Belmont Park Notes

NYRA RELEASE —-

Jockey Angel Arroyo registers his 1,000th career win
European shippers Zhukova, The Grey Gatsby adjust well to Belmont
‘Consistent’ Sadler’s Joy will look to bring ‘A’ game in G1 Joe Hirsch
Special events on tap for Joe Hirsch Turf Classic weekend

ELMONT, N.Y. – Jockey Angel Arroyo recorded his 1,000th career victory when 14-1 choice Pico Chick won the opener of Thursday’s card at Belmont Park.

Arroyo piloted Pico Chick ($30.00) to a come-from-behind win, edging out Honor Way by a nose in the six-furlong sprint on the main track to reach the personal milestone.

The 30-year-old started his North American career in 2007, when he had his first winner with Knockoff Firefly on July 23, 2007 at Delaware Park.

“I’m so happy. To get a thousand wins, wow, it’s special,” Arroyo said. “I’m very thankful. It’s taken a long time. My horse was good today. He responded and never quit.”

Arroyo has recorded at least 70 wins in nine straight years, including a career-high 183 in 2012. He won the riding title at Parx that year with 160 winners.

“To win a thousand, that’s a lot of races,” Arroyo said. “I remember getting my first in 2007. Now it’s ten years later, and to get it in Belmont Park, it’s very special and I’m really happy.”

Arroyo has five career graded stakes victories to his credit, guiding Highway Star to a win in this year’s Grade 3 Distaff Handicap and the Grade 2 Ruffian as well as the 2016 Grade 3 Go for Wand. His first graded stakes win came with Classic Point in the 2014 edition of the Go for Wand.

The native of Panama City, Panama earned his first New York win aboard Sax in the City on November 9, 2007 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

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After considering running Zhukova against males in the Grade 1, $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, trainer Dermot Weld said he will run the 5-year-old stakes winner in the Grade 1, $500,000 Flower Bowl for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up on October 8 at Belmont Park.

Zhukova, a 5-year-old Irish-bred daughter of Fastnet Rock, already proved she could beat high-caliber males, winning the Grade 1 Man o’ War by six lengths on May 13 at Belmont. But Weld said the extra time between races – the Joe Hirsch will be run Saturday – as well as the expected firm turf this weekend, encouraged him to run Zhukova in the Flower Bowl, a “Win and You’re In” race for the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf on November 4 at Del Mar.

“We were pleased with her in every way, she ran a good race in the Irish Champion Stakes,” Weld said by phone from Ireland. “This will give us a chance to acclimatize. The travel takes a bit out of her. She’ll appreciate the extra couple of days just to settle in.”

Zhukova finished eighth in the Irish Champion Stakes but has six wins in her last nine starts dating to her 3-year-old campaign in 2015. She arrived at Belmont on Tuesday with stablemate The Grey Gatsby, who drew post 10 in the Joe Hirsch.

Both Zhukova and The Grey Gatsby cleared quarantine Thursday morning without incident and jogged a mile over the Belmont training track shortly after 10 a.m.

“[It was] perfect, it couldn’t have been better. Everything worked out great this time,” said groom Caroline Cashman. “He was very happy out there this morning. He’s used to different surroundings. He was very perky, and she’s been here before so she kind of knew the drill. [She] just followed the pony.”

Cashman said both horses are scheduled to gallop a mile over the main track Friday morning.

The 40th running of the Flower Bowl will also mark Weld’s first starter in the race in 14 years. In his only previous entrant, Weld won the race’s 2003 edition with Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey piloting Dimitrova to victory.

“It’s always a prestigious race and I was fortunate to have won it the only other time I had a runner in it, so it’s good memories,” Weld said.

Weld said Zhukova’s regular jockey Patrick Smullen is a possibility to fly in from Europe to have the call, but if those plans fall through, Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who was in the irons for the Man o’ War victory, will ride.

