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:
Belmont Stakes Entries - A field of 12 was entered on Wednesday for the 142nd Belmont on Saturday with 3-1 morning line favorite Ice Box drawing post 6. Get all the horses, post positions, odds, and past performances here.
Analyzing the Belmont Stakes Contenders - My annual analysis using popular angles and statistical trends to see who best matches the profile of a Belmont winner.
Lookin At Lucky wins the Preakness - The new jockey must have changed his luck as he had no problems this time and wore down First Dude to win the Preakness with Jackson Bend third. Favorite Super Saver faded to finish 8th. Get the results, charts, and photos here.
Super Saver wins the 2010 Kentucky Derby - He drew off to win by 2 1/2 lengths, giving jockey Calvin Borel his third Derby win in 4 years. Ice Box and Paddy O'Prado closed from far back to finish 2nd and 3rd while favorite Lookin At Lucky was 6th.
2010 Triple Crown Late Nominations - Only six more thoroughbreds were made eligible for the three Triple Crown races for a fee of $6000 by the late nomination deadline. Any not nominated now will have to pay a huge supplement fee to enter. Check out the list here.
Belmont 101 - A basic introduction the the third and final jewel of the Triple Crown. How it began, basics of picking a winner, and how to attend in person.
