What Horses Are Running In Belmont Stakes 2017
One of the big challenges of handicapping the Belmont Stakes every year is the different amounts of rest that horses have. This year, Classic Empire and Lookin at Lee will be running their third race in five weeks - something horses just don't do anymore. Conquest Mo Money, Multiplier, and Senior Investment are bouncing back from the Preakness, so they are off three weeks of rest - less than is common now, too. Meantime has rested for a month, and the rest are coming off at least five week's rest. Epicharis goes to the other extreme of potentially having too much rest - he last ran on March 25.
So, how much rest is ideal? And who will benefit most from the rest they have had? Here is a look at the nine potential fresh Belmont horses who have had at least a month to get ready for this race, arranged by amount of rest (Odds to win the Belmont are from MyBookie ):
Four weeks
Meantime (+2200): He has had a month since finishing second in the Peter Pan - the same rest that Tonalist had before winning this race in 2014. He was only second in the Peter Pan, though, and would have to have the race of a lifetime to shine here. He has breeding to overcome in this race, hasn't faced horses of this caliber, and hasn't proven that he is good enough. Hard pass.
Five weeks
A Triple Crown won’t be on the line this year, but the June 10 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets still promises to be one of the year’s highlight events, as some of the best 3-year-old Thoroughbreds in the sport compete at a taxing 1 ½-mile distance none of them have ever tried before in front of an on-track crowd estimated to exceed 45,000. The 2018 Belmont Stakes was the 150th running of the Belmont Stakes and the 107th time the event took place at Belmont Park.The 1 1 ⁄ 2-mile (2,400 m) race, known as the 'test of the champion', is the final leg in the American Triple Crown.It is a Grade I stakes race with a purse of $1.5 million, open to three-year-old Thoroughbreds.The race took place on June 9, 2018, and was broadcast on.
Irap (+1000): He was really lousy in the Derby - just awful as he finished 18th - and was not great in the Sunland Derby. His one big win - his only win, actually - came in a Blue Grass Stakes that was as bad as a prep race can possibly be. He could have all the rest in the world and be one of three horses in the field and I still wouldn't bet on him.
Gormley (+1000): He won the Santa Anita Derby. Winners of that race have combined for five Triple Crown race wins in the prior five years. This year's edition was lousy, though, and Gormley had a very forgettable Derby. Still, he has multiple graded stakes wins, so he can't be ignored in this spot.
Despite its exhausting mile-and-a-half distance, the Belmont Stakes is typically won by horses who are relatively close to the early lead. Creator, who was 10 th after the opening half-mile, was just the sixth winner in the last 23 editions to be eighth or worse after the first four furlongs. Neither of these two horses will run in this event. The first ever Belmont was run in 1867, which is the oldest of the triple crown events. Let’s take a look at some of the Top Horse Betting Picks for the 2017 Belmont Stakes: Classic Empire 3/1: The favorite of the Kentucky Derby, kind.
Tapwrit (+800): His sire, Tapit, has sired two of the last three winners of the Belmont. On that front alone he deserves consideration here. Since winning the Tampa Bay Derby, though, he has been lousy in the Blue Grass and not as good as his sixth-place finish would suggest in the Derby. I don't like his form, but his breeding makes him a factor.
Patch (+1500): Here's another one with lousy form - a terrible Derby and a real lack of experience prior to that. Like stablemate Tapwrit, though, the breeding makes him tough to ignore completely - his sire, Union Rags, won this race, and damsire A.P. Indy won the Belmont, sired winner Rags to Riches, and has Triple Crown winners as his sire and damsire.
J Boys Echo (+3000): He beat Preakness winner Cloud Computing three back in the Gotham. But since then he was one of the lousy runners in the Blue Grass, and he just didn't show up for the Derby. There is talent, but I find him hard to trust. On the other hand, he is the longest shot on the board at this moment, and that's just ridiculous, so there is at least some relative value.
Irish War Cry (+900): Trainer Graham Motion has put this horse under consideration for this race later than any other potential entrant. I like it. He was my top pick in the Derby but never fully recovered from early contact and was a disappointing 10th after fading late. I want another chance to see what he is made of, so if he runs I'll bet on him.
Seven weeks
Twisted Tom (+2500): Chad Brown just won the Preakness with a lightly-raced colt, and he is dominant in New York. So if he says that this lightly-raced colt is ready for a big effort in New York, and that he will love the distance, and I am not going to argue.
11 weeks
Epicharis (+380): He has not run since the UAE Derby, where he finished second to Thunder Snow, who imitated a bucking bronco instead of a thoroughbred in the Derby. This is a very concerning layoff for this horse in my eyes - especially since he has to travel so far to get here, his trainer has never run in the U.S. before, and his jockey has only run here a handful of times. He won his first three races by a combined 25 lengths, though, so he has some talent. And his grandsire, Sunday Silence, won the Derby, Preakness and Breeders' Cup Classic in 1989. He was a true joy to watch, and he left for Japan upon retirement, so we never get to see his offspring here. I'm far from the only one who is excited about that.
