Belmont Notebook

BELMONT NOTEBOOK

JULY 10, 2015

by John Mucciolo

Six outstanding graded races were held at Belmont Park.

Belmont Oaks (G1): Sheep Pond Partners' LADY ELI (Divine Park) swept outside

in early stretch and delivered a punishing late run to dominate her foes by 2

3/4 lengths. The Chad Brown pupil, who is unbeaten from six starts, clocked 1

1/4 miles on the firm turf course in a superb 1:59 1/5 with Irad Ortiz Jr. along

for the ride.

Belmont Derby (G1): Richard Santulli's FORCE THE PASS (Speightstown) swept

to the front with a big move entering the lane and never gave his foes a chance,

securing a decisive 3 3/4-length score with Joe Rosario in the silks. The rising

colt traveled the 10 panels on the firm turf oval in 2:01 for trainer Alan

Goldberg.

Suburban H. (G2): Tri-Bone Stables' EFFINEX (Mineshaft) put in a bid in

early stretch and and gamely held off multiple Grade 1-winning Belmont

specialist Tonalist (Tapit) late en route to a head victory for conditioner

James Jerkens. The four-year-old Empire State-bred got 1 1/4 miles on the fast

main strip in 2:01 2/5 with Junior Alvarado.

Dwyer S. (G2): WinStar Farm's homebred SPEIGHTSTER (Speightstown) tracked in

second, wrangled a minor edge at the top of the lane and finished with good

energy to post a 2 1/2-length tally beneath Jose Lezcano. The well-bred

sophomore colt negotiated one mile on the fast main strip in 1:35 for trainer

Bill Mott.

Belmont Sprint Championship (G3): Good Friends Stable's PRIVATE ZONE (Macho

Uno) took command a few jumps out of the gate and was never in danger, recording

a 3 1/4-length victory under the guidance of Martin Pedroza. The six-year-old

gelding finished off seven panels on the fast main oval in 1:22 2/5 for trainer

Jorge Navarro.

Victory Ride S. (G3): Trainer Derek Ryan's IRISH JASPER (First Defence) was

last early, began to pick up momentum approaching the turn for home and then put

in a huge late burst to bag this one going away by three lengths. The sophomore

miss got 6 1/2 panels on the fast main oval in 1:16 3/5 with Javier Castellano.

Track Stats

A total of 47 races were held at the Elmont, New York venue, with favorites

winning at a 45 percent rate and the top two betting choices combining for 62

percent of the wins during the week. From 23 races on the main oval, two animals

won in wire-to-wire fashion (9 percent), while six of the 24 grassy races were

taken all the way on the lead (25 percent).

Speed was not a big edge on the dirt this week but with so many favorites

coming in, we can't say the oval was overly biased. It seemed best to be

tracking the pace a few lengths off the rail, though, in our view.

Five of the six wire jobs on the turf came in route events, with just one

occurring in a sprint.

Meet Totals

RACES:		459
DIRT:		245
TURF:		214
FAVORITES:		178 (39 percent)
2ND CHOICES:		101 (22 percent)
TURF WIRE:		40 (19 percent)
DIRT WIRE:		59 (24 percent)

HORSES TO WATCH

Thursday (7/2)

5TH -- HINT OF SARCASM (Justenuffhumor) had no chance in the latter stages

behind a sharp winner but the first timer still ran well and should be

graduating with slight improvement.

6TH -- CAPRIANA (Street Boss) took a short lead in early stretch and poured

it on late in a powerful 10 1/4-length allowance score for conditioner Todd

Pletcher. The three-year-old filly is now unbeaten from a pair of lifetime runs

and could evolve into any kind.

Friday (7/3)

5TH -- SWEAR BY IT (Broken Vow) made it two straight to kickstart her career

and looks to be of stakes quality for trainer Chad Brown. The four-year-old

filly rated behind dawdling splits, but still overpowered the field late and we

like her going forward.

7TH -- SHORE RUNNER (More Than Ready) ran off to a big win in this turf dash

and should be stakes bound in the very near future. The Joe Sharp claim dons a

solid 7-3-3-0 lifetime mark on the lawn and should likely stay on the surface

for the time being.

9TH -- BOLD PRINT (Read the Footnotes) took a short lead approaching the turn

for home and held off the odds-on choice in the lane, inching away to a decisive

tally for trainer Gary Sciacca. Tab the New York-bred to be a major player next

time out.

Saturday (7/4)

1ST -- PAYNES PRAIRIE (Tale of Ekati) took over readily at the top of the

lane and strode home a facile winner in this maiden dash for trainer Steve

Asmussen. The juvenile colt has run huge in two straight and could be a big

player in the stakes ranks this summer.

4TH -- MATROOH (Distorted Humor) made it two in succession, and three-of-four

overall, since coming to the states and conditioner Chad Brown. The

five-year-old gelding is another who is likely heading for a graded stakes next

time out.

7TH -- TEXAS RED (Afleet Alex) was a clear second in his first run since

February and the Grade 1-winning Keith Desormeaux charge should be all set for a

big run next time with this one under his belt.

Sunday (7/5)

6TH -- POINT ROLL (Point Given) showed no signs of rust in his first run in

more than 11 months in taking this group all the way on the front end for

trainer Christophe Clement. The five-year-old gelding flashed some ability last

campaign and could be set for a useful second half of the season with expected

improvement.

A Look Ahead

There is no graded racing on tap at Belmont this week.