Nakatomi blends speed and class for G3 True North

Nakatomi blends speed and class for G3 True North

By Christian Abdo —-

Nakatomi; Janet Napolitano Photo

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Mrs. Fitriani Hay and Qatar Racing’s Nakatomi returns to the site of his lone Grade 1 victory in Saturday’s Grade 3, $400,000 True North, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for older horses, on Belmont Stakes Day at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Wesley Ward, the 6-year-old Firing Line chestnut returns from a neck second to Dark Saffron in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen on April 5 at Meydan Racecourse. There, Nakatomi closed valiantly from midpack but just couldn’t quite go by his pacesetting rival, who dug in at the rail.

“He hadn’t had a run going into this year, so we trained him into that race. He ran a very nice second in Dubai off of not having a run,” said Ward. “He’s doing great. I’m always a little apprehensive of horses after they start over in Dubai. I try to give them a lot of time.”

Ward said Nakatomi was doing too well to wait around, especially with the True North contested over the track the gelding captured the six-furlong Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap in July. That performance earned a career-best matching 105 Beyer Speed Figure, the same number as his third to 2022-23 Champion Sprinter Elite Power in the 2023 Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita Park.

“When he got back, we were intending on giving him more time, but he was just feeling so good, that we decided to give him an easy work,” Ward said. “He came out of that and was always up at the front of the stall with his ears pricked, happy, and bouncing all the way to and from the track.”

Nakatomi has posted two consecutive bullet five-furlong breezes at Keeneland in 59.80 seconds on May 24 and 58.20 on Saturday. With the 21-6-4-6 millionaire in strong fitness, Ward said all that was left to do was secure Irad Ortiz, Jr. to ride, who will break from post 4.

WinStar Farm’s Mullikin [post 6, Flavien Prat], is one of four Saratoga Grade 1-winning entrants, his secured in the seven-furlong Forego in August. Trained by Rodolphe Brisset, the 5-year-old Violence dark bay led gate-to-wire for a 5 3/4-length score under returning rider Flavien Prat, registering a career-best 105 Beyer.

“He’s a very good horse. I don’t think the zip code of the state is what I should worry about, but obviously he won on this track already and it gives me some confidence,” said Brisset. “We are really looking forward to him having his second race off the layoff there and we like what we see.”

Mullikin, in his seasonal debut, exited the outermost post 11 in the seven-furlong Grade 1 Churchill Downs on May 3 at its namesake oval, stalking the pace and taking command briefly in the stretch, finishing a 1 1/4-length fifth. He was edged by Mindframe, Banishing, next-out dominant Grade 3 Triple Bend-winner Nysos and returning rival Book’em Danno.

“He ran huge,” Brisset said. “I’m not sure that sloppy and sealed was the best track condition for him. It was sloppy, and he was three-wide pressing, even four-wide pressing, made the lead and just got tired the last sixteenth off the layoff. That was a very difficult spot to come back. We should not be ashamed of his effort.”

Mullikin is on the brink of millionaire status with a 12-5-4-1 record and $981,992 in earnings, featuring a classy third as the favorite in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint in November at Del Mar.

Bell Gable Stable’s Grade 1-winner Nutella Fella [post 8, Junior Alvarado] earned that title when upsetting the 2023 Hopeful on Closing Day of the Saratoga summer meet. Trained by Gary Contessa, the Runhappy bay returned as a sophomore to run a solid third behind re-opposing Book’em Danno and Prince of Monaco in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun on the past Belmont Stakes Day.

“He loves Saratoga. He’s trained well here and he’s in good flesh and good health,” said Contessa. “Just like certain baseball players play their best games at a certain stadium, every athlete has their niche and this is his.”

The now 4-year-old Nutella Fella captured the six-furlong Listed Pelican in February at Tampa Bay Downs ahead of a last-out misfire in the Grade 3 Commonwealth on April 8 at Keeneland, where he was fractious at the gate, a recurring problem according to Contessa.

“We school him a lot. That’s never going to change,” Contessa said. “When we went to Keeneland, we got there Monday and I schooled him in the gate Tuesday, skipped Wednesday, then schooled him Thursday, Friday and ran Saturday. He was a gem every time I took him to the gate. In the afternoon, he threw a fit.”

Another top-level winner is Atlantic Six Racing’s Book’em Danno [post 5, Paco Lopez], who captured the Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun sprinting seven furlongs during the past Belmont Stakes Racing Festival here. Trained by Derek Ryan, the Bucchero gelding successfully bounced back from a head defeat to Forever Young in the Group 3 Saudi Derby early last year at King Abdulaziz Racetrack.

The New Jersey-bred Book’em Danno earned a career-best 104 Beyer in August here when third in the local seven-furlong Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial, defeated 1 1/4 lengths by Domestic Product.

Book’em Danno’s 13-7-3-1 record has returned in excess of $1.1 million, and he enters from a rare off-the-board result, although only defeated a neck by Mindframe when fourth in the aforementioned Grade 1 Churchill Downs, with one length back to Mullikin in fifth.

The Belmont Stakes Day crowd could be in for a thriller if Donna Wright and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing’s Crazy Mason [post 2, Manny Franco] closes from a different atmosphere for his fourth consecutive victory of that sort.

Trained by Gregg Sacco, the 4-year-old Coal Front gray has closed from last to win his first three outings of the year, all at Aqueduct Racetrack, overcoming double-digit deficits in the last two. Most recently, in the seven-furlong Grade 2 Carter presented by NYRA Bets on April 5, Crazy Mason was last at the top of the lane but kicked rapidly to edge Quint’s Brew by a neck.

Crazy Mason successfully stepped up in class after capturing a pair of allowance-level contests in similar fashion, spotting the field 12 lengths in February sprinting six furlongs and winning by 2 1/2 lengths. The colt was three times stakes-placed during his first two seasons, but appears to be taking a step forward this year – the Carter returning a career-best 98 Beyer.

Rounding out the field are Grade 3-winners Full Moon Madness [post 7, John Velazquez] for trainer Michelle Nevin and Surveillance [post 3, Kendrick Carmouche] for conditioner Linda Rice; and stakes-placed Concrete Glory [post 1, Luis Saez] for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.

The True North is slated as Race 7 on Saturday’s 14-race card, headlined by the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets in Race 13. Other Grade 1 action includes the Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap [Race 8], a “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile; the Jaipur [Race 9], a “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint; the Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun [Race 11] and the Resorts World Casino Manhattan [Race 12].

The bustling card adds the Grade 2 Wonder Again [Race 6] and the Grade 3 Pennine Ridge [Race 10]. First post is 10:45 a.m. and admission gates will open to the public at 9 a.m.

Television coverage of Belmont Stakes Day will air across the FOX Sports family of networks beginning at 10:30 a.m. Eastern [FS1] prior to national broadcast coverage on FOX beginning at 2:30 p.m. For the complete Belmont Stakes Racing Festival television schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont-stakes/event-info/tv-schedule/.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, and the best way to bet every race of the four-day meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.