse has good action and they go fast the right way, that’s the thing, they have to go fast the right way. Sometimes you get a horse that goes really fast and they look like something is about to fly off. And that’s no good. But I think he did it the right way, so they’ll appreciate it.”

Hoppel is consigning the colt on behalf of a group of friends who partnered to buy the youngster for $3,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale. Luis Franco signed the ticket in Lexington last fall.

“He is a robust, strong, aggressive colt,” Hoppel said of the juvenile. “He is a horse that doesn’t not show up. Some of these colts sometimes they get a little lazy or they start thinking about other things. He’s a very game individual.”

Hoppel sent out 11 juveniles to work during the week at OBS–including the bullet quarter-mile worker on the first day of the under-tack show–and the consignor said the track shifted from session to session as conditions went from hotter to cooler temperatures and was hit by several major rainstorms.

“I think the biggest part of the track is that it’s heat sensitive,” Hoppel said. “And dealing with July in the state of Florida, heat is an issue. That track gets to be a softer, slower playing track the more heat that is on it. When it is cold, the track is hard and fast. So this week, we had rain, we had heat, it just depends on was it a cold rain that cooled the track off or not. We had some days that were faster than other days. I had enough horses here that I had a good sampling throughout the week and I know where these horses are amongst themselves. So I know some days were different than other days. And those good agents, they know this track plays different day to day, so they will measure these horses on a per-day basis.”

A filly by Bahamian Squall (hip 1030) turned in Sunday’s fastest quarter-mile work when covering the distance in :20 3/5. Consigned by McKathan Brothers Sales, the dark bay filly was supplemented to the July Sale. She is out of Up for Grabs (First Samurai) and was purchased by Fernando Velasquez for $1,000 at last year’s OBS October Yearling Sale.

A colt from the first crop of multiple graded stakes winner Protonico (Giant’s Causeway) equaled the fastest three-furlong work of the week when covering the distance in :33 flat Sunday for Whitman Sales. Out of Mongolian Changa (Brilliant Speed), the dark bay was purchased by Christy Whitman for $1,000 at the OBS Winter Sale.

The once-raced 3-year-old filly Chambers Creek (Goldencents) (hip 992), consigned by Bobby Dodd, also worked in :33 flat Sunday.

The July sale will be held Tuesday through Thursday with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

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Haskell Draw to be Streamed Live on Facebook

The post position draw for Saturday’s GI Haskell S. will be streamed via Facebook Live on Monmouth Park’s Facebook page. The draw, which will take place in the Breeders’ Cup Garden on the Clubhouse side of the racetrack, will be held Wednesday at noon.

The $1-million Haskell offers points towards the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby and is also a “Win and You’re In”race for the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic. BetMakers, in partnership with Monmouth Park, is offering a $1-million bonus to the connections of any horse that wins the Haskell, Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic.

 

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