Mubtaahij Continues Belmont Stakes Preparations

Belmont Stakes contender Mubtaahij took to Belmont's inner turf course with stablemate Umgiyo for South African-based trainer Mike de Kock on Sunday morning.

The UAE Derby winner arrived at Belmont Park Friday morning from Churchill Downs no worse for wear following his eighth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.

"He's a good traveler," reported de Kock's assistant trainer Trevor Brown, adding that the son of Dubawi has continued to keep weight on since the Derby.

Clockers caught Mubtaahij in a bullet-earning 1:01.11 for five furlongs, while Umgiyo earned an official time of 1:01.15, the second-fastest of 23 works at the distance.

Brown was satisfied with the pair's first work over the local surface.

"Umgiyo is a proper turf horse and, of course, Mubtaahij is a dirt horse so I was quite happy with the gallop," Brown said. "I was pleased with both of them."

Turf workouts are a common training regimen for the de Kock barn, even for dirt specialists such as Mubtaahij, according to Brown.

"Doesn't matter if they're turf, poly, or all-weather [horses], we'll gallop them on the turf," said Brown. "We just get a little more out of them galloping on the turf as opposed to working on the dirt. On the dirt, they can come out a little stiff. As for the turf, it's kinder on their legs."

Umgiyo, most recently ninth in the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on the Kentucky Derby undercard, has been named to the Grade 1, $1 million Knob Creek Manhattan on Belmont Stakes Day, as well as the $250,000 Belmont Gold Cup Invitational on June 5.

"Umgiyo is named to both," said Brown. "So we'll see how strong [the Manhattan field] is. We just want to get his confidence back."

Source: NYRA