Friday's Best Bet: Loft raises the roof in Belmont Gold Cup
Friday’s 8th race from Belmont Park is the Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup for four-year-olds and up traveling two miles on the turf course (Post Time 4:42 p.m. EDT).
Click here for Belmont Park Entries, Results
The last four winners of this race were bred in Great Britain or Ireland, but I will go with German-bred gelding No. 1 LOFT (4-1). My top choice captured a Group 2 in Germany at this two mile distance in his May 15 return. The consistent sort might have more stamina than this group and should offer more value than the other overseas shipper, No. 4 Outbox (2-1). The latter was bred in Ireland and he has plenty of stamina. He landed the place in a pair of Group 3 events at a mile and a half and fourteen furlongs last year in Great Britain and Sweden. He won at Group 1 at a mile and a half in Qatar Feb. 19 and was 3rd in a Group 2 in Great Britain April 29. He ran last May 14 but is better than that and can bounce back in this spot.
No. 6 Cibolian (10-1) gets sharp turf rider Flavien Prat for this and he was competitive in six of his last seven starts. He will probably stalk the pace and should offer value.
No. 8 Box N Score (15-1) runs well in longer turf races but has never been this far. He is back quickly in his third start after a long layoff and I can see him chugging along for a minor award at square odds.
Get my expert Santa Anita Park full card picks for June 10 (available now).
Wagers:
No. 1 to win
Exacta Box 1-4
Trifecta 1-4/1-4-6-8/1-4-6-8
Recent best-bet winners
June 1 - Nice Ace/Ribbons and Medals/Press Snooze Trifecta ($23.80)
June 3 -Buy Land and See ($2.80)
June 9 - Two of a Kind ($6.50)