The Belmont Derby Invitational tops a bevy of stakes this Saturday at Belmont Park and the day is wrapped around an excellent card.
Besides the $1.2 million Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational, other stakes including the Grade 3 $400,000 Dwyer for sophomores, the Grade 2 $350,000 Belmont Sprint Championship and the Grade 2 Suburban.
The other Grade 1 carded at Belmont Saturday will be the $1 million Belmont Oaks Invitational.
The Belmont Derby Invitational will be run at a mile and a quarter on grass and it was originally named the Jamaica Handicap. Solid stars like Waquoit, Ruhlman, Artie Schiller and Court Vision have won the Belmont Derby.
Last year, Deauville was making his stateside debut in the Belmont Derby and after giving his backers a near heart attack, the racer held on by a neck with a 94 winning Beyer Speed Figure. He is trained by Aidan O’Brien and that world-class conditioner is back again with his charges Homesman and Whitecliffsofdover.
Homesman will have ten rivals in the Belmont Derby Invitational and this will be his toughest test to date. The sophomore has cut things close in both of his wins and his best victory was in the Group 3 Airlie Stud Gallinule at the Curragh on May 28. He is proven at this demanding distance and he did run fifth in an 18-horse field last time.
Whitecliffsofdover will have to prove he has the stamina to go this far. Both of his wins came at seven furlongs on the grass and O’Brien switched things up last time and tried the runner with blinkers. It didn’t work well as the racer finished 15th of 20 in a Group 3 at Ascot. This colt did show his class when third in a Group 1 in his 2016 closer. As far as his ability to get this distance, Whitecliffsofdover has the benefit of running in Europe, where the courses are much more demanding.
Good Samaritan can be too nice at times for his own good. He won his first two starts including a win in the Grade 2 Summer Stakes at Woodbine but has settled for slices in his last three efforts. He draws the cozy rail slot here but is speed challenged and has been handled by a number of today’s foes. Good Samaritan will be saddled by Bill Mott, who also trains Yoshida.
That Japanese-bred runner will get tested for class. The son of Heart’s Cry has won two of his three starts but this will be his first Graded race. He has run well at three different venues and that bodes well for a nice performance here. One of the best things Yoshida has going for him is his versatility. He graduated when he made the lead and kept on going and he took the J. W. Murphy Stakes last time coming from dead last with a career best 89 Beyer Speed Figure.
It took Makarios a few races to figure it out but he has won two of his last four races. He was Grade 3 placed in April but was beaten by Oscar Performance last time and that runner breaks from post four today.
Oscar Performance brings legit speed to the party but he doesn’t need the lead to win. He came from slightly off the pace when winning the Breeders’ Cup Turf Juvenile last year and proved it was no fluke when he won his last race with a 93 Beyer Speed Figure. He has had trouble in two of his three starts this year but should have his sea legs under him by now.
Ticonderoga’s backers have to hope there is a hot and heavy pace in the Belmont Derby. He may have needed his last race and if so, that gives him a legit chance to really step up his game.
Called To The Bar can run all day long. He graduated at this demanding distance and won the mile and a half Prix du Lys May 23 at Saint-Cloud. Although this racer has been in only four events, he has plenty of upside to him but gets the test of his career here.
Arklow is in the good hands of Brad Cox, who has won with 35% of his starters at this Belmont Park meeting. Arklow’s connections thought enough of him to try the Triple Crown Trail as a maiden but he probably just wanted grass all along. He has won both of his turf races and he has shown the ability to quicken turning into the stretch. That is a commendable trait to have in a Graded race.
Big Score has only run one poor race. That came in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Juvenile. This runner was beaten by Arklow last time in the Grade 2 American Turf.
Senior Investment must prove he can win on grass and he draws the extreme outside post. He tends to dawdle early and is pretty much at the mercy of how the race sets up and if he can find a lane to rally into in time. This could be more of an experimental event for this runner.
The race figures to unfold with Oscar Performance going to the leading looking for another Academy Award. Yosida has a shot to be forwardly placed and he looms the speed component of the Mott runners. Called To The Bar won his last race on the front end and he looms the wild card in this race. He is trained by Pia Brandt, who trained in Sweden but now bangs heads with some of Europe’s elite.
Under normal circumstances, Oscar Performance would likely be the selection. He will be the master of his own destiny since he has valid speed but he has shown a tendency to be thrown off his game. If he is bumped early and breaks poorly, he tends to struggle.
Called To The Bar is the preferred longshot pick. He could get away on the tote board but the selection is Ticonderoga. This runner is back with Javier Castellano, who was aloft for the maiden victory and Ticonderoga was getting to Oscar Performance last time in the Pennine Ridge. Trainer Chad Brown put three solid works into him since that last race and this colt has every right to be up for a peak performance.
