Belmont at Big A: Red Smith, Bold Ruler, Forty Niner go Sunday

Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey sends out Cugino and Limited Liability in Sunday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Red Smith, a 1 3/8-mile, inner-turf test on closing day of the Belmont at Aqueduct fall meet.

The $175,000 Bold Ruler (G3) and the $175,000 Forty Niner (G3) stakes also are on the card which starts at 11:35 a.m. EST. 

Click here for Belmont at Aqueduct entries and results.

Cugino is 2-for-3 this year including a seasonal debut win in a local 1 1/16-mile optional claimer in June. The 4-year-old Twirling Candy bay exited the one-length victory over next-out winner Exact Estimate to land a four-length sixth in the one-mile Fourstardave (G1) in August at Saratoga

He followed his top-level attempt with a redemptive victory at the one-mile distance in the Red Bank last out Sept. 1 at Monmouth Park. From his 12: 5-4-0 career record, Cugino has made only one attempt at beyond 1 1/8 miles, landing off the board in the lucrative, 1 5/16-mile Nashville Derby (G3) in August 2024 at Kentucky Downs. 

“I’m looking forward to getting him stretched out,” McGaughey said. “I think he’ll be fine over there. He’s won there. I thought he ran good at Monmouth, but he wants to run farther than that. That’s why I’m looking forward to getting him stretched out.”

Limited Liability, a Kentucky homebred for Stuart Janney, is much more experienced going longer. The 6-year-old Hard Spun gelding has made his last eight starts at 1 3/8 miles or beyond and will cut back Sunday from a third in the 2 1/16-mile Bowling Green Gold Cup on Aug. 30 at Kentucky Downs.

“This is a good spot to run him,” McGaughey said. “It doesn’t really matter to him. As long as it’s this far, if he goes a little farther, that’s OK, too.” 

Limited Liability has a 23: 4-4-8 record with more than $1 million in earnings including a second in this event last year to stablemate Integration. The gray’s most recent win came by 8 1/4 lengths in last year’s 2 1/16-mile Nashville Gold Cup at Kentucky Downs.

McGaughey, who saddled the exacta in last year’s Red Smith, has won this race a record five times with Boisterous in 2011 and 2012, Imagining in 2013, North Dakota in 2020 and Integration last year.

After break, Nutella Fella returns in Bold Ruler

Grade 1 winner Nutella Fella brings a strong record to the Bold Ruler, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up, on closing day of the fall meet at Belmont at the Big A.

Trained by Gary Contessa, Nutella Fella makes his first appearance since a fourth-place finish in the True North (G3) on June 7 during the Belmont Stakes racing festival at Saratoga.

“He had a foot abscess in his front left that would not go away and lasted nearly two months," Contessa said. “He’s doing great now. He’s trained brilliantly at Saratoga. I shipped him down to Belmont, and he’s good to go.”

Nutella Fella announced his presence with a 54-1 upset in the 2023 Hopeful (G1) at Saratoga. He stormed from last of 10 to post a 1 1/2-length score over Timberlake, who exited to win the Champagne (G1). The 4-year-old Runhappy colt raced once as a sophomore, closing from 18 lengths off the pace to finish a 1 3/4-length third to the victorious Book’em Danno in the Woody Stephens (G1).

Nutella Fella has made four starts this season including a tenacious neck score over next-out allowance winner Caramel Chip in the six-furlong, listed Pelican in February at Tampa Bay Downs. There with Junior Alvarado up, Nutella Fella needed every bit of the stretch run to squeeze along the rail to the inside of a game Caramel Chip.

Nutella Fella has made his last two outings in graded company including a difficult eighth in the Commonwealth (G3) in April at Keeneland. He was fractious in the gate, requiring his bridle to be replaced before reloading.

Last out Nutella Fella again was hard to load in the 6 1/2-furlong True North (G3) contested over a sloppy and sealed track at Saratoga on June 7. The talented bay acquiesced once the stall door was opened for him, and he loaded smartly into the outermost post 7. He settled in sixth, making a wide, late bid to land fourth, a nose in front of Nakatomi and 5 1/4 lengths in back of victorious Book’em Danno.

