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Luca Panici Feeling ‘Confident’ In Long-Time Partnership With Sole Volante

Luca Panici has maintained a somewhat low profile while establishing himself with Gulfstream Park horsemen as a solid, steady and smart jockey since leaving Italy for a new adventure in the United States.

The 46-year-old Milan native, however, will take Thoroughbred racing's center stage Saturday at Belmont Park, where he will compete in his first Triple Crown race while riding Sole Volante in the 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes (G1).

“He's a tremendous horse. We have a lot of confidence. He's one of the best 3-year-olds in the USA,” Panici said. “It's very exciting. I'm going there to enjoy it.”

The son of a jockey, Panici grew up playing soccer with Frankie Dettori across the street from the local racetrack. Dettori, four years his senior, inspired Panici with his immediate success as a jockey at the age of 16, as well as the subsequent fame and fortune he earned in England and across the world. Panici went on to enjoy success while riding more than 500 winners in Italy, but racing in the U.S. first caught his attention in 1996, when he spent a winter in South Florida galloping for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott for free in exchange for one mount (fifth-place finisher Yokama in a Feb. 19, 1996 allowance at Gulfstream).

Panici, who returned to South Florida the following winter to gallop for trainer Gary Sciacca, rode sporadically at Calder Race Course and Gulfstream for the next several years before making a permanent move to the U.S. in 2009. He has won 677 races in the U.S., none more important than Sole Volante's triumph in the Feb. 8 Sam F. Davis (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs. The late-closing 2 ½-length victory was the son of Karakontie's first on dirt and made him a 2020 Triple Crown player.

Panici has been involved in Sole Volante's development right from the start, breezing him for trainer Patrick Biancone prior to riding him to victory in his debut over Gulfstream Park prWest's turf course last October.

“I used to work him before he ran. I worked him a couple of times on the grass and he was amazing,” Panici said. “Mr. Biancone, from the first day, was sure he would handle both grass and dirt. When we worked him on the dirt, he showed the same ability. We figured we had a really good horse.”

Due to injury, Panici had to sit out Sole Volante's victory in the Nov. 30 Pulpit Stakes, in which future Tampa Bay Derby (G2) winner King Guillermo finished third, but he was back aboard for a third-place finish in the Jan. 4 Mucho Macho Man in his first start on dirt. After breaking through with a victory in the Sam F. Davis, Sole Volante staged an impressive rally from 11th to finish second behind King Guillermo in the Tampa Bay Derby, before the coronavirus pandemic halted racing at most racetracks and forced the postponement of the Kentucky Derby (G1) to Sept. 5 and the Preakness Stakes to Oct. 4, making Saturday's Belmont the first leg of the 2020 Triple Crown.

Sole Volante continued to train at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream Park's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County before returning to action in a stakes-quality optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream June 10. Rating kindly for Panici, Sole Volante trailed his five rivals as stablemate Ete Indien set a contested pace, made a wide sweep into the stretch and got up to win by three-quarters of a length under a hand ride.

“There was a lot of pace which is very good for him. Even at Tampa, when we won the Sam Davis, there was a lot of pace where he could relax behind. Last time, it was the same way. I got lucky there was only a six-horse field, so I didn't have any kind of trouble. He has a very, very professional mind. It was a nice finish, beating the horse that ran second in the [Curlin] Florida Derby,” said Panici, referring to Shivaree, who pressed Ete Indien before weakening late.

Panici's successful association with Biancone hasn't been limited to Sole Volante's exploits. The veteran jockey has become a trusted member of the Biancone team, breezing and regularly riding Ete Indien, whom he rode to an allowance win and a second-place finish behind subsequent Florida Derby (G1) winner Tiz the Law in the Feb. 1 Holy Bull (G3) during the Championship Meet, and Kelsey's Cross, whom he guided to an eye-catching triumph in the $100,000 Ginger Punch Stakes June 6.

