Veteran Hoppertunity rallies to win Belmont's Brooklyn Invitational

Well, this could bode well for Justify in his run at a Triple Crown later Saturday. Veteran Bob Baffert trainee Hoppertunity rallied up the track to take the Grade 2, $400,000 Brooklyn Invitational — the other 1 1/2-mile race on Saturday’s 2018 Belmont Stakes card.

Ridden by Flavien Prat, the 7-year-old son of Any Given Saturday hugged the rail in midpack while Outplay took the field of nine through an opening half-mile in 50.66 seconds and three-quarters in 1:15.11.

Prat angled Hoppertunity out in the final turn and began their run on the outside. War Story, tracking the pace early, got the jump on Outplay as the mile went in 1:38.89 and assumed control at the top of the stretch. War Story fended off a challenge from Hard Study, who drifted out near the eighth pole. The veteran Hoppertunity was redirected to the middle of the track and utilized a strong closing kick to complete the journey in 2:28.61.

Sent off at 7-2, Hoppertunity returned $9.10 for a $2 win wager.

The victory was the second at 1 ½ miles for Hoppertunity, following a 6 ½-length score in the Grade 3 Tokyo City Cup in April.  

"He really likes the mile and a half," said Prat. "I got a good trip, even though he broke a bit slow. He was not that sharp from the gate. But then I got a good trip and saved ground, and he made a run down the lane. A mile and a half is the best race for him."

Hoppertunity owns a 9-7-5 record from 32 lifetime starts for earnings of $4,646,625. Owned by Karl Watson, Mike Pegram, and Paul Weitman, and trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Hoppertunity's last sojourn to Belmont resulted in a hard-fought, half-length win in the 2016 Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup. Among his other major wins through five seasons of racing are back-to-back victories in the Grade 2 San Antonio in 2016-17 and a half-length win in the 2014 Grade 1 Clark Handicap.

"There is so much speed in California that you just can't [run him there]," said Baffert. "I just ran him at Churchill [in the Grade 2 Alysheba on May 4] to get him ready for this race. He's been a real favorite in the barn. He's a 7-year-old horse and been around for a long time. He's very healthy and doing so well. 

"He won a Grade 1 in the 2016 Jockey Club Gold Cup and now comes back two years later to win this race," he added. "He likes it here. If you manage him the right way and take your time with him, he's good. He gets a little off kilter sometimes, so we back off with him and begin again."

Hard Study was third, followed by Take Your Guns, Carlino, Backsideofthemoon, Giant Payday, Outplay, and Mills.