Belmont Park Notes

NYRA PRESS OFFICE —-

Newspaperofrecord, Instilled Regard eye Grade 1 glory at Belmont
G1 Runhappy Metropolitan and G1 Whitney are options for Code of Honor
Vekoma could return in G1 Runhappy Metropolitan
Endorsed in good order following runner-up effort in G3 Westchester
Max Player to breeze Saturday in preparation for G1 Belmont Stakes
Multiple G1-winner Mind Control will target G1 Vanderbilt
Cross Country Pick 5 handles $133K
Belmont spring/summer Week 2 Stakes probables

ELMONT, N.Y. – Four-time Eclipse Award winning trainer Chad Brown is off to a sensational start at the 25-day Belmont Park spring/summer meet, capturing two of the four graded stakes carded Saturday.

Brown said Sunday morning both stakes winners emerged from their triumphs in good order.

Grade 3 Intercontinental winner Newspaperofrecord, who raced for the first time in 11 months, notched her first victory since a sensational 6 ¾-length romp in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in November 2018. She will target the Grade 1, $300,000 Just a Game on June 27 at Belmont, a race which could also feature her stablemate Uni.

The 4-year-old daughter of Lope de Vega, now unbeaten on yielding turf in four attempts, garnered a career-best 103 Beyer Speed Figure for the triumph in the seven-furlong Intercontinental over the Widener turf course and led a Brown-trained superfecta, rounded out by graded stakes winners Regal Glory, Significant Form and Viadera, who was making her first start in North America.

Brown’s superstar turf miler Rushing Fall, who captured the Grade 3 Beaugay on Wednesday on Belmont’s Opening Day, will target the Grade 1, $350,000 Jenny Wiley on July 11 at Keeneland Race Course.

“They look fine,” Brown said. “She ran great and came back super this morning so I’m happy about that.”

Brown will be targeting a fourth consecutive win in the one-mile Just a Game having previously saddled Antonoe (2017), A Raving Beauty (2018) and Rushing Fall (2019) to victory.

Owned by Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables, Newspaperofrecord went unbeaten in all three of her juvenile efforts, but was winless in three sophomore starts.

Brown also saddled OXO Equine’s Instilled Regard in Saturday’s Grade 2 Fort Marcy over late-closing stable mate Devamani. Brown said Instilled Regard, a 5-year-old son of Arch, could race back in the Grade 1, $400,000 Manhattan on July 4.

“I’d like to get back up to a-mile-and-a-quarter and see how he does,” said Brown, a five-time winner of the Manhattan.

Brown used last year’s Manhattan as a resume builder for subsequent Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar.

Instilled Regard, a graded stakes winner on both dirt and turf, recorded a 102 Beyer for the win making amends following a sixth in the Grade 2 Muniz Memorial Classic at Fair Grounds.

A $1,050,000 acquisition from the Ocala Breeders Sales Company’s 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in March 2017, Instilled Regard is out of the Forestry broodmare Enhancing whose dam was 1994 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Heavenly Prize.

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G1 Runhappy Metropolitan and G1 Whitney are options for Code of Honor

Two-time Grade 1-winner Code of Honor made a winning return in Saturday’s Grade 3 Westchester. Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey said the colt is possible for the Grade 1, $500,000 Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap on July 4 at Belmont Park.

Owned by W.S. Farish, the 4-year-old son of Noble Mission, racing over a muddy track, made a sweeping move around the far turn before confronting four-time winner Endorsed at the top of the stretch. The duo battled gamely to the wire with Code of Honor notching a half-length score, while recording a 101 Beyer for his 2020 debut.

McGaughey also discussed the possibility of racing Code of Honor, who won last year’s Grade 1 Runhappy Travers and Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, in the Grade 1 Whitney Handicap at Saratoga.

“He seems to be fine,” McGaughey said. “He looked good yesterday after the race and he looked good this morning. I’ll look at the Met Mile and see what the stakes schedule at Saratoga looks like. He had a very good winter and the time off really seemed to help him.”

McGaughey and Farish teamed up to win the 2015 edition of the Met Mile and Whitney with Honor Code.

Code of Honor, who was elevated to second in last year’s Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, has won four of his last five outings since that performance with his only loss taking place in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita, where he was seventh. The Westchester was a fifth graded stakes win for the talented chestnut, whose first win at such caliber was in last year’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park.

A Kentucky homebred, Code of Honor is out of the graded stakes-winning Dixie Union broodmare Reunited.

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Vekoma could return in G1 Runhappy Metropolitan

Owner Randy Hill of R. A. Hill Stables was full of praise the morning after Vekoma notched a highly impressive Grade 1 triumph in the Runhappy Carter at Belmont Park.

In victory, Vekoma earned a “Win and You’re In” berth into the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint on November 7 at Keeneland through the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series.

Owned by Hill in partnership with Gatsas Sables and trained by George Weaver, Vekoma registered a 110 Beyer Speed Figure in the seven-furlong Carter, where he broke sharply from his outside post under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, tracked pacesetter American Anthem and powered down the stretch to a 7 ¼-length victory.

