Belmont Park Notes – 06/08

NYRA PRESS OFFICE —-

Belmont Park Notes

Long Island native Dylan Davis excited for opportunity to ride in first G1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets
Godolphin contenders loom large at Belmont Stakes Racing Festival
Ortiz happy to be home with G1 Belmont Stakes contender Barber Road
Belief a wise wager for St. Lewis with 50-1 shot Informative in G1 Met Mile
Rich Strike takes one lap around training track in Wednesday gallop
Jockey colony autograph signing on Friday to benefit PDJF

ELMONT, N.Y. – Jockey Dylan Davis, currently the leading rider at the Belmont Park spring/summer meet, will have his first mount in a Triple Crown race when piloting Golden Glider in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets.

Davis, a native of Manhasset, N.Y., earned his first Grade 1 victory last October aboard Mutamakina in Woodbine’s E.P. Taylor. His upward trajectory continued into the fall and winter in New York with Davis capturing his first NYRA circuit riding title at the Aqueduct Racetrack winter meet.

Trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, who saddled 2019 Belmont Stakes winner Sir Winston, Golden Glider arrives at the “Test of the Champion” off a runner-up finish to 2-1 morning line favorite We the People in the Grade 3 Peter Pan on May 14. Sir Winston also arrived at the Belmont Stakes from a runner-up effort in the Peter Pan.

“It feels great. I’m excited and I’m rearing to go. Thanks go out to Mark Casse for letting me ride in my first Belmont,” said Davis, who guided Golden Glider in his most recent effort. “I ride for a lot of guys on the backstretch so I can’t say enough about them. I’m back leading again through the Belmont meet, and this has been my best year yet in my career. I’m always trying to thrive and do better.”

Owned by Gary Barber, Manfred Conrad and Penny Conrad, Golden Glider was a close fifth down the backstretch in the Peter Pan, just 3 1/2 lengths off pacesetting We the People. Golden Glider battled gamely to the inside of two others for second in a three-horse photo for place honors.

Davis expressed optimism in his horse despite Golden Glider’s 20-1 morning line odds.

“I’m really high on my horse,” Davis said. “He’s a stalker. When I rode him in the Peter Pan, what I liked about him was that when he was able to switch off. I think that’s the key to getting the distance with him, is being able to switch off.”

Davis said Golden Glider is likely to be prominent.

“It looks like he’s going to be somewhat forwardly-placed and then we’ll take it from there. He’s going to run his ‘A’ game. He’s been training well and everything,” Davis said. “I’m just trying to ride a nice, steady, honest race. I don’t want to get too crazy early, but at the same time I want to get some position. I really think he’ll be there for me down the lane.”

While Davis was not aboard Sir Winston in his Belmont coup, he did pilot the horse to an allowance triumph the following winter at Aqueduct.

“I loved that race. He was great to ride,” Davis said. “He came with an explosive run. He was maybe next-to-last and came with a strong kick. Man, it was nice to have a horse like that underneath me. It’s just Mark giving me the trust to ride horses like that. I read where Mark said he will have a similar style to Sir Winston when he won. He was fairly close up in the Belmont.”

Golden Glider is by champion and prolific sire Ghostzapper, whose sire Awesome Again produced Sir Winston.

“The Peter Pan was run over a good and sealed track and that day the speed was holding, so it was tough to close,” Davis said. “I feel like right now, Golden Glider is more of a steady-paced horse. Maybe Sir Winston has a stronger closing kick. The biggest similarity is that they’ll always give you a kick down the lane.”

Davis is no stranger to riding winners for the Casse barn, having piloted New York-bred filly Make Mischief to victory in the Critical Eye Handicap last month.

He credited both Casse as well as his New York-based assistant Shane Tripp for being instrumental to his success.

“Shane is a great guy. He gives me free rein when I ride. He’ll say, ‘You got a plan? OK, sounds good. Go execute,’” Davis said. “It just gives me a lot of confidence to know that I’m in control out there and I can do what I think is right for the moment. A guy like Mark Casse is giving me opportunities and I’m just trying to do the best I can.”

