6/6/08
Last updated: 6/5/08 8:09 PM
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Casino Drive did not appear to like the mud at Belmont Thursday
(Joseph DiOrio/Horsephotos.com) |
Peter Pan S. (G2) winner CASINO DRIVE (Mineshaft) had an unorthodox workout
on Thursday prior to Saturday’s $1 million Belmont S. (G1).
Casino Drive
did not seem happy with the muddy/sealed track as he took jockey Edgar Prado
three furlongs in :42 2/5, four furlongs in :55 3/5 and out five furlongs in
1:08. He
repeatedly switched leads and had his ears pinned back through the lane.
Still, his
connections say the undefeated Peter Pan winner is right on schedule for
the 1 1/2-mile Belmont.
“Because of
how the track was today, we went slow,” said Nobutaka Tada, spokesman for
owner Hidetoshi Yamamoto and trainer Kazuo Fujisawa. “But he is fit enough. He
has been doing what we wanted and we only have to keep him happy now.”
Casino Drive, a half-brother to 2006 Belmont winner Jazil (Seeking the Gold)
and a three-quarter brother to 2007 Belmont winner Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy),
has drawn attention with his daily regimen since winning the nine-furlong Peter
Pan by 5 3/4 lengths in 1:47 4/5. He is vigorously walked with stablemates for
about an hour every morning. He then goes to the track and then walks for
another hour throughout the horse paths at Belmont Park.
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Retired Hall
of Fame jockey and television analyst Jerry Bailey said, “The groom could leave
the barn, go to a movie and get back before the horses.”
Tada said
that Casino Drive would not school at the gate, but would continue his regular
schedule up to the race.
“He goes to
the paddock for 15 minutes every day, and there is so much press that it is good
for him,” Tada said. “He is very fit and he will be ready for the Belmont
Stakes.”
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Nothing seems to faze trainer Richard Dutrow’s confidence
in Big Brown
(Joseph DiOrio/Horsephotos.com) |
Meanwhile, temperatures
are predicted to top the 90-degree mark on Saturday, but trainer Rick Dutrow
added the heat to a list of things he says will not affect undefeated Kentucky
Derby (G1) and Preakness S. (G1) winner BIG BROWN (Boundary), who will attempt
to become racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner.
“I can’t
imagine (the heat) being a factor; none whatsoever,” Dutrow said. “Not for our
horse. I don’t know about the other horses.”
Big Brown,
who has been going out around 9 a.m. (EDT), had an early morning jog around Belmont
Park’s main track at approximately 5:30 a.m. Thursday. The change was made in
order to accommodate the schedule of Dutrow, who has the rest of his stable at
Aqueduct.
“He was just
going to jog,” said the trainer. “I just wanted to get a chance to go over to
Aqueduct and breeze horses, but that track wasn’t any good either. That’s why I
got him out early today.”
Dutrow said
that Friday, hoof specialist Ian McKinlay will apply an acrylic patch to the
quarter-crack on Big Brown’s left front foot. The procedure will only take about
45 minutes, he said.
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“We could run
him the way he is, but we’re going to patch it up,” Dutrow said. “We’re not
taking any kind of risks by patching him right now.”
Wednesday
afternoon, Big Brown posed with five models representing Hooters restaurants, a
scene that has Dutrow still shaking his head.
“I’m telling
you, this horse is so cool,” he said. “I mean, there’s five girls lined up
looking away, and he walked right up, put his head in between all of them, and
didn’t move his head. And just stood there. Every time I see this horse do
something, he absolutely amazes me. You just don’t see that kind of stuff.”
Big Brown is
residing in the same stall as Empire Maker, whom Hall of Fame trainer Bobby
Frankel saddled to victory in the 2003 Belmont.
“Empire Maker is the last horse to win from the one hole, and there have been
23 winners of the Belmont Stakes who have broken from the one hole, twice as
many as any other post,” Dutrow said.
When it was
pointed out that odds-on favorites have lost 60 percent of the time (Big Brown
is 2-5 on the morning line), Dutrow replied: “Well, it ain’t gonna happen this
year, babe.”
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Icabad Crane hopes Big Brown won’t be his “Brom Bones”
(Joseph DiOrio/Horsephotos.com) |
Federico Tesio S. winner ICABAD CRANE (Jump Start) visited the paddock and
galloped 1 1/4 miles under exercise
rider Xavier Aizpuro on Thursday.