“Mr. Biancone has won two or three Arc de Triomphes. Winning two or three Arc de Triomphes is like winning two or three Kentucky Derbies, here. It's the most difficult race in Europe,” Panici said. “When you ride for the best, it's pretty easy. I'm confident in him and he's confident in me. We're doing pretty good together.”

Sole Volante has been rated second in the Belmont Stakes morning line at 9-2 behind Tiz the Law, the 6-5 favorite in a field of 10 3-year-olds.

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Belmont Stakes: Sole Volante ‘The Best He’s Ever Been’ Off 10-Day Turnaround

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Andie Biancone's Sole Volante will be coming off the shortest turnaround of any of the 10 contenders in Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park, but his connections said having a prep race before starting the Triple Crown series provided a much-needed boost.

The ultra-consistent Sole Volante stalked the early speed and used his late-closing turn-of-foot to post a three-quarters of a length victory against allowance company at one mile on June 10 at Gulfstream Park. The victory netted the Karakontie gelding a 95 Beyer Speed Figure – exceeding 90 for a fourth consecutive race – and marked his first race in three months since running second to King Guillermo in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby on March 7.

The Patrick Biancone trainee shipped to Belmont, where he alertly schooled in the paddock Wednesday mere hours before he drew post 2 and was listed as the 9-2 morning-line second choice behind 6-5 favorite Tiz the Law.

“He just came out of that allowance race so well and we did an open gallop with him on Monday,” said Andie Biancone, assistant trainer for her father in addition to being Sole Volante's co-owner. “We really waited for him to do the talking. He's behavior is great, and he came out of it so fresh and so happy and so well, we couldn't not go to this race.”

Sole Volante is 4-1-1 in six career starts. He began his career 2-for-2 on turf, including a win in the Pulpit in November at Gulfstream Park to cap his juvenile year. The elder Biancone moved him to dirt to commence his sophomore campaign and never looked back, with Sole Volante running third in the one-mile Mucho Macho Man before registering a 2 ½-length score in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis in February at Tampa Bay Downs, earning a personal-best 96 Beyer.

His come-from-behind running style was on full display in the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Derby, where he was 11th at the half-mile mark before rallying second. With restrictions in place nation-wide to mitigate risk and combat the spread of COVID-19, Sole Volante continued to train in Palm Meadows, Florida awaiting his next start.

Andie Biancone said that next spot finally came last week. That victory at Gulfstream Park will now be used as a springboard to the 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes.

“We wanted to run him before the Belmont,” Andie Biancone said. “To go almost 100 days without a race, they're itching for it. They're athletes. Mentally, he wanted to do more. Once he got that race him, it was like he said, 'I'm all right, everything is OK.' They love to run. Mentally and physically, he's just perfect right now. We couldn't be happier.

“I think the rest did him well at the end of the day,” she added. “He's put on a lot of weight and grown. For any young horse, I think some time off can do them well. This situation hasn't been done before, but he came out of it well.”

This year's Belmont Stakes will be held at a one-turn 1 1/8 miles, marking the first time since 1925 the American Classic will not be held at its traditional 1 ½ miles. After posting wins at one mile and 1 1/16 miles, Biancone said the Kentucky-bred's late-closing speed could set up well down the stretch on Big Sandy.

“I think he's a closer. With a lot of speed in the race, hopefully he can sit back comfortably and pick his route from there,” she said. “Also, this is the best he's ever been right now, both fitness-wise and mentally.”

After making all six of his starts in Florida, Patrick Biancone said his charge shipped in well to New York and was getting comfortable in New York.

“So far, so good,” Patrick Biancone said. “He's very talented. He's been very good for us and trains his best all the time. We'll see how good he is Saturday. No question, Tiz the Law is the horse to beat, but he totally [deserves] this opportunity.”

Andie Biancone echoed that sentiment after riding Sole Volante under the sunshine in the Belmont paddock Wednesday.

