Smoke'n Coal impresses on Belmont's closing day

A quartet of stakes events for two-year-olds highlighted the closing day card at

Belmont Park on Sunday.

Darley Stable's SMOKE'N COAL (Smoke Glacken) kicked off the stakes events

with a convincing two-length score in the $74,750

Grand Slam S. under Ramon

Dominguez. The gray colt was never far off the early lead, swept wide into

the stretch and edged clear to complete the six-furlong event in 1:09 2/5 over

the fast main oval. Trained by Tom Albertrani, the $550,000 two-year-old

purchase remained unbeaten from two lifetime tries in upping his bankroll to

$76,950. The winner is a full brother to multiple Grade 2-winning millionaire Smok'n Frolic.

The following race saw freshman fillies traveling six panels in the $77,700

Open Mind S., and it was Johanna Murphy-Leopoldsberger's PORTE BONHEUR

(Hennessy) crossing the line 3 1/2 lengths in front. The David Duggan charge

broke awkwardly, saved ground to the stretch and drew off in an impressive

effort, clocking the six furlongs in 1:11 beneath Mike Luzzi. The chestnut

sports $78,068 in earnings from a 3-2-0-0 mark.

In the $79,950

Swinging Mood S., Live Oak Plantation's REMARKABLE REMY (Hennessy) took the

lead in the stretch and held on gamely to win by a neck beneath Norberto Arroyo,

Jr. The John Kimmel trainee went one mile on the yielding turf to notch her first stakes win, stopping the teletimer in 1:38 1/5.

Third in the Miss Grillo S. most recently, the gray miss improved her career

line to 4-2-0-1, $97,626.

Capping the stakes action was a nose win by Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey's

homebred CANNONBALL (Catienus) in the $79,200

King Cugat S.,

also on the grass. Trained by Wesley Ward and guided home by Jean-Luc Samyn, the

dark bay gelding took over after the opening half-mile and held on gamely, reaching the wire in

1:36 4/5. Unbeaten in two turf starts, the two-year-old bumped his earnings to $77,580 from a 4-2-0-0 lifetime record.