Belmont Stakes Contenders Get Ready For The Test of The Champion

Posted on Monday, June 2nd, 2008

IEAH Stable and Paul Pompa Jr.’s Big Brown is expected to put in his final serious work Tuesday morning on Belmont Park‘s main track for Saturday’s 140th running of the $1 million Belmont Stakes. If undefeated Kentucky Derby/Preakness winner Big Brown can win the 1 1/2-mile “Test of the Champion,” he will become racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner and first since Affirmed in 1978.

Although Big Brown has been galloping after the mid-morning harrowing, media members are cautioned that the schedule could change Tuesday and he may go out earlier.

Online Horse BettingA quarter crack was discovered last Friday in Big Brown’s left-front hoof, but widely acclaimed hoof specialist Ian McKinlay, horse trainer Richard Dutrow Jr., and New York Racing Association officials have carefully monitored the situation.

“I’m not going to put a patch on it until Friday,” McKinlay said. “And the only reason for that is to let it dry up as much as possible. It is coming along well, and everything is on schedule.”

McKinlay will not be here Tuesday, but will be at Monmouth Park.

Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux has the mount on Big Brown in the Belmont Stakes, and will try to snap an 0-for-5 string in this race. Included here is perhaps the toughest beat in sports history when, aboard Real Quiet, Desormeaux was beaten a nose at the wire by Victory Gallop, costing him the Triple Crown and the connections a $5 million bonus.

Casino Drive

Casino Drive jogged once around Belmont Park’s main track this morning, and Nobutaka Tada, spokesperson for owner Hidetoshi Yamamoto and trainer Kazuo Fujisawa said the colt would likely have a more serious move on Wednesday.

The Mineshaft colt, whose dam, Better Than Honour, is also the dam of the last 2 Belmont Stakes winners Jazil (2006) and filly Rags to Riches (2007), has been training daily with a long walk under tack on the horse paths, a trip to the track and another hour-long, vigorous walk.

“We will have to do something a little faster on Wednesday, and then he will be ready,” Tada said.

Icabad Crane

At Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland, Icabad Crane breezed a half-mile in 48.60 this morning on the all-weather surface under exercise rider Lisa Davidson.

Horse trainer H. Graham Motion was pleased with the work and indicated Icabad Crane, third in the Preakness, would ship to New York tomorrow with an arrival of approximately 1 p.m. Motion will not come to New York until Friday and will leave assistant trainer Adrian Rolls in charge to oversee Icabad Crane until his arrival.

“I just wanted to give him a nice blow out today heading into the race,” Motion said. “It’s nice to see him doing so well and I’m very excited by running him in this race. He’s really improved a lot since the Preakness. I know this might really sound crazy, but over the past three weeks he’s really matured.”

Motion’s plans for Icabad Crane’s Belmont week will include walking the shed row on Tuesday and shipping, an easy day on Wednesday with a jog at Belmont, light gallop of 1 1/2 miles around the Belmont oval on Thursday.

“I want him to get used to the Belmont track since it’s so unique,” Motion continued. “It’s the only mile and a half track in the country so I want him to get accustomed to it.”

Motion is pleased with his horse’s role in the race and the lack of attention they are getting.

“I realize everyone will be focused on Big Brown,” Motion said, “so it’s nice to be in our situation with all of the media over at their barn.”

Anak Nakal

Anak Nakal breezed a half-mile in 49.67 under exercise rider Maxine Correa on the fast Oklahoma Training Track at Saratoga for Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito following the renovation break.

“I told Maxine to go as even as you can because we believe that the horse can run a mile and a half,” Zito said. “He’s ready. He’s been ready for a long time now.

Maxine did a great job. She went even for all the eighths, 12s and change. I was extremely happy.”‘

Kasim Masri of Four Thoroughbreds was also on the scene for the workout.

“The gallop out was beautiful,” he said. “He kept wanting to go more and more. That’s what he’s bred for.”

Anak Nakal’s sire is 1998 Belmont Stakes winner Victory Gallop.

Anak Nakal and Robert V. LaPenta’s Da ‘Tara will be shipped to Belmont Park on Wednesday, Zito said.

Zito said he is releasing jockey Johnny Velazquez to ride Ready’s Echo for trainer Todd Pletcher; and jockey Julien Leparoux will be on Anak Nakal.

Ready’s Echo

Ready’s Echo, who finished third to Casino Drive in the May 10 Peter Pan Stakes, was a late addition to the Belmont Stakes entries.

Pletcher said the son of More Than Ready came out of Sunday’s five-furlong work of 1:00.91 “in very good order. We are pleased with his progress,” the four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer said.

