Welcome to the calm after the storm at Belmont Park.
As most fans know, a Nor'easter washed out racing last weekend and pummeled the East Coast. Although the forecast calls for possible rain Friday night, it should be clear otherwise.
That’s a good thing. Belmont has a raft of scheduled and postponed stakes crammed into this weekend, many of them Breeders’ Cup “Win, and You’re In” stakes.
We’re going to look at three of them slated for Saturday, all in juvenile turf divisions: the $250,000 Pilgrim Stakes (G2), the $250,000 Miss Grillo Stakes (G2), and the $200,000 Futurity.
Let’s start with the Pilgrim Stakes, the 11th and final race on a day that also features the $500,000 Champagne Stakes (G1), the $500,000 Frizette Stakes (G1), and the $200,000 Matron Stakes (G3).
European shippers must always be respected when they target the Big B, and the Ireland-bred Dover Street looks like he means business for British-based trainer Richard Hannon, Jr. After debuting on the all-weather track at Kempton, Dover Street (5-1) was second in a maiden race at York before missing by only a half-length in the Solario Stakes (G3) at Sundown Park.
Yes, he is a maiden. However, the turf competition across the pond is much tougher, and he's already stakes-tested.
Pletcher checks in with a pair of runners in this 1 1/16 miles race: Stock Rising (10-1) and High Official (4-1, the morning-line favorite). Pletcher is in search of a record-extending seventh win in this event.
"You’re looking at talent, for one, but obviously precocious enough to be participating in stakes in the summer and early fall,” Pletcher said. “We've been fortunate to have some success in this race, and hopefully this will be something that can lead to a start in the Breeders' Cup for both of them."
Stock Rising was a decent third in his only start at Saratoga. High Official took a more unusual route. He was an easy winner in his turf debut at Saratoga. Pletcher switched him to the main track, a disastrous decision, for the Hopeful Stakes (G1), where he suffered a 35-length defeat.
Ouch!
“High Official had been training so well on the dirt that we felt it was worth giving him a try,” Pletcher said. “It didn't work out the way we'd hoped, but he's come back and trained well, and we look forward to getting him back on the turf.”
And so it will be in the Pilgrim.
Roscoe Goose (8-1) made a favorable impression in his Saratoga debut. Breaking from the outside post in an 11-horse field, Roscoe Goose fought gamely through the lane to miss by only a head.
Besides, we’re partial to horses named Roscoe.
Post time for the Pilgrim, which drew a field of 12, is 5:39 p.m. ET.
The Miss Grillo Stakes is the filly companion event to the Pilgrim Stakes for fillies, also contested at 1 1/16 miles.
We have a key race to guide us: the Natalma Stakes (G1) at Woodbine. Runaway Bride (5-1), who finished fifth, and Bounce Back (9-2), the fourth-place finisher, return here in search of a guaranteed berth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1).
We were most impressed by Bounce Back, who rallied nine-wide to miss by only 1 1/2 lengths. It was a serious effort by the maiden in an 11-horse field.
“Her race in the Natalma was super,” trainer Mark Casse said. “She had a rough trip, and I think with a little luck, she's second. She's extremely talented and is learning.”
This is the ideal spot for the pupil to graduate to the winner’s circle.
Casse has a second runner in here: Golden Siren (4-1), a front-running maiden winner late in the Saratoga meet.
Runaway Bride, the other entrant from the Natalma, took a bump at the break and also took the long overland route to miss by only two lengths.
To continue the Natalma theme, trainer Kelsey Danner sends out Bittersweet Memory (6-1), a gate-to-wire maiden winner most recently at Saratoga. That was her second start, following a third-place finish behind Voyager in her debut.
We connect the threads by noting that Voyager captured the Natalma in her next start.
One final Miss Grillo note: don’t overlook Chad Brown. The trainer has won this race a record nine times and bids for another with Domestic Agenda, the 2-1 morning-line favorite in a field of eight.
Post time for the Miss Grillo is 3:22 p.m. ET.
Luminous Beauty, the 4-1 second choice on the morning line, is the most fascinating runner in the Futurity Stakes that will send the winner onto the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1).
She is the only filly facing eight boys in the 6-furlong test. Luminous Beauty earned her way here with a terrific second-place effort in the Untapable Stakes at Kentucky Downs in her grass debut. She had already proven her quality on the main track with a runner-up finish in the Adirondack Stakes (G3) at Saratoga.
“It [switching to turf] was something we kind of had on the radar – when she did so well on the dirt, it’s kind of hard to heave-ho over to the grass,” trainer Jena Antonucci said. “Just from a pedigree point of view, it was worth taking a look at to make sure we weren’t leaving a stone unturned this early in her career. That was the impetus for it. It was met with some virtual and realistic question marks, but I think she did OK.”
Based on speed figures from that race, and the fact that she fought so determinedly, we’ll say she did better than OK.
It’s not so unusual for fillies to take on the boys at this early stage in their careers. Luminous Beauty just might be one who can handle the assignment.
Trainer Todd Pletcher will be looking for his sixth win in this stakes that was originally a dirt race. He has won it five times, but four of those victories came on the main track.
He sends out Pinpoint (9-2), a third-place finisher in the Juvenile Sprint Stakes at Kentucky Downs in his grass debut.
"We thought he ran well at Kentucky Downs. We always felt he was going to be better on the turf, even though he broke his maiden on the dirt. He's got a little experience now and hopefully makes another move forward,” said Pletcher. “He's physically made like a turf horse - kind of a leggy, slender-made colt, and his pedigree suggested turf could be an option.”
Good to Be King, the 5-2 favorite, also comes out of the Juvenile Sprint Stakes where he ran second, his third straight in-the-money finish.
Trainer Rusty Arnold said Good to Be King performed well over the undulating turf course at Kentucky Downs.
"He seemed to handle it well,” Arnold said. “It's a little bit different, but he's really mature for a 2-year-old and does everything right. We're very happy with him. He's come out of the race very nice, and it's time to move forward.”
And it’s time to move forward to our selections.
Post time for the Futurity is 5:06 p.m. ET.
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