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Read more articles by Trevor Whenham
What Horses Are Running In Belmont Stakes 2017
Tuesday, June 06, 2017
Three Oaklawn-raced horses are expected to run in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes; Apple Blossom Handicap winner Stellar Wind Earned Her Second Straight Grade 1 victory in the Beholder Mile.
What Horses Are Running In Belmont Stakes 2017 Entries
Three Oaklawn-Raced Horses Expected to Run in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes
Three Oaklawn-raced horses, including champion Classic Empire, are expected to be entered Wednesday for the 149th Belmont Stakes Saturday at Belmont Park.
Classic Empire, an Eclipse Award-winning 2-year-old male, worked a half-mile in :50 Friday morning at Churchill Downs in preparation for the 1 ½-mile Belmont, the final leg of racing’s Triple Crown. The Pioneerof the Nile colt won the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) April 15 at Oaklawn before finishing a troubled fourth in the Kentucky Derby and second, beaten a head, in Preakness.
Also scheduled to run in the Belmont are Lookin At Lee, who made three starts at Oaklawn, and Senior Investment, a Feb. 18 entry level allowance/optional claiming winner in Hot Springs. Senior Investment worked a half-mile in 50.19 Tuesday morning at Belmont.
Lookin At Lee ran third in the $500,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) Feb. 20, sixth in the $900,000 Rebel Stakes (G2) March 18 and third in the Arkansas Derby. Lookin At Lee also finished second in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Preakness. Senior Investment ran third in the Preakness.
Several other Oaklawn-raced horses are scheduled to run this weekend at Belmont, including Whitmore in Friday’s $250,000 True North Stakes (G2) for older sprinters and stablemate Petrov in Saturday’s $500,000 Woody Stephens Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds.
Lookin at Lee Works Toward the Belmont
Kentucky Derby runner-up Lookin At Lee breezed a half-mile in 48.33 seconds under the early morning sunshine on the Belmont main track Sunday as he prepares for the Belmont Stakes.
Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Lookin At Lee’s four-furlong time was the eighth-fastest of 51 at the distance.
“He came back great and I thought it went perfect,” said Toby Sheets, assistant to Asmussen. “He seems to really like Belmont. We got great weather this morning, so that always helps.”
Sheets said Lookin At Lee, who finished fourth last out in the Preakness, is scheduled to paddock school on Thursday. Asmussen won last year’s Belmont Stakes with Creator.
Holy Boss also worked Sunday, breezing four furlongs in 49.50 on the Belmont training track. The 5-year-old is set to run in the Grade 2, $250,000 True North at six furlongs on June 9.
“So far, so good. Everything seems to be in order, knock on wood,” Sheets said.
Stellar Performance
Stellar Wind earned a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 100 for her neck victory over Vale Dori in the $400,000 Beholder Mile Stakes (G1) for fillies and mares Saturday at Santa Anita. Stellar Wind, the country’s champion 3-year-old filly of 2015, was coming off a 1 ¼-length victory in the $600,000 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) April 14 at Oaklawn.
Under regular rider Victor Espinoza, the 5-year-old mare covered the distance over a fast track in 1:36.14 and paid $3 as the 1-2 Beholder favorite. She carried equal top weight of 126 pounds.
Stellar Wind, who races for owner Hronis Racing LLC and trainer John Sadler, surpassed $2 million with the victory, her ninth in 14 starts overall. A five-time Grade 1 winner, Stellar Wind has earned $2,053,200.
The Beholder Mile honors Beholder, a four-time Eclipse Award winner who won the race last year when it was known as the Vanity Mile Stakes. Stellar Wind ran second in the 2016 Vanity.
Stellar Wind became the eighth horse to sweep the Apple Blossom and Beholder/Vanity in the same year, following Bayakoa (1989), Gorgeous (1990), Paseana (1992), Escena (1998), Gourmet Girl (2001), Azeri (2002, 2003) and Zenyatta (2008, 2010).
Stellar Wind is by Curlin, winner of Oaklawn’s Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby in 2007. Curlin was Horse of the Year in 2007 and 2008.
Finish Lines
Cistron, winner of the $150,000 Northern Spur Stakes April 15 at Oaklawn, ran third in $500,000 Penn Mile Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds Saturday at Penn National. … Oaklawn-raced Wilbo and The Truth Or Else ran second and third respectively, in the $100,000 Aristides Stakes (G3) for sprinters Saturday at Churchill Downs. … Karl Broberg (176), Steve Asmussen (162), Robertino Diodoro (108) and Brad Cox (83) rank first, second, fourth and eighth, respectively, this year in victories nationally among trainers, according to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization. All four trainers had divisions this year at Oaklawn.
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