Pletcher is seeking his second straight victory in Saturday’s 2008 Belmont Stakes, having won the 2007 Belmont with the filly Rags to Riches. It was Pletcher’s first win in a Triple Crown race.

Ready’s Echo launched his career at Saratoga last summer, finishing second to Z Humor in a 5 1/2-furlong race in which he bucked his shins. He returned to action on March 5 at Gulfstream Park and broke his maiden with a 3 1/4-length win over seven furlongs. He then was second by a neck in an April 12 allowance at Keeneland on Polytrack.

“We kind of had the Belmont on our radar ever since the race at Keeneland,”‘ Pletcher said. “And we got more serious about it after his performance in the Peter Pan.”

There are 14 investors in the group that owns Ready’s Echo, Let’s Go Stable. The stable is managed by Kevin Scatuorchio, the son of prominent owner James Scatuorchio, and Bryan Sullivan, Scatuorchio’s son-in-law.

Behindatthebar

Although not expected for the Belmont Stakes, Grade 2 Lexington winner Behindatthebar worked a half-mile in 48.91 on Belmont Park’s fast training track for Pletcher this morning.

Tale of Ekati

Tale of Ekati, winner of the Grade 1 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct earlier this year, was in good shape Monday after he worked six furlongs in 1:11.99, breezing on the muddy main track on Sunday.

Jockey Eibar Coa has the mount in the Belmont Stakes for horse trainer Barclay Tagg.

Denis of Cork

At Churchill Downs on Monday morning, Denis of Cork breezed a half-mile in 48.60 on the fast main track under jockey Robby Albarado, which pleased horse trainer David Carroll.

“It went very well and this allows us to see where he is,” Carroll said. “We really didn’t want him to do too much so this was our goal a: 48.”

Although plans originally called for the Denis of Cork to be shipped tomorrow from Churchill Downs, a scheduling issue delayed the shipping until Wednesday. Additional Belmont contender Macho Again, trained by Dallas Stewart, is also scheduled to be on that flight from the Louisville, Ky. track.

A third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, encouraged the connections of Denis 0of Cork to contest the Belmont Stakes, a race and track there are very familiar to Carroll.

“I spent the first six years of my career at Belmont,” Carroll explained. “It is one of my favorite tracks and I’m looking forward to seeing my friends up there. But that’s additional, we are up there to try and win this race. I have tremendous respect for Big Brown, Casino Ballot and all of the horses that are going to be in this race. I want our horse to do well and prove himself.”

Carroll worked as an exercise rider for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, and galloped Easy Goer, who ruined Sunday Silence’s Triple Crown bid by winning the 1989 Belmont Stakes.

Carroll was also standing in the winners’ circle when Go and Go defeated a field that included Thirty Six Red and Unbridled in the 1990 Belmont Stakes. Carroll’s brother, Raymond, was an assistant to trainer Dermot Weld and traveled with the horse.

Macho Again

Preakness runner up Macho Again had a routine mile and a half gallop at Churchill Downs this morning under exercise rider Kenny Bourque.

Horse trainer Dallas Stewart indicated that the rest of the week would be filled with a series of daily gallops leading up to the 140th Belmont Stakes.

Plans were for Macho Again to ship with fellow Belmont Stakes contender Denis of Cork from their Churchill Downs base, but due to a schedule change the flight will now arrive in New York on Wednesday afternoon. Stewart will arrive at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

“We’re pleased with where we are right now and looking forward to the race,” Stewart said. “It’s going to be a tough race and my hopes are that he handles the distance and has a safe trip.”

Stewart is very familiar with the Belmont Stakes and preparations for winning the 1 1/2-mile classic.

“I was with Wayne (Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas) when we won three Belmont’s in a row,” Stewart explained. “We won with Tabasco Cat, Thunder Gulch and Editor’s Note (1994-’96), and I galloped Winning Colors when she ran (last) in 1988. Yes, I’m familiar with the Belmont and have great respect for the race.”

Edited from www.nyra.com.

"Belmont Stakes Contenders Get Ready For The Test of The Champion" was posted on Monday, June 2nd, 2008 at 11:19 pm and is filed under Belmont Park, Belmont Stakes, Horse Racing Industry, Horses, Race Tracks News, Stakes Races, USA Horse Racing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Previous Horse Racing News Entry:

Next Horse Racing News Entry:

Horse Racing News »

Comments For "Belmont Stakes Contenders Get Ready For The Test of The Champion"

  1. Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 2:26 pm By cheri vaughan

    I love you, Big Brown!!! Go baby, Go!!! Please bring us the Triple Crown!!!

  2. Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 2:29 pm By cheri vaughan

    I love you, Big Brown! Please bring us the Triple Crown!

Post Comments