“He’s doing
fine,” said assistant trainer Adrian Rolls, who is overseeing the colt’s final
preparations until trainer Graham Motion arrives on Friday evening. “Tomorrow, we’ll take him to the gate and let him stand and then he’ll
gallop a mile and a half as maintenance.”
Rolls
said that he and Motion are pleased with how well the dark bay colt came out of
his third-place effort in the May 17 Preakness S. (G1).
“We’re around
him daily and we’ve noticed that he’s started to fill out around his middle and
become more mature,” Rolls explained. “This is a good thing to see heading into
this race.”
Trainer David
Carroll was aboard DENIS OF CORK (Harlan’s Holiday) on Thursday as the third-place finisher in the
Kentucky Derby went to the paddock, stood in the starting gate and then galloped
1 1/4 miles on Belmont’s main track.
It was the
first trip to the track for the bay colt, who
arrived at Belmont Park on Wednesday after a flight from Kentucky.
Carroll, a
native of Ireland, began his career as an exercise rider for Hall of
Fame trainer Claude “Shug” McGaughey. His Belmont contender is now stabled in
the same barn in which Carroll worked during the early part of his career.
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“Being here
in the barn brings back many great memories for me,” Carroll explained. “It was
great then, and it’s great coming back now for the Belmont.”
Carroll said that skipping the Preakness has allowed him to fully prepare
Denis of Cork for the rigors of the 12-furlong Belmont.
“I view it as we went into the Derby without a prep,” Carroll said. “The
Illinois Derby (G2) (where Denis of Cork finished fifth) really didn’t provide
us a benefit. Now he has a mile and a quarter under his belt. He is fitter and
more mature, and hopefully on Saturday, we’ll be in the winner’s circle.”
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Macho Again sticks his tongue out to his Belmont rivals
(Joseph DiOrio/Horsephotos.com) |
Derby Trial S. winner MACHO AGAIN (Macho Uno) made his first trip to the
Belmont track after arriving from Churchill Downs on Wednesday. The Preakness
runner-up schooled in the paddock before going to the track and
jogging 1 1/4 miles on the main track.
Terry Finley,
the managing partner of West Point Thoroughbreds, was on hand with trainer
Dallas Stewart to oversee the gray colt’s preparations.
“This is a
very prestigious race and the whole racing world, and a great part of the
overall sports world will be focused on the outcome of this race,” Finley said.
“When you do
what we do for a living, you could not pick a greater spot to be a contender,”
he continued. “Sometimes, horses don’t turn out to achieve what everyone thinks
they will do. Our role on Saturday is to provide the highest level of
competition and try to achieve success by winning this race. I am pleased
for all 16 of our partners for Macho Again. On Saturday, 15 of those owners will
be here. The only exception is an elderly gentlemen in Florida that was not able
to make the trip.”
Hall of Fame
trainer Nick Zito, who saddled Birdstone to victory in the 2004 Belmont and thus
denied Smarty Jones his chance at Triple Crown immortality, said that his Belmont contenders
ANAK NAKAL (Victory Gallop) and DA’ TARA (Tiznow) had a “nice gallop”
Thursday morning.
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“They went
nice,” he said.
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Ready’s Echo owns just one less start than Big Brown
(Joseph DiOrio/Horsephotos.com) |
Trainer Todd Pletcher reported that READY’S ECHO (More Than Ready) galloped 1
1/4 miles on Thursday, stood at the gate, and was to have schooled in the
paddock in the afternoon.
“Everybody’s happy,” Pletcher said.
Wood Memorial (G1) winner TALE OF EKATI (Tale of the Cat) hasn’t been
receiving much attention in the days leading up to the Belmont. The bay colt
exits a respectable fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.
Tale of Ekati is trained by Barclay Tagg, who five years ago, lost his bid
for the Triple Crown when Funny Cide finished third in the Belmont.
GUADALCANAL (Graeme Hall), a surprise entrant in the 140th running of the
Belmont, arrived at Belmont Park on Wednesday. Winless in five starts for
owner/trainer Fred Seitz, the bay colt will be hoping to join Algerine in 1876
and Prince Eugene in 1913 as the only horses to break their maidens in the
Belmont.
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