Pletcher holds strong hand in Champagne, Frizette

Shanghai Bobby will look to continue his dominance of the East Coast juvenile

division on Saturday while taking on some familiar faces as well as a few

newcomers in the Grade 1, $400,000

Champagne at Belmont Park. The Harlan's Holiday colt brings a perfect

three-for-three mark into the one-mile contest, and will try to use the race as

a springboard to Breeders' Cup Juvenile glory and year-end championship honors.

Following an easy four-length romp in his maiden debut at Aqueduct in

mid-April, Shanghai Bobby wasn't seen in competition again until showing up at

Belmont for a one-length score in the Track Barron Stakes for trainer Todd

Pletcher on June 27. The dark bay earned a nice 103 BRIS Speed rating for that

one and returned during the Saratoga meet to take the Grade 2 Hopeful by 3 3/4

lengths.

Shanghai Bobby recorded a pair of nice moves since that last one and will

keep jockey Rosie Napravnik aboard for the Champagne.

Fortify and Bern Identity did their best to run down Shanghai Bobby in the

Hopeful lane, but wound up second and third, respectively, in that seven-furlong

contest. The former, a Distorted Humor bay conditioned by Kiaran McLaughlin,

entered the Hopeful off a 5 1/2-length maiden debut win just a month earlier at

the Spa. He had Joe Bravo aboard for both those starts but will be getting a

jockey switch to Ramon Dominguez

Just like the Champagne, a field of seven juvenile fillies will line up in

the Grade 1, $400,000

Frizette one race earlier on Belmont's Saturday card. Leading the group is

yet another undefeated Pletcher trainee in Dreaming of Julia.

The A.P. Indy miss has dominated her two races thus far, breaking her maiden

by 10 1/2 lengths before a 16 1/4-length frolic around the track in the Meadow

Star Stakes on September 9. Dreaming of Julia won that latter event at the

Frizette distance of a mile, and keeps Velazquez aboard for her graded debut.

My Happy Face will be looking for her first stakes win in the Frizette, and

the Rudy Rodriguez pupil could upset the likely favorite under Dominguez. The

Tiz Wonderful gray lass ran second in her career bow at Saratoga, but returned

with a 21 1/4-length canter to break her maiden one month later.

Also in with a chance to upset Dreaming of Julia is Sweet Shirley Mae, a

daughter of Broken Vow who ran second in the Grade 1 Spinaway last out, as well

as Carameaway, a Lawyer Ron chestnut miss who broke her maiden by 8 3/4 lengths

at Belmont on September 13.