Prospect Watch: 6 new juveniles to follow at Belmont, Churchill
The final Saturday in June brings a pair of exciting maiden races for 2-year-olds to the table.
Belmont and Park and Churchill Downs are hosting competitive sprints packed to the gills with promising colts and geldings. Let’s review the entries and highlight half a dozen of the most noteworthy names.
Belmont Park Race 2: Maiden special weight (5 1/2 furlongs, 1:31 p.m. EDT)
#4 Labarde
Trainer Saffie Joseph has been on fire at Belmont this meet, going 7-for-19 (37 percent) so far, and it’s possible he’ll keep his momentum going on Saturday with Labarde. A son of internationally successful sire More Than Ready, Labarde was produced by the Eskendereya mare Eskenformoney, a Kentucky Oaks (G1) starter who won the Rampart Stakes (G3) and Turnback the Alarm Handicap (G3) during her long and productive career.
Labarde has shown speed in the mornings, most notably breezing a bullet three furlongs from the Belmont Park training track starting gate in :34 flat. Joseph’s 14 percent win rate with first-time starters isn’t overly eye-catching, but Labarde looks like one who can fire a strong shot on debut.
Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher boasts a phenomenal record debuting 2-year-olds over the Belmont main track before July. Since 2017, Pletcher has gone 12-for-23 (52 percent) with such runners, suggesting that Up to the Mark will be dangerous in his first start.
Sold for $450,000 as a yearling, Up to the Mark is a son of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile runner-up Not This Time, who sires a lofty 22 percent winners from first-time starters. Produced by the unraced Ghostzapper mare Belle’s Finale, Up to the Mark has turned in nine solid workouts since the beginning of April and is slated to be ridden by three-time champion jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. Any way you slice it, Up to the Mark looks like the horse to beat.
Hailing from the first crop of 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner (who has sired 44 percent winners from first-time starters so far), Under the Gun is a January foal produced by the stakes-winning Girolamo mare Louisville First. Under the Gun has been breezing since March and has turned in several sharp half-mile moves along the way, including a quick :47 3/5 gate breeze on June 11 at Churchill Downs.
Bred and owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds, Under the Gun hails from the barn of Steve Asmussen, who has gone 8-for-20 (40 percent) at Belmont this meet. Jockey Joel Rosario (in the midst of a very strong year) is named to ride, stamping Under the Gun as a logical contender in his first start under colors.
Churchill Downs Race 2: Maiden special weight (six furlongs, 1:14 p.m. EDT)
Sold for $150,000 as a yearling, Play Action Pass brings a classy pedigree to the mix. The son of juvenile graded stakes winner Cairo Prince was produced by the Muqtarib mare Light of a Star, previously the dam of Arlington-Washington Futurity winner Barry Lee and multiple graded stakes-winning turf star Laura’s Light. Both Barry Lee and Laura’s Light won stakes at age 2, so it’s safe to say Play Action Pass is bred to win from an early age. Churchill’s leading jockey, Tyler Gaffalione, takes the mount on the gray colt, who breezed a quick five furlongs from the Blackwood Stable starting gate in 1:00 flat on June 15. An encouraging effort should be in the offing.
#9 Rocket One
Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott appears to have a promising prospect on his hands in the form of Rocket One, a son of two-time leading sire Into Mischief. Produced by the Afleet Alex mare London Mist, Rocket One sold for $600,000 as a yearling and presumably carries high expectations as a result.
Rocket One has been breezing since April and capped off his preparations with handful of half-mile moves at Churchill Downs, including a :48 3/5 gate breeze on June 12. Hot jockey Florent Geroux (a 20 percent winner at Churchill) is named to ride, and it is worth noting that Mott is winning at a 19 percent rate with first-time starters this year, well above his overall 8 percent win rate with such runners since 2000. Who knows? Maybe Rocket One will prove to be one talented rocket of a racehorse.
#11 Hilarious Affair
Hilarious Affair is a son of multiple Grade 1-winning juvenile Practical Joke out of the Mr. Greeley mare Parisian Affair. The former is siring 43 percent winners from first-time starters, while the latter was a stakes-winning turf sprinter who previously foaled the stakes winner and juvenile maiden winner Crimson China.
In short, there is plenty to like about Hilarious Affair’s pedigree, which provides multiple doses of speed mixed with early maturity. Under the care of Mark Casse, Hilarious Affair has turned in no fewer than 10 timed workouts, including a swift half-mile from the Keeneland starting gate in :47 3/5 last Saturday. Look for this $210,000 yearling acquisition to fire a big shot right out of the gate.