Davis also credited Christophe Clement, trainer of Mutamakina, for giving him plentiful opportunities. In addition to the E.P. Taylor, Davis rode Mutamakina to three other graded stakes scores.

“Christophe Clement really took to me into the fall last year, giving me my first Grade 1 and plenty of winners through Belmont,” Davis said. “He really gave me the momentum I needed through the winter and helped me win my first riding title.”

With the Belmont Stakes taking place at his home track, Davis knows he’ll have plenty of support on Saturday.

“I got a lot of people rooting for me and it feels great that I’m in my hometown riding in the biggest race on this track,” Davis said.

***
Godolphin contenders loom large at Belmont Stakes Racing Festival

Global racing and breeding powerhouse Godolphin has been well-celebrated over the past few years, churning out European standouts in dual Dubai World Cup champ Thunder Snow, Epsom Derby and King George winner Adayar and world champion 2-year-old Pinatubo.

At the Breeders’ Cup, Godolphin’s Europe-based invaders Talismanic [2017 Turf] for trainer Andre Fabre and Charlie Appleby’s onslaught of Wuheida [2017 Filly & Mare Turf], Line of Duty [2018 Juvenile Turf] and an unprecedented 1-2-3 Del Mar-Dubawi punch in 2021 of Modern Games [Juvenile Turf], Space Blues [Mile] and Yibir [Turf] proved that it can cross the pond to make a big splash. But in the United States, its success has visibly been less periodic flash and more deliberate foundation.

From its operations base at 800-acre Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s US team has doubled down on breeding top-class runners and infusing classic substance into its bloodlines, resulting in Eclipse Awards for Outstanding Breeder in 2021 and Outstanding Owner in both 2020 and 2021.

In 2021, in particular, Belmont Stakes and Runhappy Travers winner Essential Quality topped a superb season that also saw Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide and Eclipse Award Older Dirt Male finalist Maxfield elevate the operation to more than $17 million in earnings.

In 2022, the trend continues with nine graded stakes wins – two Grade 1s – and a well-spread arsenal of homebreds coming into the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival with serious chances.

“We’re having a fantastic season and coming off a great year,” said Director of Bloodstock Michael Banahan, who has been with Godolphin for 28 years. “We’re hitting on all straps again and to have horses competing this well and on big days like this is fantastic. From breeding and raising, to our pre-trainers to our trainers getting it done on the racetrack, it’s great to see and we look forward to hopefully having another strong year, especially as we have some horses doing well that weren’t quite ready last year when we had horses like Essential Quality, Maxfield and Mystic Guide running.”

Three of those runners, in particular, hold considerable claims on Saturday in Grade 1 company. The Brad Cox-trained Matareya, a third-generation homebred daughter of Pioneer of the Nile, has climbed the ladder this spring with style, winning the Grade 3 Beaumont at Keeneland prior to a powerful victory in Churchill Downs’ Grade 2 Eight Belles last out.

She comes into the Grade 1, $500,000 Acorn, a one-turn mile for sophomore fillies, as the main threat to reigning champion 2-year-old filly Echo Zulu.

“She’s performed really well in her last two starts and the one turn really seems to suit her,” Banahan said. “We were hoping that she would be an Oaks filly when she was a 2-year-old, but then we realized that she wanted to sprint and was just a one-turn filly. You can see she improved dramatically once we kept her at one turn and that’s indicated in her numbers. We’re running her in the right places and she’s really training well.”

Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap, which offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in November at Keeneland, is considered the race of the year for many fans, as California’s undefeated invader Flightline takes on Speaker’s Corner, a second-generation Godolphin homebred by Godolphin stallion Street Sense for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

The swift grandson of 2006 Breeders’ Cup Distaff champ Round Pond [a $5.75 million sale purchase by Sheikh Mohammed in 2007] has reeled off one-sided wins in the Grade 3 Fred W. Hooper and Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile at Gulfstream Park and the Grade 1 Carter Handicap in April at Aqueduct – the last effort earning him the highest Beyer Speed Figure [114] of any horse in America this year.

