BELMONT NOTEBOOK
JULY 13, 2005
by Bernard T. Moore
Horseplayers who follow New York racing with a passion throughout the year
are counting the days until Saratoga commences it racing season. Opening day is
not that far off as the focus of the Thoroughbred racing scene in the Empire
State will shift to the tiny town of Saratoga Springs in upstate New York.
Handicappers the world over converge on Saratoga to witness some of the best
racing in the world. It is an experience not to be missed.
In the meantime, the Prioress S. (G1) for three-year-old fillies
sprinting six furlongs was Saturday’s feature at Belmont Park. The race marked
the return of Sense of Style (Thunder Gulch) to New York, who was unbeaten in three starts in
the Empire State as a juvenile. Unfortunately, that streak came to an abrupt halt
when ACEY DEUCEY (Abaginone) closed determinedly in deep stretch to post the
upset at odds of 13-1.
Ridden by Diane Nelson, the New York-bred runner settled
into fifth position racing down the Belmont backstretch. She then began her bid
in earnest leaving the far turn, split rivals in the stretch and was going best
of all at the finish to win by a half-length. Maddalena (Good and Tough),
coupled in the wagering with Sense of Style, set a pressured pace before giving
ground grudgingly in the stretch in a sharp effort. Sense of Style closed
belatedly along the inside to finish third while Talented (Fusaichi Pegasus),
the 8-5 favorite in the wagering, disputed the early pace and subsequently tired
to finish fourth.
Acey Deucey continues to be the poster girl for the New York state breeding
program. She registered her first Grade 1 victory with her Prioress score, and
her second graded stakes success overall. The John Morrison trainee is headed to Saratoga where
tentative plans call for her to meet open company rivals once more in the Test
S. (G1) at seven furlongs in August.
On Sunday, WOODLANDER (Forestry) put his unbeaten streak over the Belmont
Park Inner Turf course on the line in the Lexington S. (G3) for three-year-olds at
1 1/4 miles. Trained by Thomas Albertrani, Woodlander was able to
keep that record intact as he gained the lead after a quarter mile and then just
held on to withstand a late rally from Reel Legend (Catrail). The runner-up was
actually in front during the early stages of the race before being displaced on
the lead by the winner. He dropped back to fifth at the one-mile mark before
coming on again in the stretch in a very sharp effort considering he was returning
from a layoff.
Prince Rahy (Rahy) was the trailer for most of the race, but still raced within striking position. He had his closing kick compromised by the lack
of pace in the race and finished a non-threatening third. Big Prairie (Danzig),
the 2-1 post time choice, moved to challenge for the lead around the far turn,
but failed to sustain his bid while weakening to finish fourth.
The winner of the Lexington was fully extended to negotiate the 1 1/4 miles,
and obviously benefited from the rather pedestrian pace on the front end. It is
doubtful that he will continue to enjoy such favorable pace scenarios in the
future, and as a result, would be his best going nine furlongs or less.
The main track was speed favoring all week, with the bias at its peak on
Saturday. The inside paths seemed best on Wednesday and the outside part of the
track appeared preferable on Sunday. Turf racing was limited due to the wet
weather last week, and when grass racing resumed on Sunday, both courses seemed
to play fairly.
Edgar Prado has distanced himself from the pack in the jockey standings and
the race is for place as they say. Eibar Coa continues to hold down the second
spot with Javier Castellano moving into third place last week. Richard Migliore
dropped to fourth as John Velazquez rounds out the top five.
Bill Mott maintained his three-win lead last week with Mike Hushion and Juan
Rodriguez in a dead-heat for the second spot. Todd Pletcher and Christophe
Clement are tied for fourth.
HORSES TO WATCH
Thursday (7/7)
1ST – REAL KNOWSY (Gone for Real) showed a good effort in her second career start switching
to trainer Dominic Galluscio. Exhibited much-improved speed to set a pressured
pace stretching out to seven furlongs. Held well to midstretch but could not
match strides with the odds-on winning favorite.
8TH – MUMBLE JUMBLE (Announce) was compromised by a very deliberate pace off a
layoff. Trapped in and among runners while chasing slow fractions, the
five-year-old gelding did not
secure clear sailing until the stretch, when maneuvered outside of runners for a
strong late run. Needs only a better pace scenario and a clean trip to find
the winner’s circle.
Friday (7/8)
6TH – KINGS EMPRESS (Kings Fiction) regressed a bit on the class hike while
running over a wet track. She was hard used fighting for the early lead and
retreated in the stretch behind a dominant winner. Clearly prefers a dry track
and fits best in a high-end claiming contest.
9TH – MAGNOLIA JACKSON (Cape Canaveral) was an impressive winner in fast time in her
well bet/well meant debut. Overcame a bumping incident at the break to race
within striking distance down the backstretch and then ran clear in the stretch
to win by daylight. Bred on both sides of her pedigree to excel in dirt sprints
and may have a bright future in New York-bred stakes contests.
Saturday (7/9)
5TH – GORBASH (Grindstone) finished a sharp second cutting back to a flat mile. Closed
strongly while clearly second best chasing home a lose frontrunner in a race that
finished up well late. Needs only a lively pace scenario to get over the hump.
8TH – Sense of Style recorded a useful third-place finish returning to
Belmont Park, finishing with interest while cutting back to a sprint. This effort might
have served as a “bridge race” for the Test S. at Saratoga, where she is
two for two.
9TH – RODEO RUNNER (Rodeo) regressed a bit in his first start against
winners. Dueled with the odds-on winning favorite for the lead before tiring in
a race that was fast throughout. Would definitely benefit from a freshening and
doesn’t need the lead to run well.
Sunday (7/10)
3RD – SOUP DU JOUR (Alphabet Soup) showed vast improvement with the addition of
blinkers. Set a pressured pace and held well to be clearly second best when
displaced on the front end by the prohibitive favorite. Fits well against
conditioned starter allowance rivals.
8TH – REEL LEGEND (Catrail) came home a strong second off the bench and switching back to
grass. Re-rallied after dropping back on the far turn and closed strongly late
against a wire-to-wire winner who benefited from slow fractions.