Fellowship seeks elusive first graded victory in Belmont Sprint
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Jacks or Better Farm’s multiple graded stakes-placed Fellowship, based at Laurel with trainer Ken Decker, seeks his elusive first graded victory in Saturday’s Belmont Sprint Championship (G2) at Belmont Park.
Fellowship will have Hall of Fame-elect jockey Javier Castellano aboard from Post 3 in a field of seven that also includes multiple graded-stakes winners Mind Your Biscuits, Unified, Green Gratto, Awesome Slew and Tommy Macho and seven-time stakes winner Stallwalkin’ Dude.
A homebred son of Awesome of Course, Fellowship has one win from three starts this year, taking a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance by 2 ½ lengths April 16 at Laurel in his 4-year-old debut. He was seventh in the Pimlico Special (G3) May 19, run at 1 3/16 miles, and fourth in the six-furlong True North (G2) June 9.
“He was closing pretty good the other day and he ran his race. Those horses went fast and they just didn’t back up. They’re nice horses,” Decker said. “When you’re running on this level, there’s always going to be some tough horses. We were pleased with him and he came back good out of it. He [had] a little prep work and he’s ready to go back.”
Fellowship won the Florida Sire In Reality Stakes as a 2-year-old and was on the Triple Crown trail at 3, finishing third in the 2016 Holy Bull (G2), Fountain of Youth (G2) and Florida Derby (G1). He skipped the Kentucky Derby (G1) and ran eighth in the Preakness (G1) last May, and didn’t race again until April.
“Fellowship, I don’t think he was really a Derby distance kind of horse but he did hold his own against those horses and made a good account of himself. He had some time off and freshened up and come back ready,” Decker said. “He really didn’t like the way the Pimlico Special unfolded. He kind of likes to stay a little covered up and, being on the outside, he didn’t get to do that. But he showed us he does have some sprint ability when he did go seven [furlongs April 16. We tried six and thought it might have been a little short, but I think the seven is going to be real nice for him. He’s ready.”
Source: Maryland Jockey Club
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