“The Met Mile has been our long-term goal for the first half of the season with him,” Banahan said. “He has really progressed through the ranks and has improved from Gulfstream to the Carter. His numbers indicate that he should be a leading player this weekend, but he must have his running shoes on, taking on a horse like Flightline and a Breeders’ Cup [Sprint] winner in Aloha West.

“I would imagine Flightline is probably going to jump out of there running and in California he showed plenty of speed, so we could sit off him if we have to,” he continued. “At the same time, if we break the best, we will be more than happy to get a lead on him. May the best horse win!”

Santin is the newest Godolphin Grade 1 winner for the Brendan Walsh barn that campaigned Maxfield to an 8-for-11, dual Grade 1-winning career. A homebred son of Distorted Humor and Godolphin’s dual NYRA Grade 2 winner Sentiero Italia, he exits a gritty victory in the Grade 1 Old Forester Turf Classic at Churchill Downs—just his sixth career start and second in top-tier company following a second in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby in just his third start last December.

“He’s doing very well and we’re very happy with him. He jumped up in class quickly for us last year in just his third race and ran a great race to place in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby,” Banahan said. “Then he had a couple good races at the Fair Grounds where he was learning on the job and running against some Grade 1 and Grade 2 winners with 20 starts to their names. Last out, it finally came all together for him and the blinkers helped him focus and he ran a big race at Churchill Downs. We’re hopeful he will run another big race. The 10 furlongs looks like it will be in his wheelhouse, but we will know a lot more this weekend. He was really reaching for the line in the Old Forester and he tries hard every time. He’s a big player in the race.”

Banahan said building excellence has long been the business and focus of Godolphin USA.

“It’s fantastic to see these horses do well, especially being homebreds,” Banahan said. “It is also satisfying for three different trainers to have opportunities to win Grade 1 races. These three horses in particular are very exciting because two are first foals and one is a second foal of mares we still have on the farm, so you have a whole career with those broodmares in front of you. It’s very satisfying and we are hopeful for a great day on Saturday and hopefully another great year.”
***
Ortiz happy to be home with G1 Belmont Stakes contender Barber Road

WSS Racing’s Barber Road, listed at odds of 10-1 in Saturday’s Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, has only just arrived in New York. But his trainer, former Elmont-resident John Ortiz, is hopeful of a homecoming to remember.

“I moved to New York when I was five,” said Ortiz, a native of Colombia. “I went to Gotham Avenue Elementary and then to Elmont Memorial High School.

“As a kid, I spent as much time as I possibly could at Belmont. I remember leaving after school to run to the backside,” he added. “I got my first job there with Bill Mott and started hotwalking with him.”

His father, Carlos, a former jockey, galloped horses for Mott and a young Ortiz was keen to follow in the family tradition, learning the ropes on a multiple stakes placed mare named Brown Eyed Lass under the watchful eye of the Hall of Fame conditioner.

“I got on my first racehorse for Bill Mott,” Ortiz said. “He took me on the track with the pony and we jogged together for the first time. I was hooked ever since.”

Ortiz worked his way up the ranks and in 2016, at the age of 30, he launched his own training career, saddling his first winner at Turfway Park that December. He has based his stable mainly in Kentucky and Arkansas, achieving his first graded stakes success when Zulu Alpha captured the 2019 Grade 3 Sycamore at Keeneland.

Barber Road, by Race Day, has lifted the young conditioner’s profile to another level, closing to hit the board in four consecutive Road to the Kentucky Derby prep races at Oaklawn Park. The grinding colt earned placings in the Smarty Jones [2nd], Grade 3 Southwest [2nd], Grade 2 Rebel [3rd] and Grade 1 Arkansas Derby [2nd].

Last out, he closed from last-of-20 and 19 lengths off the pace under Reylu Gutierrez to finish sixth with a wide run down the lane in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 7 at Churchill Downs, finishing just 4 3/4-lengths in arrears of 80-1 upset winner Rich Strike.

