Belmont at Big A on Saturday: Morello returns to race in Kelso

Morello returns to the site of his lone graded-stakes victory in Saturday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Kelso Stakes for 3-year-olds and up going a one-turn mile at Belmont at the Big A.

The Kelso offers the top-four finishers a free nomination and starting fee in the Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile slated for Dec. 3 at Aqueduct.

Click here for Belmont at the Big A entries and results.

Morello, owned by Blue Lion Thoroughbreds, Craig Taylor and Diamond T Racing and trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, put himself on the map during the winter by registering two stakes victories at Aqueduct. The son of Classic Empire made both his sophomore and stakes debut with a win in the Jimmy Winkfield on Feb. 6 before making a victorious return to the Big A in the Gotham (G3) one month later.

Two distant sixth-place finishes in the Wood Memorial (G2) on April 9 and the Woody Stephens (G1) on June 11 at Belmont Park prompted Morello’s connections to give him a freshening. He returned to action in style by besting allowance company on Oct. 8 at Laurel Park.

Morello since has trained forwardly under the watchful eye of Asmussen’s Belmont-based assistant Toby Sheets, recording a half-mile breeze in 50.22 seconds over the training track.

“The plan was to give him some time off, let him be a horse and let him get back into training with Toby. He did an outstanding job with him over the winter and right around this time,” Dave Lyon of Blue Lion Thoroughbreds said. “We feel like we've got ourselves a fresh horse, and we have to remind ourselves that he’s still only 3 years old, so we’re hoping the best is in front of him.”

Dylan Davis will pick up the mount from post 3.

Trainer Robert Falcone Jr. will saddle John Grossi’s Racing Corp.’s Empty Tomb, who enters off a 1 3/4-length allowance optional-claiming triumph Oct. 7 at Delaware Park. The win was the 6-year-old Speightstown chestnut’s first start since finishing a distant ninth in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) on Jan. 29 at Gulfstream Park, which was won by last year’s Kelso winner Life Is Good.

Empty Tomb was claimed by Falcone for $80,000 in August 2021 and made his third start for his current trainer a winning one, defeating stakes winner First Constitution by three-quarters of a length in a Nov. 28 allowance optional claimer going one mile at Aqueduct. He then finished second in the Queens County at the Big A on Dec. 19. That prompted his connections to try the heavy hitters in the Pegasus.

“I left it up to the owners, so we decided to take a shot in the Pegasus,” Falcone said. “He came out of there with a little bone bruising, and he was moving a little bit uncomfortably. After that we decided to give him time off to get him back on track, and that helped him out a lot.”

Irad Ortiz Jr., a two-time Kelso winner, will pilot Empty Tomb from post 2.

Pocket 3’s Racing’s Shackqueenking appears to be heating up as he ships by way of the Mid-Atlantic region to attempt his fourth straight triumph for trainer Gary Capuano. The 4-year-old Shackleford gelding earned a career-best 99 Beyer Speed Figure, according to Daily Racing Form, last out in the DTHA Governor’s Day Handicap on Oct. 1 at Delaware Park. That came after two allowance optional-claiming triumphs at the Wilmington oval.

Shackqueenking, who has a 16: 7-2-4 record, will race at Aqueduct for the first time since finishing a distant eighth in the Withers (G3) last February. Angel Suarez, who is unbeaten in five starts aboard Shackqueenking, retains the mount from post 1.

Trainer Bill Mott will saddle Pantofel Stable, Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber and Jerold Zaro’s Baby Yoda following a 10 3/4-length triumph on Oct. 7 in the Belmont at the Big A meet. The gelded son of Prospective has earned four trips to the winner’s circle this year, all at different racetracks.

In the spring Baby Yoda conveyed the force against starter allowance company at Keeneland and Churchill Downs before defeating allowance optional-claiming company at Saratoga in the summer. Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, a three-time Kelso winner, will ride Baby Yoda from post 6.

Graded-stakes winner Title Ready boasts field best earnings of $779,443 through a record of 34: 5-6-6 for trainer Dallas Stewart. Title Ready, by More Than Ready, will attempt to provide owner Charles Fipke with his second Kelso win after the British Colombia native won in 2012 with the Barclay Tagg-trained Jersey Town. He will seek to regain winning form, having gone 0-for-9 since capturing the Louisiana (G3) last January at Fair Grounds.

A Kentucky homebred, Title Ready is out of the Monarchos mare Title Seeker, making him a half-brother to graded-stakes winner and millionaire producer Seeking the Title. His second dam is undefeated Hall of Famer and 1988 horse of the year Personal Ensign. Emma-Jayne Wilson will ride Title Ready from post 4.

Completing the field is the Norman Cash-trained Double Crown, who will go from post 5 with jockey J.D. Acosta. He enters off one week’s rest, having finished fourth in the Maryland Millions Classic on Saturday. The son of Bourbon Courage was cross-entered in a 5 1/2-furlong allowance on Saturday at Delaware Park.

The Kelso is carded as race 5 on Saturday’s 10-race program and is scheduled to start at 2:44 p.m. EDT. The first post is at 12:35 p.m.

Meraas may try to wire the Bold Ruler

Group 3-winning sprinter Meraas could be speed of speed in Saturday’s $200,000 Bold Ruler (G3), a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up. Carded as the ninth race, it is scheduled to start at 4:54 p.m. EDT.

Owned by Maitha Salem Mohammed Belobaida Alsuwaidi, Meraas finished a pacesetting third in his North American debut in a six-furlong, optional claimer in September at Saratoga. With Antonio Fresu up for trainer Chad Summers, Meraas blitzed through splits of 22.14 and 44.76 seconds over the fast main track. But the 5-year-old Oasis Dream gelding could not maintain the tempo in his first start from a seven-month layoff, finishing 4 1/2-lengths back of Elite Power, who exited that race to win the Vosburgh (G2) at Aqueduct. The runner-up of that event, Hoist the Gold, has since completed the exacta in a Churchill Downs allowance and the Perryville at Keeneland.

Flavien Prat has the call from the inside post carrying 125 pounds.

West Point Thoroughbreds and Marvin Delfiner’s graded-stakes winner Jaxon Traveler, in post 4 with Irad Ortiz Jr., could be the one to push Meraas on the front end for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. The 4-year-old Maryland-bred Munnings colt was a gate-to-wire winner of the Maryland Sprint (G3) in May at Pimlico before switching to turf and landing third in the restricted Ben’s Cat on July 30 at Laurel Park. He enters from a distant second to Sibelius in the six-furlong Lite the Fuse on September 10 at Pimlico.

Dublin Fjord Stables, Racepoint Stables, Kevin Hilbert and Thomas O’Keefe’s multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Drafted, from post 2 with Trevor McCcarthy, will look to close into the expected fast Bold Ruler pace. Trained by David Duggan, the late-running gray finished a distant third last out in the aforementioned Vosburgh over a fast Big A main track.