There wasn't a whole lot going on this morning at Belmont. Rain over the past several days had left the track a muddy mess and many trainers were opting not to go out hoping for a better surface tomorrow. Given that the race is tomorrow, you wouldn't expect them to do much beyond a jog or gallop anyway. I only saw two Belmont horses, but I did see a few other good ones this morning so it wasn't a total bust. In the afternoon was the Hill Prince Stakes (G3) at 1 mile on the turf for the 3-year-olds, so I will include a couple of photos from there too.
Wanna Runner came out for a gallop. He will be shipping out Monday for Woodbine to prep for the Queen's Plate on June 25.
Too Much Bling was out to stretch his legs prior to running in the Woody Stephens (formerly Riva Ridge) tomorrow.
2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide posed for the cameras before taking a gallop. He is expected to ship to Woodbine for the Dominion Day Handicap on July 1st.
Kentucky Derby runner Flashy Bull was out for a bit of excercise.
Outperformance stayed hidden most of the
way around in Friday's 32nd running of the Grade 3, $115,400 Hill
Prince, but he made himself visible when it counted, coming widest of
all to win the one-mile turf event by a length and a half in 1:36.74. Spider Power and Camera were a close second and third while favorite Giant Basil didn't like the soft turf and finished 8th. Results chart from DRF
Trainer Richard Violette Jr. leads Outperformance and Javier Castellano to the winner's circle. He said, "We wanted to take him back and make one run. And I thought we were
in great position to do that after a half-mile. When he kept backing up,
I wondered what the heck he was doing. When I asked Javier (Castellano)
after the race, he said he wasn't handling the soft turf all that well.
He took a hold of him to see if he could give him some support. It
worked. He found a good place to angle out to. He's got that good leg
kick and he's a pretty nice horse. "
Manhattan Handicap (G1) and Just a Game Stakes (G1) Results - On the Belmont undercard, Gio Ponti won over Marsh Side and Better Talk Now in the Manhattan Handicap, while Diamondrella beat favorite Forever Together in the Just a Game Stakes. Get the results, chart, and photos here.
Acorn Stakes (G1), True North Handicap (G2), and Woody Stephens Stakes (G2) Results - Also on the Belmont undercard, Gabby's Golden Gal upset favorite Justwhistledixie in the Acorn, top choice Fabulous Strike beat defending champ Benny the Bull in the True North Handicap, and Munnings won by 5 1/4 lengths in the Woody Stephens Stakes. Get the results, chart, and photos here.
Brooklyn Handicap (G2) and Hill Prince Stakes - Eldaafer got up by a nose to win the Brooklyn Handicap over pacesetter Nite Light in the slop, with favorite Rising Moon third. In the Hill Prince Stakes, which was taken off the turf, Despite the Odds drew away to win by 7 1/2 lengths. Get the results, chart, and photos here.
2009 Belmont Stakes Entries - A field of 10 was entered with Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up Mine That Bird the 2-1 morning line favorite from post 7. Get the entries, post positions, odds, and free past performances here.
Belmont Stakes Friday Workouts - Photos of 5 of the Belmont Stakes horses on the sloppy track in the rain Friday morning, including Mine That Bird. Get the details and photos here.
Belmont Contenders Weekend Workouts - Five of the likely entrants for next weekend's Belmont Stakes had timed works at Belmont Park on May 30-31, including Charitable Man and Dunkirk. Get the details and photos here.
Rachel Alexandra wins the Preakness - She led most of the way and was ahead by 4 at the top of the stretch, then held off Mine That Bird by a length. Musket Man was another 1/2 length back in third. Get the results, chart, and photos here.
Preakness undercard stakes results - There were 7 other stakes on the card, most of them grade 2 or 3, including the Dixie Stakes (G2) won by Parading.
