Tapwrit and Patch prepare for Belmont Stakes 2017

Trainer Todd Pletcher sent out Tapwrit and Patch, his two likely Belmont Stakes contenders, to the Belmont training track Saturday morning in preparation for the Grade 1, $1.5 million "Test of the Champion" on June 10. 

Tapwrit, winner of the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby in March and sixth in the Kentucky Derby last time out, worked five furlongs in 1:02.25 shortly after 9:30 a.m. under his regular jockey Jose Ortiz, in company with 2015 Withers winner Far From Over. The pair galloped out in 1:16 2/5, according to NYRA clockers.

Earlier, Grade 2 Louisiana Derby runner-up Patch, a troubled 14th in the Derby, hit the track shortly after 7:45 a.m. The son of Tapit, who became famous during the run-up to the "Run for the Roses" as a rare one-eyed Derby contender, worked four furlongs in 50.24 seconds under Hall of Famer John Velazquez and in company with Outplay, a 3-year-old allowance winner.

"I thought Tapwrit worked well; he's not an overzealous workhorse but we got a good solid five-eighths into him on what I'd describe as a relatively slow training track," said Pletcher. "I thought it served its purpose and he seemed to work as he normally does. [Patch] worked fine. Neither horse are ones that overachieve in the mornings but they have that solid, grinding style that could suit the Belmont.

"Tapwrit, we're definitely planning to run and Patch, we'll wait and see how he works next week," he said.

Tapwrit kicked off his sophomore season with a second-place finish to McCracken in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs on February 11, where he returned four weeks later to post a 4 ½-length victory in the Tampa Bay Derby. He ventured to Keeneland for his final Derby prep for the Grade 2 Blue Grass, where he missed the break and finished fifth. In the Derby, Tapwrit broke from post 16 and was bumped and pushed back at the break and finished sixth. 

"I thought Tapwrit ran great in the Derby," said Pletcher. "Everyone talked about the trouble at the start for Classic Empire, but he [Tapwrit] was the one that got clobbered first and it was a chain reaction from there. But I thought he closed pretty well and made a good account of himself. I think with a cleaner start, he would've hit the board."