“He was alert but not nervous,” she said. “I think that's something good to look for.”

Andie Biancone, a fourth-generation horsewoman, is the youngest of Biancone's four children. For her 22nd birthday last April, Patrick Biancone bought an interesting gift, purchasing the 2-year-old Sole Volante for $20,000. She now shares ownership with Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, headed by Dean and Patti Reeves, who campaigned Mucho Macho Man, who ran third in the 2011 Kentucky Derby and was the stable's only previous Belmont Stakes entrant, finishing seventh that year.

“When I first heard that Dean Reeves wanted to buy a part of Sole Volante, I was star-struck,” she said. “I was such a huge fan of Mucho Macho Man growing up. They are great ambassadors of the sport. To be partners with them is great. They are great people and great horsemen. His best interests is always with the horse. I admire that. They are fun to work with.”

If there's one thing New Yorkers appreciate, it's authentic Italian, and Andie Volante said in that spirit, the pronunciation of Sole Volante's name was authenticated by a stellar source: jockey Luca Panici, who was born in Milan and began his racing career in Italy before expanding into North America, where he's won more than 600 races multiple graded stakes, including the Sam F. Davis.

Sole Volante, Italian for “Flying Sun,” is a nod to his sire's name, with Karakontie Mohawk for “Flying Sun.”

As the exclusive broadcast partner of the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown, NBC Sports will present live coverage from Belmont Park on Belmont Stakes Day beginning at 2:45 p.m. Eastern.

Belmont Stakes Day June 20 will feature six graded races including four Grade 1 events led by the historic Belmont Stakes, which will offer 150-60-30-15 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

Rounding out the Grade 1 entertainment on Belmont Stakes Day are the $300,000 Acorn for 3-year-old fillies going one mile; the $250,000 Woody Stephens presented by Claiborne Farm, a seven-furlong sprint over Big Sandy for 3-year-olds; and the $250,000 Jaipur, presented by America's Best Racing, for 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs on turf, which offers a berth in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. A pair of one-mile turf races for sophomores, previously contested at nine furlongs, completes a stakes-laden card with the Grade 2, $150,000 Pennine Ridge and the Grade 3, $150,000 Wonder Again for fillies.

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‘Exceptional’ Workouts Have Fore Left Ready For Belmont Stakes

Trainer Doug O'Neill has been highly impressed with the way Fore Left has been training, which is why he decided to alter course with the son of Twirling Candy and enter in the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes on Saturday.

Owned by Reddam Racing, Fore Left has been training forwardly at Belmont Park alongside a string of about a dozen horses that the southern California-based conditioner has kept in New York. In his first work over the Elmont oval, Fore Left drilled through five furlongs in 59.05 seconds over the main track on June 4.

Fore Left has recorded one start in 2020, which was an overseas stakes triumph in the Group 3 United Arab Emirates 2000 Guineas on February 5 at Meydan Racecourse. No stranger to stakes success over Big Sandy, Fore Left won the Tremont as a 2-year-old last season on the eve of the Belmont Stakes.

To properly account for the schedule adjustments and overall calendar for 3-year-olds in training, the race will be run at a distance of 1 1/8-miles, as opposed to its usual 1 1/2-mile distance. O'Neill believes that the distance change of the race will be to his horse's benefit.

“His last two works over the track were exceptional,” O'Neill said. “He's settled in well over there and he has a win over the track. He's just maturing into a really nice 3-year-old and I think that a one-turn mile and an eighth is going to be great for him. He wouldn't be up for a mile and a half right now.”

Of the three American Classics, the Belmont Stakes is the only one which O'Neill has not yet won. He won the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby twice with I'll Have Another (2012) and Nyquist (2016) with the former of the two winning the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes in his respective year.

O'Neill's lone Belmont Stakes starter was Blended Citizen, who ran ninth in 2018 to Triple Crown-winner Justify.