Hill said the Grade 1, $500,000 Runhappy Metropolitan, which offers a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, is in play for the 4-year-old son of Candy Ride but emphasized that the end goal is the Breeders’ Cup in either the Sprint or Dirt Mile.

“He owned them, and it wasn’t an easy race,” said Hill, who also won the Game Face at Gulfstream Park with Up in Smoke on Saturday afternoon. “We’re thinking about the Met Mile but the ultimate goal is the Breeders’ Cup. George has done such a great job with this horse and whatever he says is what we’ll end up doing. I thought he was a stallion prospect after he won the race at Keeneland last year but yesterday’s race made him even more valuable.”

Vekoma won the Grade 2 Blue Grass at Keeneland in April 2019.

Bred in Kentucky by Alpha Delta Stable, Vekoma is out of the Grade 1-winning Speightstown broodmare Mona de Momma.

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Endorsed in good order following runner-up effort in G3 Westchester

Godolphin homebred Endorsed posted a hard-fought second to favored Code of Honor in Saturday’s Grade 3 Westchester in just his second start under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Bill Mott.

Previously campaigned by Kiaran McLaughlin, Endorsed won an optional-claiming tilt at Oaklawn Park for Mott in advance of Saturday’s seven-furlong test. Sent to post as the 3-1 second choice, jockey Joel Rosario made a bold rail move on the backstretch and was in command through the turn when Code of Honor, under Hall of Famer John Velazquez, rallied into contention.

Despite the early move, Endorsed dug in gamely and finished just a half-length back of Code of Honor.

Leana Willaford, Mott’s New York-based assistant said she was impressed by the effort.

“The opening was there and I think he wanted to put a little ground on Johnny’s horse since he was the one to beat,” said Willaford. “Sometimes, it’s best to take the initiative. He hung in there tough and ran a really good race.”

Willaford said Endorsed came out of the race in good order.

Pam and Martin Wygod’s Modernist is back at Belmont Park to continue preparation for the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, slated for Saturday, June 20.
The dark bay son of Uncle Mo graduated in January at Aqueduct ahead of a score in a division of the Grade 2 Risen Star at Fair Grounds. Last out, Modernist completed the trifecta in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 21.

Modernist breezed five furlongs in 1:01.60 on June 2 at Payson Park Training Center in Florida before shipping back to New York.

“He’s been back for about four days. He’s been out to the track and galloped a couple of times, I’m happy with him,” said Willaford.

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Max Player to breeze Saturday in preparation for G1 Belmont Stakes

George E. Hall’s Max Player will post his final breeze in preparation for the Belmont Stakes on Saturday.

The lightly-raced Max Player is currently 37th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 10 points and will look to add to those totals in the Belmont Stakes which offers 150-60-30-15 Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

The talented colt won the nine-furlong Grade 3 Withers last out on February 1 at the Big A and trainer Linda Rice said Max Player has matured since the impressive effort.

“He’s doing very well,” said Rice. “The time off wasn’t ideal but he’s certainly matured and improved in his training, and he will have to, because he’ll be running in some very tough company. We have a lot of important 3-year-old races coming up in the next 60-90 days, so I’m glad we have a fresh horse.”

Max Player closed to finish second on debut in November at Parx in a one-mile maiden and graduated at second asking on December 17 over a sloppy Parx surface ahead of his Withers win.

Rice said she is hoping for a strong pace in the Belmont Stakes, which will be contested at nine furlongs as the first leg of the Triple Crown.

“I’m hoping there will be enough speed in there to set up an honest pace, but frankly it’s a matter of quality. It’s a very good group of horses and we’re excited to give it a go,” said Rice.

Rice said she will look forward to stretching the Honor Code colt out in distance later this summer at Saratoga.

“A mile and a quarter should be no problem for him,” said Rice.

New York-bred La Kara Mia, the first foal of the late Eclipse Award-winning New York-bred La Verdad, finished eighth in her June 4 debut in a six-furlong maiden turf sprint at Belmont Park.

Rice said the Lady Sheila Stable homebred will be given more ground to work with next time out.

“She’s going to need longer. Whether that is turf or dirt I’m still undecided,” said Rice. “I just wanted to get a run in her. Her mother got beat first time out too.”

Darlene Bilinski and Harry Patten’s New York-bred Prince of Pharoahs graduated by five lengths at second asking in a one-turn mile in October at Belmont. The dark bay American Pharoah colt finished second in the one-mile Jerome on New Year’s Day at the Big A, but landed sixth when stretched out to nine furlongs in the Withers in search of graded black type.

Initially pointed to the $100,000 Mike Lee at seven furlongs for Empire State-bred sophomores on June 14, Rice said Prince of Pharoahs incurred a minor ankle issue and requires some time off.

“I decided to give him a little time,” said Rice. “He’s a pretty nice colt and we want to make sure we take care of him.”