“I’ve seen a big maturity boost in him leaving the Kentucky Derby,” Ortiz said. “He finally got that stretch run with no interference and even though he went wide, I was happy to see him able to run in the clear. You could see how hard he was closing. He moved at the same time as Rich Strike- he went to the inside and we went outside, but we were only four lengths short. That gave our horse the strength and fitness we were looking for. He looks more athletic after the Kentucky Derby.”

Barber Road will exit the outside post 8 on Saturday under new rider Joel Rosario, a two-time Belmont Stakes winner.

“I love where we drew on the far outside. We have plenty of stretch to get settled in early in the race,” Ortiz said. “Hopefully, we can get into the right position going into the first turn.

“We’re giving our horse the best shot he can possibly take here with Joel, who is a very experienced local rider,” added Ortiz. “He’s a great match for this horse and this race.”

Ortiz said he is appreciative of Barber Road’s tenacious character.

“He’s hard-knocker and out there to please. You know he’s always giving it all,” Ortiz said. “He trains happily and when he runs, he enjoys it. All I can ask going into a race like this is that they’re fit, happy and sound – I got all three of them and that gives me confidence.”

Ultimately, Ortiz said he would love to see Barber Road win after so many close efforts.

“I want to win for the horse,” Ortiz said. “I like to see horses win because I know how hard they work out in the mornings. It’s not just a human thing. The horses deserve to be recognized for their success and that’s why we take win pictures at the end. They know when they win and I think this horse deserves a shot.”

Ortiz is emotional when speaking about the opportunity to be represented in Saturday’s “Test of the Champion.”

“I’m beyond thankful to be participating in the Belmont Stakes,” Ortiz said. “It’s a race I’ve loved and looked forward to since I was a kid. I grew up in Elmont, New York, so it’s a hometown race for me.

“Belmont is the biggest reason why I am the trainer I am today but also the person I am today,” he continued. “I did all my growing up in Elmont and on the backside of Belmont Park. It’s coming full circle.”

And as for his chances of winning and getting Barber Road that well-deserved stakes win photo?

“I think we can expect some of Joel’s magic,” said Ortiz, with a laugh.

***
Belief a wise wager for St. Lewis with 50-1 shot Informative in G1 Met Mile

Not too many people believed Uriah St. Lewis had a chance we he sent out 45-1 shot Discreet Lover to an upset win in the 2018 Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park. But the Repent bay proved the doubters wrong, rallying to a neck score over Thunder Snow as the second longest shot on the board in the eight-horse field.

On Saturday, Informative, listed at 50-1 on the morning line, will only have to beat four other horses to pull off an unlikely upset in the Grade 1, $1 million Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap, which offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in November at Keeneland.

“People will always try to discourage you, but in horse racing every horse has a chance if they’re in the race. This race is going to be tough, but I think he has as good a chance as any of them if the race sets up right,” St. Lewis said.

To do the unthinkable, Informative will need to rally past two of the fastest horses in the country in the undefeated Grade 1-winner Flightline [post 1, 3-5ML, 124 pounds] and multiple graded stakes winner Speaker’s Corner [post 2, 8-5ML, 125 pounds].

But St. Lewis believes the one-turn mile for 3-year-olds and up might set up for his deep-closing charge, especially with Informative getting in light at just 116 pounds.

“I expect two horses to hook each other and go pretty, pretty fast – maybe 44 or 43 and change. Going a mile, I think we should be OK,” St. Lewis said. “That’s what we expect up front and hopefully he can take it from there.”

Informative finished off-the-board in his seasonal debut in May at Belmont in the Grade 3 Westchester, racing evenly off a five-month layoff. The 5-year-old Bodemeister horse has since reeled off a pair of bullet works at his Parx base, including a half-mile in 46.63 on June 1.

“We don’t crank them up as much to run their first race back,” St. Lewis said. “We crank them up so their second or third races they run the way they should be running. He’s doing fantastic. All we can do is take a chance.”

Informative has precedent for providing shocking upsets in graded races. Last summer, nearly one year to the day of the Met Mile, Informative rallied from last-of-10 at odds of 79-1 to best Ny Traffic in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park.

