Three weeks ago at Racecourse Pimlico in 1 3/16 miles Preakness Stakes (G1) , National treasures took the reins early under Hall of Fame racer John Velazquez and after unsolicited fractions of :23.95, :48.95 and 1:13.49, proved unable to keep up. He turned down a bid that lasted from Blazing Sevens by head, finished the distance in 1:55.12, with the winner of the Kentucky Derby (G1) magician the third day.
The race contrasted with a hot-paced Kentucky Derby, in which the Triple Crown’s 1 1/4 mile first leg favored those closer, and Mage won by coming up from second place. 16 after half a mile, more than 13 stretched away from the leader.
Now it’s the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes (G1), the final leg of the Triple Crown—scheduled for June 10, provided poor air quality from the wildfire smoke in Canada doesn’t cause the tournament to fail. postpone.
Belmont speed makeup seems more suited to Preakness than Derby. Once again, National Treasure seems to be the one to catch with the predictable medium to slow tempo.
Out of the nine participants, only him and 30-1 long shot Il Miracolo have taken the lead at any stage of their careers, with the latter only doing so in the maiden and allowance race. In the previous five bet races, Il Miracolo has never been in fifth or better at any point, not even finishing.
This leaves National Treasure at an established pace and seems ready to make terms, as long as he soberly leaves the No. 4 spot. Velazquez once again becomes the Bob Baffert coach, who that runners are often asked to use their natural pace.
Understanding the composition of the Belmont field or, by lot, the relationships of other horses may choose to try to get their horses close early.
Coach Brad Cox, moderator Sneakers , angel of the empire And impressions during Saturday’s race, Tapit Shoes said June 6 when there was an inside draw, “We’re going to get him out there to run. We want them all to break out and move on—not that it’s. they all do—but that’s the intention.”
The 3-year-old raced in the second half of the team in the first three starts before showing more positional speed to get closer in the last two starts. It took him a long time to get up to speed as he advanced from fourth to second in the Bath House Row Stakes at Oaklawn Park April 22. He was caught in the final steps of the late running Belmont Stakes participant Red Road One .
Other runners, such as Hit Show and Forte, have speed metrics that show they seem to be able to stay for short periods of time compared to runners, even though they often stalk or focus from the middle group. Hit Show is within the dynamic division of the Derby and Forte scratched from the Kentucky Derby on May 6, could be fresh on his first outing in 10 weeks.
Since the turn of the century, only three horses have won the Belmont wire-to-wire: 2008 Da’Tara and Triple Crown winner American pharaoh (2015), and justification (2018), although many of the early leaders have won minor awards.
Last year, a widely perceived speed advantage contributed to We who Start as a second betting lover. Although the leader passed the odds: 48.49, 1:13.23 and 1:37.74, he could not survive in Belmont, known as the “Test of Champions” , before such class competition. I don’t have an answer when it comes to favors Mo Donegal came to him over long periods of time and he waned to fourth after Mo Donegal, Nest , And Skippylongstocking . The race is timed 2:28.28.
This morning’s favorite game is Forte at 5-2, followed by a slow start Tapit Trice with a score of 3-1 and Angel of Empire, more blinkers, are listed with a score of 7-2. National Treasure, having beaten a less classic field of talent in Preakness other than Mage bounced back quickly, 5-1.
