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. "
Triple Crown quick links:
Da' Tara shocks in the 2008 Belmont Stakes - Longest shot on the board Da' Tara led the whole way, drawing off to win by 5 1/4 lengths over Denis of Cork. Heavy favorite Big Brown came up empty and was eased, finishing last. Get the results, chart, and photos here.
More Belmont Day Photos - 16 more photos including Shaquille O’Neal, the unused Triple Crown trophy, and more.
Manhattan Handicap and Just a Game Stakes Results - On the Belmont undercard, Dancing Forever just got up at the wire to beat favorite Out of Control in the Manhattan Handicap, while Ventura held off top choice Lady of Venice in the Just a Game Stakes. Get the results, chart, and photos here.
Acorn Stakes, True North Handicap, and Woody Stephens Stakes Results - Also on the Belmont undercard, Zaftig upset favorite Indian Blessing in the Acorn, top choice Benny the Bull got up in the final stride of the True North Handicap, and J Be K won wire-to-wire in the Woody Stephens Stakes. Get the results, chart, and photos here.
2008 Belmont Entries - A field of 10 was entered with Big Brown drawing post #1. Get all the horses, posts, and odds here.
