Belmont Stakes 2017: Will there be a breakthrough win?

The 2017 Belmont Stakes will feature three horses still trying to earn their first stakes win: Patch, Meantime, and Hollywood Handsome. While these three will likely be longshots, it’s actually not that uncommon to see non-stakes winners earn their breakthrough in the Belmont.

Todd Pletcher, who trains Patch, has conditioned a horse to a breakthrough win in the Belmont before. In 2013, Palace Malice entered the Belmont with only a maiden win to his name from seven starts. Following a neck loss in the Blue Grass Stakes, Palace Malice had blinkers added for the Kentucky Derby. With the equipment change and the loud sound of a sloppy track beneath him, Palace Malice shot to the lead and faded to 12th. The blinkers were removed in the Belmont, and Palace Malice was positioned in a wide fifth at the start. The Curlin colt gradually moved up throughout the race and drew off to win by 3 ¼ lengths.

Patch, sired by 2012 Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags, and out of a mare by 1992 Belmont winner A.P. Indy, is hoping to improve off a 14th place finish in the Kentucky Derby. In only his third start, Patch was able to capture second in the Louisiana Derby, but is still searching for his first stakes win. His odds are long, but it would be a great story to see a one-eyed horse win the final leg of the Triple Crown.

Meantime, a son on Shackleford trained by Brian Lynch, will also be making his fifth lifetime start in the Belmont. Meantime took the Peter Pan Stakes route to the Belmont, where he finished second to Timeline following a front-running effort. Prior to his stakes debut, Meantime scored a 7 ½-length maiden victory at Keeneland, also in front-running fashion.

“I think he's a horse that'll be up in the first tier of horses and a lot of the times that's where the Belmont is won,” said Lynch. “Whoever is one-two-three going into the first turn usually finishes one-two-three, so I think tactically, he's the right horse to try and do it with it. I think fitness-wise, the mile and a half will be a test, but he's as good as we can get him.”

Other than American Pharoah in 2015, the last horse to go wire to wire in the Belmont was Da’ Tara in 2008. Da’ Tara had more race experience than Meantime, but was still entered as only a maiden winner. Also like Meantime, Da’ Tara had finished second in his race before the final leg of the Triple Crown, where he had attempted to lead throughout. Come Belmont Stakes day, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, Big Brown, was eased turning for home, and Da’ Tara ran away with the victory by 5 ¼ lengths.

Hollywood Handsome will also be going for his first stakes win in the Belmont. The son of Tapizar broke his maiden at Fair Grounds in January, beating out fellow Belmont competitor Multiplier, who was sixth in the Preakness. Trained by Dallas Stewart, Hollywood Handsome made his first stakes debut in the same race as Patch and finished fourth, just missing third by a nose. He met up with Multiplier again, this time in the Illinois Derby, but lacked the rally he showed in Louisiana. Hollywood Handsome ran fifth, and Multiplier got up to win by a head.

Hollywood Handsome was the even-money favorite during his next outing in allowance company at Churchill Downs, and he didn’t disappoint. The colt was able to rally for a neck victory and show the improvement he needed to join the Triple Crown campaign.

“I’m so excited to get this horse to the Belmont Stakes,” said Stewart. “We originally toyed with the idea of keeping him at Churchill prior to the Kentucky Derby to see if we could sneak in with 10 points. We eventually decided to run in the Illinois Derby and forego the Kentucky Derby.”

While it’s unlikely for these three longshots to join the list of horses who earned their first stakes win in the Belmont, recent history shows it is far from impossible. Some horses will peak at the end of the Triple Crown, while others will falter from the short turnaround in between races. On Saturday, Patch, Meantime, and Hollywood Handsome will be given the chance to defy the odds, possibly winning their first stakes race on one of American racing’s biggest stages.

“You've got to take a shot,” said Michael Hernon, the Director of Sales at Gainesway Farm. “They all have to get the mile-and-a-half. It is a big purse, very significant race on the calendar. If you're not in you can't win.”

By Christine Oser