Contessa said he’s hopeful that Nutella Fella’s gate issues are in the past.

“They (the gate crew) know him and how to handle him, and I trust they'll do the right thing by him at the gate,” Contessa said. “I school him a lot at the gate. He probably goes to the gate twice a week.

“He really ran well last time. He’ll be tough to beat in this race. He’s training well. The key will be a good pace to run into. I think there's some speed in there, and the more speed the merrier. He’s ready, so hopefully things go his way.”

Nutella Fella has trained consistently over Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track for this event including a five-eighths breeze in 1:00.81 on Oct. 23 followed by a three-eighths blowout in 36.25 seconds Tuesday over the Belmont Park dirt training track.

Contessa said a clean trip is paramount for a winning effort.

“His problem is that he comes from behind. He needs help with pace. He needs help with traffic. There’s a lot of concerns,” Contessa said. “If he was a speed horse, it would be a different story. He has to come from behind and negotiate a few obstacles in order to win a race.”

Bred in Kentucky by Ashview Farm, the $12,000 Keeneland September yearling sale purchase is out of Candy Ride mare Krissy’s Candy, who is a half-sister to the graded-stakes-placed duo Danny Boy and Meal Penalty. He has banked $342,875 via a 7: 3-1-1 record.

Bishops Bay tries to rebound in Forty Niner

Dual graded-stakes winner Bishops Bay never had finished outside of the exacta until his last start and will look to return to his winning ways in the Forty Niner, a one-turn mile for 3-year-olds and up.

The top three finishers in the Forty Niner will receive a fees-waived berth into the Cigar Mile (G2) on Dec. 6 during the Aqueduct fall meet which begins Thursday and runs through Dec. 31.

Trained by dual Eclipse Award-winner Brad Cox, the 5-year-old Uncle Mo horse was 10: 7-3-0 before landing a 4 1/4-length sixth in the seven-furlong Forego (G1) last out at Saratoga on Aug. 23. Bishops Bay entered that top-level attempt on a four-race win streak. That included a half-length score in the Westchester (G3) over the Forty Niner course and distance in May and a five-length victory over returning rival Nelson Avenue in the Salvator Mile (G3) in June at Monmouth Park. 

Bishops Bay returned to the work tab Sept. 6 at Saratoga and has posted his last four works over the Belmont Park dirt training track, including a half-mile breeze in 48.90 seconds last Saturday. 

“He’s been training well,” said Dustin Dugas, Cox’s Belmont Park-based assistant who rides Bishops Bay in the mornings. “He’s going into this race good. He came out of his last race and last few works in good shape.” 

Bishops Bay’s Westchester victory earned a career- and field-best 103 Beyer Speed Figure, according to Daily Racing Form. It was his first effort in New York since a memorable head defeat to subsequent champion 3-year-old colt Arcangelo in the 1 1/8-mile Peter Pan (G3) in May 2023 at Belmont Park. 

“He’s been a pretty honest horse,” Dugas said. “He’s always been an honest individual in his training and in his races. He is just a very straightforward horse. The mile distance fits him really well. He is not the quickest one to suit a sprint, but he has that big, stocky build that kind of lends itself to that seven-eighths to a mile distance. I think the mile is his key point.”

Bishops Bay is 4-for-4 with jockey Flavien Prat, who will look to keep that streak alive from post 5.

Nelson Avenue finished a length behind Coastal Mission for a second-place result last year in the Forty Niner. Trained by Jeff Runco, the 6-year-old Great Notion gray enters from a 1 1/2-length third to Coastal Mission in the listed Parx Dirt Mile on Sept. 20, which he won last year before taking the Forty Niner.

Coastal Mission in his last-out stalking defeat returned from a layoff that dated to a third to New York-bred Bank Frenzy in the listed Stymie in March over course and distance. The gelding is 29: 14-5-3 overall and has had returning rider Arnaldo Bocachica aboard for all but one start. 

Coastal Mission’s past win in this event prompted another try in the Cigar Mile in which he landed a 4 1/2-length fourth to fellow millionaires Locked, Mullikin and Post Time, improving from a fifth in 2023.