“It's one of the most prestigious races and even family and friends with very little to no knowledge of racing is familiar with the Belmont Stakes and it's an honor to be a part of it,” O'Neill said. “It's on all of our bucket lists and Paul and Zillah are pumped to have a horse good enough to compete. More than anything, we're just listening to the horse and he's showing us that he's ready.”

Boasting a consistent 9-4-0-2 record, Fore Left has won all four of his starts in wire-to-wire fashion. O'Neill said that the horse doesn't have to have the lead in Saturday's test, but that he will be in the front tier of horses in the early portion of the race.

“He's got gate speed and he'll without a doubt be forwardly placed. I like the fact that we drew the outside to some opposing speed in the race,” O'Neill said.

Fore Left spent the winter in Dubai, where O'Neill kept a small string of horses. The trainer praised the horse's maturation and development during his time in the Middle East.

“He came back fantastic,” O'Neill said. “We had around 12 horses over there for about three months. As opposed to a usual trip to Dubai where you ship in for the week and then ship out, he was over there for quite a while and he's really flourished and matured with his time out there.”

Bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, Fore Left is out of the Unbridled's Song broodmare Simply Sunny. He will receive the riding services of Jose Ortiz, who guided Tapwrit to victory in the 2017 Belmont Stakes.

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Equibase Analysis: Fore Left Could Upset Tiz The Law In Belmont Stakes

In the scheme of things, the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes being run in June doesn't seem that out of the normal. However, in the year of the pandemic the fact the race comes before the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and will be run at the distance of one mile and one-eighth really makes a point things are out of whack this year. Just the same, a strong field of 10 lines up for the race which earns the top four finishers significant points on the Road to the Derby.

Tiz the Law leads the field in career earnings ($945,300) and accomplishments, having won four of five career races including the Grade 1 Florida Derby easily by four and one-quarter lengths when last seen. Sole Volante also has won four races, including the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes in February, before a runner-up effort in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby and a strong win 10 days ago which was the ticket to ship from Florida to New York for this race.

Another horse proven in the top races for three-year-olds early this year is Modernist, winner of one of the two divisions of the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes in February. However, he had no excuse when third in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby in his most recent start. Likewise, Max Player won the Grade 3 Withers Stakes at the distance of this year's Belmont, but hasn't been seen in the five and one-half months since then. Fore Left shipped half-way across the world for his three year old debut and came away with a strong win on the lead throughout in the Group 3 United Arab Emirates 2000 Guineas in February.

Dr Post punched his ticket into the race with a victory in the Unbridled Stakes in late April. He's trained by Todd Pletcher, who also saddles Farmington Road, the runner-up in the Oaklawn Stakes in April before a non-threatening fourth in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby in May. Tap It to Win won impressively at Belmont just 16 days ago and appears to have a lot of talent.

Trainer Steve Asmussen, who recently became the all-time leading trainer at Churchill Downs, saddles a pair. One of those is Pneumatic, who contested the pace for most of the race before tiring a bit and ending up third in the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes last month. The other is Jungle Runner, who won the one turn Clever Trevor Stakes in November but who has been beaten a total of sixty-seven lengths in four starts since then.

Although Tiz the Law is the one to beat on paper, I'm going to take a shot with Fore Left to post the upset in the Belmont Stakes. The colt won the first two starts of his career last May and June, both sprints including the Tremont Stakes at Belmont Park, then after two months off he wasn't disgraced a bit when ending up third and a neck behind the runner-up in the Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar. Following a poor effort in his two-turn debut in the American Pharoah Stakes last September, the southern California prep for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, the colt returned to sprinting and won a minor stakes before trying an all-weather track and trying turf, finishing third then 10th in those races. Rested two months and put back on the dirt while shipping to Dubai for the United Arab Emirates 2000 Guineas, Fore Left led from the start in a 16 horse field and held off all challengers early while drawing off late with some authority.

