Saratoga hosts the Belmont Stakes Festival Thursday through Sunday, featuring Saturday’s final jewel in the Triple Crown. The opening day card boasts a quartet of stakes races. Here’s a closer look:
Saratoga | Race 2 | $150,000 Tremont Stakes
Eight juveniles are entered in this 5-1/2 furlong dirt sprint, including a trio of debut winners and five rookies set to be unveiled. Since the Tremont returned to the stakes schedule in 2014, it has not been won by a first-time starter. Two-time Tremont winner Wesley Ward sends out bullet-working rookie Touchy, a son of 2-Year-Old Champion and Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist and a debut-winning dam. He’s the 2-1 morning line favorite. Nyquist also will be represented by Laurel first-out winner Studlydoright (6-1 ML). Three Tremont winners since ’14 hailed from Maryland. The other winners in the field are Steve Asmussen-trained Churchill victor Three Echoes (5-2 ML), back on 13 days’ rest, and romping Gulfstream victor Classic of Course (7-2 ML) for Patrick Biancone.
Saratoga | Race 4 | $150,000 Jersey Girl Stakes
Eight 3-year-old fillies square off in the 6-furlong Jersey Girl, named for trainer Todd Pletcher’s first big horse in the barn in 1997. Pletcher is represented by unbeaten Grade 3 UAE Oaks winner Manama Gold (6-1 ML), making her first start since transferring to his barn. She’s a daughter of Louisiana legend Star Guitar. Pletcher also sends out Roman Grace, a Keeneland maiden winner and Aqueduct allowance runner-up. But it’s domestic unbeaten Almostgone Rocket (6-5 ML) who figures to be favored off a Kentucky Oaks Day allowance score at Churchill. She’s won her 2 starts by 16 combined lengths for Brad Cox, who won this race 3 years ago with Australasia. The interesting cast includes last year’s Schuylerville Stakes winner Becky’s Joker, unraced since last year’s Saratoga meet for Gary Contesa, and Parx dominator Gray Lightning, who has won her last 2 by nearly 27 combined lengths.
Saratoga | Race 9 | $150,000 Astoria Stakes
The fillies’ version of the Tremont also matches 2-year-olds at 5-1/2 furlongs on the main track. This is a more seasoned group with no debut runners and winners hail from Churchill, Keeneland, Woodbine and Laurel. Nine are entered with 2-1 morning line favorite Long Neck Paula on the far outside. The Wesley Ward trainee is a $500,000 OBS March buy who rolled to a 3-1/2 length debut win at Churchill Downs May 2. Ward has 3 Astoria wins on his ledger. West Memorial looks for a second stakes victory in her young career, beating the boys in the Kentucky Juvenile at Churchill on the same day as Long Neck Paula’s maiden win. The Queen’s MG pulled one of the biggest Spring Meet upsets in Keeneland 2-year-old history when popping April 7 at 45-1 odds. She was subsequently sold, transferred to Saffie Joseph Jr. in Florida and reappears here under Irad Ortiz Jr.
Saratoga | Race 10 | $250,000 Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup
The 2-mile turf stamina test attracted a capacity field of 12. Even so, Siskany is the even-money morning line favorite from post 12. The Charlie Appleby trainee won this race as the odds-on chalk last year at Belmont (pictured above) and has bagged 10 of 24 lifetime. Last year’s runner-up The Grey Wizard (8-1 ML) is back for another crack, but has yet to win in 7 stakes bids. Pioneering Spirit (10-1 ML) had a fantastic Saratoga summer a year ago, winning the Bernard Baruch and an allowance, as well as finishing third in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer. But Linda Rice’s American Pharoah gelding has found the winner’s circle since October. As one might expect in a stamina-necessary race over 2 miles, foreign-bred horses have had much success, winning the last 6 editions, which bodes well for last year’s 1-2 finishers as well as British-bred So High (30-1 ML).
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