Forewarned tackles another ambitious spot in Belmont's Suburban
Forewarned has been put in ambitious spots before and will again take a chance against a talented field when he departs from post 3 in the eight-horse Grade 2, $200,000 Suburban on Saturday, Met Mile Day, at Belmont Park.
Owned and trained by Uriah St. Lewis, the Ohio-bred returned off a near three-month layoff to run third in the 1 1/16-mile Westchester (G3) on June 6 at Belmont. St. Lewis said the Suburban's 1 1/4-mile distance could be an even better fit. The last time the Flat Out colt ran at the distance, he set a Mahoning Valley Race Course track record for his 2¾-length victory in the Best of Ohio Endurance Stakes, completing the course in 2:04.41 in October.
"He's pretty good at that distance," St. Lewis said. "He broke the track record that day, so hopefully he can come back and run fast enough to beat the group he's going up against tomorrow."
That group includes the 1-2-3 finishers of the 2019 Belmont Stakes, with winner Sir Winston (7-2 on the morning line), runner-up Tacitus as the 9-5 favorite and Joevia (20-1) comprising a talented field that also includes 2-1 Mr. Buff.
Forewarned drew post 3 and is listed at 30-1 with jockey Manny Franco aboard.
After ending his 2019 with a fifth-place effort in the Cigar Mile (G1) in December at Aqueduct, he started his 5-year-old campaign with a fourth-place effort in the John B. Campbell in February at Laurel Park and ran sixth in the Harrison E. Johnson Memorial on the same track in March.
In the Westchester, he rallied from eighth of nine and chased the field six-wide before a strong finish allowed him to earn black type for the first time in four starts and first since his record-setting win in Ohio.
"He's doing excellent," St. Lewis said. "The last time gave me a lot of confidence because he's really more of a mile-and-an-eighth or a mile-and-a-quarter horse. He made a mild run in the Westchester, but now he has the right distance and there's a lot of speed, so hopefully he can run his race. He's pretty good at this distance, so hopefully he can shock them and win the race."
Forewarned is a familiar face on the NYRA circuit. Last year, he ran in two of the more prestigious races in the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course, finishing fifth in the Whitney (G1) and eighth in the Woodward (G1). St. Lewis said he's taking it one race at a time but said he's hopeful to make a return trip to the Spa this year, which runs July 16-Sept. 7.
"We'll take it one step at a time here, but if everything works out tomorrow, then we'll go after it and figured out where we go next," St. Lewis said.