Weekend Watch: Five stakes anchor Belmont 2018 Friday card
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Photo:
Annette Jasko/NYRA
The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival continues Friday with five stakes, four of them graded. On the docket are sprinters and turf routers/marathoners, one each for the ladies and the gents, as well as a listed stakes for juveniles. American Gal and Holy Helena are the big names in the entries, but we also get to see the return of talented sprinter Joking.
For the vertical players out there, good luck with this card! The stakes races are loaded and rather competitive and practically demand that you spread your money around.
Here are the highlights with post times listed in Eastern Time.
American Gal the one to beat in Bed o’ Roses
Kaleem Shah’s American Gal has developed into quite the sprinter. A dual Grade 1 winner, the daughter of Concord Point does her best running on the lead and will look to build off her Humana Distaff (G1) victory in the Grade 3 Bed o’ Roses Invitational. She will face a field full of familiar rivals; however, Ivy Bell
Tremont draws seven juveniles
The Tremont
Joking returns in True North
Two years ago Joking got up for a neck victory in the Grade 2 True North Stakes. He then won the Vosburgh (G1) but was unable to compete after that due to developing a life-threatening case of pneumonia. Owner and trainer Charlton Baker spared no expense in nursing his first ever top-level winner back to health, and the 9-year old gelding now looks to get back his old form. He will face a salty bunch including multiple graded stakes winners Whitmore and Imperial Hint, Grade 2 winner Bobby Abu Dhabi, and stakes winner Westwood. Churchill Downs Stakes (G2) winner Limousine Liberal could run but is also cross-entered in Saturday’s Met Mile. Post time is 4:42 p.m.
Holy Helena will try to keep streak alive
Queen’s Plate winner Holy Helena has been perfect so far this year, ticking off three straight victories, the last two coming in graded stakes. She will face eight as she attempts to stretch that win streak to four in the Grade 2 New York Stakes. Chief among her competition are Jenny Wiley (G1) winner Sistercharlie, Bewitch (G3) winner Mom’s On Strike, and graded stakes winners Fourstar Crook and Daddys Lil Darling. Previous claimer Fahan Mura looks to be the speed of the race, but despite rattling off four straight in 2018, I do not expect her to be around at the end. Post time is 5:14 p.m.
Euros look strongest in Belmont Gold Cup
It isn’t often that you see a two-mile turf race in the United States, but that is just what the Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup Invitational presents. For many in the field, it will be the first time they are asked to race that far, but there are a few in here that have raced at two or more miles prior to this event. Prince of Arran is actually wheeling back from a 2 5/16-mile event in England and is 6: 1-1-0 going two miles. Fellow shipper Funny Kid is 2: 1-0-1 at the distance and enters off a victory in the Prix de Barbeville (G3). As far as domestic runners are concerned, Run Time has won at this distance. However, considering that this is an unusual race, anything could happen. Post time is 5:46 p.m.
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