“He broke, sat back and made one run,” recalled St Lewis. “And that’s what we’ll do here. We’ll keep him in contention enough to see what unfolds in front of us and if it unfolds the way we expect, it won’t be a surprise to us but it will be to a lot of other people.”

St. Lewis will also be represented in the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival by War Tocsin, who is listed at a less hefty 30-1 morning line in Friday’s Grade 2, $300,000 True North at 6 1/2-furlongs on the main track. The field of six is led by the reigning Champion Male Sprinter Jackie’s Warrior, a multiple Grade 1-winning multi-millionaire for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.

War Tocsin, in search of his first win since an optional-claiming score in April 2021 at Parx, enters from a third-place finish at 17-1 in the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint on May 21 at Pimlico. The veteran of 40 career starts boasts a ledger of 3-8-4 and is likely to be near the pace.

“He has a lot of speed. He’s training good and coming along good. We just have to pray he gets everything his way,” St. Lewis said. “Jackie’s Warrior didn’t want to try the horses Informative is trying. It’s a horse race and our horse always shows up.”

St. Lewis said he has entrusted jockey Dexter Haddock with the call on both horses because the rider has bought into his program, which includes a 42-1 score aboard Forewarned in the Queens County in December at Aqueduct.

“He’s very important because he listens and he believes in the horses,” St. Lewis said. “You have to have a jockey that believes in the horses. That’s why we bring our own jockey. If you don’t believe, there’s no sense trying.”

***
Rich Strike takes one lap around training track in Wednesday gallop

RED-TR-Racing’s Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike had a slight change in his daily routine on Wednesday, galloping one mile over the Belmont Park training track in preparation for Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets.

“We just wanted to let him play and bounce a little bit,” said trainer Eric Reed. “He’s happy.”

Wednesday’s gallop was much quieter than Tuesday when the chestnut son of Keen Ice galloped about two miles over the main track with vigor, coasting along under regular exercise rider Gabriel Lagunes.

“We wait on him for what we call a ‘happy gallop,’” Reed said of the Tuesday gallop. “He’ll get going and for three or four furlongs and then Gabriel gets him back in stride. He wanted more. I knew the last two days when he came off the track rearing up that we had to let him have his happy gallop.”

Reed said Rich Strike was still eager to do more after his mile gallop Wednesday.

“He came off the track and was like ‘Wait a minute, that’s just one [lap],’” Reed said, with a laugh. “We have to draw the line somewhere.”

Rich Strike has routinely galloped each morning for Reed and had his first two trips around Big Sandy over sloppy going. There is a chance he could encounter a wet track on Saturday with a 30 percent chance of rain in the forecast, something Reed said he should handle well.

“The only thing that concerns us is the favorite [We the People] seems to like a wet track an awful lot,” Reed said. “Our rider said he [Rich Strike] loves the mud. We’ll take whatever we get.”

Rich Strike, whose running style sees him come from well off the pace, could be more forwardly placed to combat the historic trend of deep closers in the “Test of the Champion” struggling to make up ground.

“We just hope he’ll leave the gate and wants to stay close early,” Reed said. “I watched about twelve Belmont Stakes last night and they don’t often do it from way back. But he’s happy today.”

***
Jockey colony autograph signing on Friday to benefit PDJF

Members of the Belmont Park jockey colony will participate in an autograph signing on Friday to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund (PDJF).

The special meet and greet and autograph session featuring riders from the Belmont jockey colony with a suggested donation to PDJF will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday on the first floor grandstand.

Benefits from the signing will go directly to the PDJF.

The PDJF is an independent charitable organization that provides financial assistance to jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries. The PDJF was created in 2006 as a collaborative effort of leaders representing race tracks, jockeys, horsemen’s groups, and others within the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse industries. In 2009, the PDJF became a freestanding 501(c)(3) public charity governed by a board of directors comprised of stakeholders from a broad cross-section of the horse racing industry.

For more information about the PDJF, please visit: https://pdjf.org/