That effort showed he had matured nicely over the winter as he earned a career-best 103 Equibase Speed Figure. The runner-up in that race returned to win a stakes the following month which flattered the form of Fore Left somewhat. Rested since then, Fore Left resumed training in April and shipped to Belmont the first week of June. Since then, he's put in two very strong morning drills over a track he already proved a liking for when winning last spring. Although Tap It to Win earned his last victory at Belmont leading from start to finish, I believe Fore Left will be sent for the lead by jockey Jose Ortiz and if allowed to get into a high cruising speed as he did in the 2000 Guineas, he could post the upset win in this field. He still has to beat Tiz the Law, with 117 and 112 figures earned in his last two starts, but considering this will be only his second start as a three year old, Fore Left may be able to do just that.

There's little question Tiz the Law is the horse to beat based on his body of work and particularly his two races this year. Rested two months after a poor third in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes last fall, Tiz the Law was a powerful winner of the Holy Bull Stakes with a career-best and field high 117 Figure which remains the highest stakes winning figure by any thee year old in North America even four months later. Although he earned a lower 112 figure winning the Florida Derby, Tiz the Law did not need to run any faster after he opened up by a length in the stretch and jockey Manual Franco noted there were no challengers coming.

When a horse has earned two consecutive figures which are both higher than any other horse in the field, it's known as a “double advantage” and these horses win a high percentage of the time. Considering how well Tiz the Law ran off a similar layoff in the Holy Bull, and the colt has excellent tactical speed which is likely to have him in third or fourth position early and in range of the leaders at the critical stage of the race, Tiz the Law is a legitimate favorite and the most probable to win the race. The only proviso is how strong a horse like Fore Left may be if allowed an easy lead from the start as horses can get very courageous when allowed to run that way.

Sole Volante was my top choice in the Sam F. Davis Stakes on this page in February off his third place effort in his first dirt start prior to that. Not only had trainer Patrick Biancone already proved prescient with the move as Ete Indien had run very well a couple of weeks earlier, but Sole Volante had tremendous dam side breeding for running well in stakes on dirt. The other foal of the dam, Explode, was multiple stakes placed at distances from nine to 10 furlongs. Sole Volante rewarded those who bet him in the Sam F. Davis with a win at 5 to 1 odds and earned a career best dirt figure of 108. One month later in the Tampa Bay Derby, Sole Volante rallied from 11th of 12 early but couldn't catch the winner and ended up second. Taking three months off, Sole Volante was very impressive with a big burst of speed in the stretch to win 10 days ago. Even though that was not a stakes race, the 107 figure was stakes quality. Sole Volante is likely to be near the back of the pack early but if there is any sort of pace battle early or if the early fractions are faster than average, Sole Volante could be passing the field late for his second graded stakes win of the year.

Honorable mention goes to Tap It to Win and Dr Post as both are on the verge of breakthrough performances. Tap It to Win won a sprint in May in his three year old debut with a 99 figure, then improved to a 108 figure effort 16 days ago. That win came in a one-turn route at Belmont not much different from the Belmont Stakes. Because of the level of the race, there's no way to know the class of the horses he beat but as a son of Tapit and with the ground saving rail Tap It to Win may take the needed step forward to compete with these. Dr Post shows a similar pattern as he stretched out to a mile and one-sixteenth off a sprint in his most recent start and won well. He improved from a 92 figure to 101 so he appears to be a bit behind Tap It to Win but three year olds still have potential to take a big leap forward from race to race, particularly lightly raced ones like Dr Post.

The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures, is Farmington Road (100), Jungle Runner (85), Max Player (103), Modernist (94) and Pneumatic (98).

Win Contenders:
Fore Left
Tiz the Law
Sole Volante

Belmont Stakes – Grade 1
Race 10 at Belmont Park
Saturday, June 20 – Post Time 5:42 PM E.T.
One Mile and One Eighth
Three Years Old
Purse: $1 Million
T.V.: NBC 2:45 – 6 PM E.T.

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