It was a busy morning for Belmont Stakes contenders, as a total of seven prospective starters for the mile-and-a-half classic turned in workouts, including five at Belmont Park.
The large amount of activity was due in part to rainstorms which swept through the Belmont Park area yesterday morning, dumping roughly an inch and a half of rain on to the main track. This caused the postponement of numerous workouts, which were moved from yesterday to today in order to catch a better track.
Perhaps the most notable trainee on the Belmont work tab was Dullahan, regarded by many to have the best chance at upsetting I'll Have Another's bid to win the Triple Crown. Under Javier Castellano, who will ride the colt in the Belmont, Dullahan turned in a brilliant half-mile breeze in :45.97, a phenomenal time for a horse that is usually a deep, deep closer. According to Bloodhorse.com, he galloped out five-eighths in :58.91, also a fabulous time. He really can't be training any better, and seems to have taken to Belmont Park in excellent fashion.
Another top name breezing this morning was Paynter, a Bob Baffert-trainee that has shown flashes of sheer brilliance in his short career. Coming off of an authoritative victory in an allowance race on the Preakness undercard, the colt breezed seven furlongs in 1:25 flat, and like Dullahan, appears to be coming into the Belmont Stakes in good form.
The Kenny McPeek-trained pair of Atigun and Unstoppable U will be longshots in the Belmont, but by the way they have been training, it would appear they are both sitting on good efforts. Atigun went a solid half-mile in :48.55, which was nothing more than a maintenance work following his half-mile breeze in :46.77 on May 26th. As for Unstoppable U, he breezed five furlongs in 1:02.05, and while the final time may not have been all that impressive, he galloped out in strong fashion and appears to be one that would relish the distance of the Belmont Stakes.
Also on the Belmont work tab was Street Life, who is coming off of a third-place finish in the Peter Pan Stakes (gr. II) last month. Working in company with stablemate Zivo, a three-year-old maiden, Street Life breezed five furlongs in the solid time of 1:01.15 while galloping out in good fashion.
Down in Maryland at Fair Hill training center, the highlight of the work tab was Union Rags, who turned in a brilliant five-eighths breeze in the bullet time of :59 flat, which was the fastest of six workouts at that distance by all of three seconds.
Rounding out the list of workers was Ravelo's Boy, who has not raced since finishing fifth in the Tampa Bay Derby (gr. II) on March 10th. The son of Lawyer Ron breezed an excellent six furlongs in 1:11 4/5 at Calder race course, which is pretty spectacular time for the slow Calder main track. He has been training exceptionally well during the last month or so, and while his race record implies that winning the Belmont Stakes could prove to be a very difficult feat for him, his training suggests that he is sitting on the race of his life.
And of course, no analysis of the morning training would be complete without a brief mention of I'll Have Another, who galloped a mile in excellent fashion and appears to be maintaining his good form.
-Keelerman
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