A couple of events in different parts of the country May 21 gave off hope that the upcoming Belmont Stakes (G1) could have some sizzle, even though hopes for a Triple Crown sweep were crushed a day earlier when Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage finished third in the Preakness Stakes (G1).
In New York, Forte worked at Belmont Park and co-owner Mike Repole said the 2-year-old champion was “targeting the Belmont Stakes.”
“He worked great today,” Repole said about the four-furlong breeze in :50.31 on Belmont‘s training track, the eighth-fastest of 17 moves at the distance.
It was his first timed work since April 29 for the colt also owned by St. Elias Stable.
“He looked super,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who listed Tapit Trice (7th in the Kentucky Derby), Kingsbarns (14th), and maiden winner Prove Worthy as other possibilities from his stable for the Belmont.
That news could add some clarity to the 3-year-old outlook as Forte, despite missing the May 6 Kentucky Derby and Preakness due to a minor foot injury, could be viewed in some quarters as the division leader. Prior to being scratched the morning of the Kentucky Derby, the son of Violence beat Derby winner Mage in both the Florida Derby (G1) and Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) and has finished first in his last five races.
In Baltimore, home of Pimlico Race Course and the Preakness, trainer Bob Baffert said the Belmont was a possibility for National Treasure , winner of the second jewel in the Triple Crown by a head over Blazing Sevens .
Baffert did not commit the son of Quality Road to the 1 1/2-mile American Classic. He said he would wait a day or two before deciding whether to send National Treasure and Sir Barton Stakes winner Arabian Lion to New York, or, if he doesn’t like the way they exit their Saturday races, back home to California to rest up for summer campaigns.
Yet in talking about National Treasure, Baffert did little to dismiss the notion that the 3-year-old came out of his front-running Preakness win no worse for wear and would be ideally suited by the 12-furlong distance of “The Test of the Champion.”
National Treasure at Pimlico Race Course the morning after winning the Preakness Stakes
“It looks like (National Treasure and Arabian Lion) came out of it well. I’m going to leave them for a few days, I’m not sure, and if they look good, I’ll ship them to Belmont. If National Treasure goes, he’ll run in the Belmont because (jockey John Velazquez) said he could have gone around there twice. They went so slow early (six furlongs in 1:13.49) that he had so much horse at the end that he couldn’t pull him up,” said Baffert, who expressed some concerns about Arabian Lion handling 1 1/2 miles and listed the seven-furlong Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) on the Belmont Stakes Day undercard as a possibility for him. “The distance will not be a problem for National Treasure, not with the way he’s bred so well. The mile-and-a-half will be right up his alley.
“(National Treasure) only ran the last quarter mile (in the Preakness). They were just galloping before that. They were running the last quarter but it wasn’t a real taxing race.”
Owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan, National Treasure won for the second time in six career starts.
Aside from stopping a run of three different classic winners in the same year since Justify ‘s 2018 sweep, a matchup between National Treasure and Forte could determine a clear-cut pecking order among 3-year-olds heading into the summer classics, topped by the huge Aug. 26 showdown in the Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.
“I think they will start getting better,” Baffert said about the 3-year-old crop. “I think Mage is a very good horse. The way he won the Kentucky Derby, it’s tough for him to come back in two weeks. They are very competitive; a nice group. Forte is a nice horse, too. It’s a shame he couldn’t make the Derby. I’m sure they’ll get him right and he’ll be tough down the road.”
Baffert said Reincarnate , who lost weight after finishing 13th in the Kentucky Derby, would be a last-minute decision for the Belmont and that unbeaten Southwest Stakes (G3) winner Arabian Knight would be targeting the July 22 Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park.
Chad Brown, who trains Blazing Sevens for Rodeo Creek Racing, said his colt came out of the Preakness “OK” and was shipped back to Belmont Park. He pointed to the July 29 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga as a likely target for the son of Good Magic ‘s next start, the same path he followed with his 2022 Preakness winner, Early Voting .
Blazing Sevens at Pimlico Race Course ahead of the Preakness Stakes
The connections of Mage took solace in knowing their 3-year-old turned in a solid effort, mindful that the 1:13.49 pace set by Velazquez aboard National Treasure through six furlongs made gaining ground in the stretch a difficult challenge.
“I didn’t know if we were in the Sword Dancer (a 1 1/2 mile-grade 1 turf stakes at Saratoga) or the Preakness,” said Ramiro Restrepo, part of the ownership group along with OGMA Investments, Sterling Racing, and CMNWLTH. “He was bright-eyed today. He ran his race. He stayed on from the three-eighths pole but when they go 1:13 and change that hurt our horse. Those horses were fresh and pointed to the race (National Treasure and Blazing Sevens both had six weeks rest to just two for Mage) and there was no rabbit to help us. It’s racing. I would have been depressed if he was seventh, but when you put forth an effort like that I think of other horses who lost the Preakness and became good horses.”
Looking ahead, Restrepo said Mage would skip the Belmont and be pointed to the Travers.
“We’ve thrown a lot at him. The Travers is the main target and we’ll plot out a way to get there,” he said.
Trainer Steve Asmussen, whose Red Route One was fourth in the Preakness, called the Belmont an “obvious” target for his horse.
Leave feedback about this