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Trainer Tom Albertrani said he’s confident that Woodslane Farm’s multiple graded stakes winner Sadler’s Joy is in top form ahead of his start on Saturday in a hotly contested edition of the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park.

The 4-year-old colt by Kitten’s Joy has put in three local breezes since registering a half-length victory in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer on August 26 at Saratoga Race Course, his second stakes win of 2017. Sadler’s Joy hasn’t finished worse than third in six starts this year, with his worst result coming over a yielding turf course in the Grade 1 Man o’ War, where he was nosed out for second and checked in six lengths behind the Irish heroine Zhukova.

“The horse has been training extremely well since he ran in the Sword Dancer,” Albertrani said Thursday morning. “It looks like it’s a pretty competitive field, but this horse has done very well. He’s very consistent; he’s always within a length of winning and losing. I think a good clean trip could certainly get us there again. I feel pretty confident about him going into the race.”

Installed as the third choice on the morning line at odds of 4-1 in the 1 ½-mile grass route, Sadler’s Joy drew post 4 in the Joe Hirsch and will be ridden again by Julien Leparoux, who utilized the colt’s late kick to edge out Money Multiplier in the Sword Dancer.

“I think the mile and a half distance just suits this horse really well,” he said. “I think maybe that’s the biggest factor for him. The distance certainly helps him and if he can get a good trip, he’s got a tremendous turn of foot turning for home. As long as he gets himself clear, he’s going to make his presence felt right there at the end.”

With his Sword Dancer victory, Sadler’s Joy already owns an all-fees-paid berth into the Grade 1, $4 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf on November 4 at Del Mar, which ostensibly relieves some of the pressure ahead of the Joe Hirsch, also a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup.

“The Breeders’ Cup is obviously the next target, depending on a good outcome,” said Albertrani. “It’s not like we have to win but if we come with a good effort and we’re right there, it brings us to the next one. As consistent as he’s been in the past, I don’t see why he shouldn’t come with his ‘A’ game again.

“He’s definitely looked great in his last couple of races,” he added. “I couldn’t be happier with a horse going into a race. I don’t think he’s lost anything since he ran and I just think he seems like he’s staying consistent in his races, which is what I like to see. It’s just a matter of getting there.”

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With a special first post time of 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 30, Belmont Park will host a number of events for Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Day on Saturday and on Sunday, October 1.

The Breakfast at Belmont program returns for the weekend, from 7:30-9:30 a.m., where fans and patrons can enjoy a breakfast buffet while watching thoroughbreds train over historic ‘Big Sandy.’ The Breakfast at Belmont program also includes a free paddock show and starting gate demonstration. A barn area tour will also be offered, weather permitting.

When gates open for entry at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, Belmont Park’s spacious backyard will feature a special “Family Fun Day.” A number of activities for families and children will take place including a reptile show, animal kingdom activity center, face painting, a bounce house and rock wall climbing. Family Fun Day will also return for its usual offering on Sunday and include events such as a petting zoo, pony rides, firetruck slide and carnival games.

On Sunday, October 1, the third annual National Stair Climb for Fallen Firefighters will take place at Belmont Park. Expected to draw over 1,000 firefighters from in and around the New York Metropolitan area, patrons visiting Belmont Park can also participate in the stair climb in honor of the sacrifices of firefighters made on September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center Towers.

Registration will open at 8:30 a.m. in the Red Parking Lot on the 1st floor located at the far end of the Grandstand by the Belmont Long Island Railroad Station. The climb will begin at 10 a.m. and participants will climb the equivalent of 110 stories, covering both stairwells and most of the third-floor Grandstand and Clubhouse to symbolize the steps of the Twin Towers. Following the climb, participants will be treated to an afternoon barbecue buffet at the Top of the Stretch.

Registrations costs for the third annual National Stair Climb are as follows: $35 for only the climb; $50 for the climb and barbecue buffet after party; $50 for supporters and after party; $35 for the after party only for ages 16 and up, and $25 for the after party for children ages 4-15. Children 3 and under are free.