On a cloudy (but not rainy) opening day at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga, the adage “bet the gray on a cloudy (or rainy) day” was spot on in the $250,000 Belmont Gold Cup (G2).
The Grey Wizard proved best in the opening day feature at The Spa
The Grey Wizard came through with a scintillating stretch run and nipped fellow-gray Champagne Juan in the final jump of the two-mile turf marathon on Thursday. The victory also secured a “Golden Ticket” automatic berth to the $8.4 million Melbourne Cup (G1) in Australia in November.
Yes, rain was in the forecast for most of the day, but the weather at the upstate New York track is unpredictable. The finish of the Gold Cup seemed inconceivable as The Grey Wizard was seventh with a quarter mile to go, and third in deep stretch before zipping past Limited Liability (yet another gray) and Champagne Juan at the wire.
The winning margin was a head, with Limited Liability another head behind Champagne Juan, who was pulled up in the gallop, vanned off and sustained a suspensory injury to his right front leg.
“That was cool,” winning trainer H. Graham Motion. “He’s a little bit of a tough horse to watch. I was never sure he was going to get there, to be honest. This is what he wants to do, and he’s very good when he gets to do it.”
Siskany, who defeated The Grey Wizard in the 2023 Belmont Gold Cup at Belmont Park, faded in the stretch and finished seventh as the 3-4 favorite in the 10-horse field.
The Grey Wizard ($14.40 for a $2 win bet), a 5-year-old gelding, won his first graded stakes race and improved his record to 15-4-4-1 and earnings to $573,531.
“When we went past the wire the first time, I tried to make a move to get them because they were going so slow [up front] and that kind of worked, so then I sat behind them again,’’ winning jockey John Velazquez said. “It worked out perfectly.”
The turf course was listed as firm, and the winning time was 3:18.35.
As for a trip to Australia, Motion said: “I love the concept. Ask me again in October. I’m huge about international racing. I love this idea. It’s a huge undertaking to do that, but it’s nice to think about.”
The racing festival is taking place at the Spa for the first time as Belmont Park is undergoing a major rebuild. The $2 million Belmont Stakes (G1) is Saturday at Saratoga.
In other stakes races Thursday at the Spa:
$150,000 Astoria: Whatintheliteral springs upset
Whatintheliteral ($29) outdueled Aoraki by a head and won the 5 ½-furlong Astoria for trainer Jenna Antonucci, with Javier Castellano aboard. The win came a year after the trainer-jockey team won the 2023 Belmont with Arcangelo.
There was a stewards’ inquiry after the race for possible interference, but the finish stood after a brief review.
“I mean we were in close, a little tight, but we were just fighting. It was nothing out of line,” Joel Rosario, who was aboard Aoraki, said.
Almostgonerocket. NYRA/Coglianese Photo.
$150,000 Jersey Girl: Almostgone Rocket moves to 3-0
Almostgone Rocket ($3) was a six-length winner over Manama Gold in the 6-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies, improving to 3-0 for trainer Brad Cox. Flavien Prat was aboard the winner, who has won her races by a combined 22 ¼ lengths.
$150,000 Tremont: Studlydoright a surprise winner
After a bobble at the start of the 5 ½-furlong sprint for 2-year-olds, Studlydoright ($29.80) closed well for a 1 ¾-length victory over favorite Touchy.
“I knew he had the kick. I knew they would outrun him early, but we’re all trying to find what we have. Now we’ve got a stakes winner,’’ trainer Jerry Robb said.
The winner was ridden by Xavier Perez.
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.
