McGaughey to debut Orb half-sibling Patriot Game at Belmont
Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey has made a career out of campaigning thoroughbreds with prestigious pedigrees, and the trainer will debut two pedigree-rich horses in Patriot Game and North Carolina in Race 6 on Saturday over Belmont's Widener turf course going seven furlongs.
Owned by Stuart Janney III and Phipps Racing Stable, Patriot Game is by Honor Code and out of the Unbridled mare Lady Liberty making him a half-sibling to the McGaughey-trained 2013 Kentucky Derby winner Orb.
McGaughey also conditioned Honor Code, who captured the Met Mile (G1) at Belmont and Whitney (G1) at Saratoga in 2015 en route to honors as Champion Older Horse.
"He looks more like Honor Code, but he's not quite as big or as long as he was,” McGaughey said. “Body wise he's more like Orb.
“We just need to see what his running style is like. He's been training pretty well."
The Kentucky homebred will be piloted by jockey Dylan Davis from the far outside in the field of 10.
McGaughey also sends out Joseph Allen's North Carolina, a son of Speightstown out of the French stakes-winning Montjeu broodmare Baroness Richter and comes from the same family as French Group 1 winner Nadia.
The Kentucky homebred chestnut colt is a direct descendant of the highly prolific Almahmoud, who is considered one of the greatest turf matriarchs of all time and was the second dam of all-time greats Northern Dancer and Halo.
"He's training well,” McGaughey said. “He had a good work back and I'm looking forward to running him. I think that a race will help him. He's got a nice turf pedigree, so we'll see what he does.”
North Carolina will break from post 8 under Jose Ortiz.
Trainer Chad Brown will send out Peter Brant and Three Chimneys Farm's $1.1 million Keeneland September Yearling Sale acquisition Johnnypump.
Johnnypump is by Quality Road and out of the Mineshaft broodmare What'smineismine, whose dam Spring Star produced Spring Quality, winner of the Manhattan (G1) in 2018, and two-time graded stakes winner on grass Holiday Star.
Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano will pilot Johnnypump from post 5.
Charles Fipke's Ima Pharoah has been second in all three of his career starts but will attempt to make his turf debut a winning one for trainer Todd Pletcher.
Slated as the 2-1 favorite, the Kentucky homebred is out of Ima Dixie Girl making him a half-brother to 2016 Met Mile (G1) champ Mor Spirit – a multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire. He was most recently second beaten five lengths at Gulfstream Park and was narrowly beaten to next-out winner Cajun Brother on debut in March at the South Florida oval.
Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. will be aboard from post 6.