Wicked Trick, a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Hat Trick owned by Rice with Stephen G. Cooper, enjoyed a strong 2019 campaign winning five-of-nine starts. Rice said the gelding is targeting the Grade 2, $150,000 True North, a 6 1/2-furlong test slated for June 27.

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Multiple G1-winner Mind Control will target G1 Vanderbilt

Trainer Gregg Sacco said his dual Grade 1-winner Mind Control failed to handle a sloppy Belmont surface when sixth in Saturday’s Grade 1 Runhappy Carter Handicap.

Mind Control captured the Grade 1 Hopeful as a juvenile and the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens in August. He entered Saturday’s test off of Grade 3 wins in the Toboggan and Tom Fool Handicap at Aqueduct.

With Hall of Famer John Velazquez up, Mind Control tracked from fourth position in the early running of Saturday’s seven-furlong sprint but failed to fire when asked.
“He didn’t like the track. He just didn’t grab a hold of it and Johnny said he was spinning his wheels,” said Sacco. “He broke sharp and Johnny said he was going to track Vekoma, but when the running started he just wouldn’t pick up his feet.”

Sacco said Mind Control, owned by Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables, came out of the race in good order and will train into the Grade 1 Vanderbilt at Saratoga.

“He came back well and scoped clean, so we’ll move on and point to Saratoga for the Vanderbilt,” said Sacco.

Michael Fazio and Jeff Fazio’s Joevia, a strong third in the 2019 Belmont Stakes, was a prominent fourth off the layoff in Saturday’s Grade 3 Westchester, which saw Runhappy Travers winner Code of Honor best improving four-time winner Endorsed.

The Shanghai Bobby colt underwent surgery to correct a breathing issue following an off-the-board effort in the Stymie on March 7 at the Big A and Sacco said he was impressed with Joevia’s return effort.

“It looks like he’s back on track. It was a hot tempo but he hung in there,” said Sacco. “The top two are Grade 1 horses and he’s probably a cut below them. He cooled out super and I think the breathing issues are behind us.

“I think he’ll be better at longer distances from a mile and an eighth to a mile and a quarter,” continued Sacco. “He pressed a hot pace and hung on pretty good. The top three finishers came from off the pace. We’ll pick something out for him at Belmont or Saratoga.”

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Cross Country Pick 5 handles $133K

Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5, featuring racing from Belmont Park and Churchill Downs, returned $127.50 for correctly selecting all five winners for the 50-cent wager, with $133,139 wagered in total.

The sequence started when Code of Honor lived up to his status as the favorite, winning the Grade 3, $100,000 Westchester for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey. Ridden by a fellow Hall of Famer in jockey John Velazquez, Code of Honor returned $4.50 on a $2 win wager in Belmont’s Race 7.

Newspaperofrecord led a Chad Brown-trained superfecta in the next leg, posting a four-length score in the Grade 3, $100,000 Intercontinental over the yielding Belmont widener turf course in Race 8. The Irish-bred Newspaperofrecord paid $4.70.

Action shifted to Kentucky for the third leg, with High Crime ($5.80) winning a 5 ½-furlong turf sprint allowance at Churchill.

The penultimate leg saw a return to the Big Apple and stakes action, with Vekoma drawing away impressively over a sloppy and sealed Belmont main track to win the Grade 1, $250,000 Runhappy Carter by 7 ¼ lengths under Hall of Fame rider Javier Castellano in Race 9. Vekoma, the betting favorite trained by George Weaver, paid $5.30.

Churchill was the site of the finale, with Four Graces winning the Grade 3, $100,000 Dogwood. Trained by Ian Wilkes, Four Graces paid $6.60 for capturing the seven-furlong dirt sprint for sophomores.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on track, on ADW platforms, and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

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Belmont spring/summer Week 2 Stakes probables

Saturday, June 13
Grade 1, $300,000 Ogden Phipps
Probable: Blamed (Bill Mott); Ollie’s Candy (John Sadler); Pink Sands (Shug McGaughey); Point of Honor (George Weaver); She’s a Julie (Steve Asmussen)
Possible: Golden Award (Mott)

Sunday, June 14
$100,000 Mike Lee
Probable: Bourbon Bay (Mark Hennig); Cleon Jones (Jeremiah Englehart); Dream Bigger (Todd Pletcher); Gandy Dancing (Chad Brown); Mission Wrapitup (Brown); Three Jokers (John Terranova)
Possible: City Man (Christophe Clement); Listentoyourheart (Clement)

Early look at the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes
Saturday, June 20
Probable (9): Basin (Steve Asmussen), Dr Post (Todd Pletcher), Farmington Road (Pletcher), Gouverneur Morris (Pletcher), Max Player (Linda Rice), Modernist (Bill Mott), Sole Volante (Patrick Biancone), Tap It to Win (Mark Casse), Tiz the Law (Barclay Tagg)
Possible (3): Maxfield (Brendan Walsh), Ny Traffic (Saffie Joseph, Jr.), Pneumatic (Steve Asmussen)