Belmont at the Big A Notes 05/27

NYRA PRESS OFFICE —-

Belmont at the Big A Notes

Batten Down works at Saratoga with G1 Belmont Stakes status not confirmed
Castle Chaos possible for G1 Met Mile
Jim McKay Turf Sprint-winner Grooms All Bizness eyes G1 Jaipur

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Juddmonte’s Kentucky homebred Batten Down worked Monday over Saratoga Race Course’s Oklahoma dirt training track in company with older two-time winner Arthur’s Ride for Hall of Fame conditioner Bill Mott.

Under cloudy skies and the looming threat of rain, Batten Down and Arthur’s Ride stepped onto the backside of the track shortly after the 7:00 maintenance break concluded and stretched their legs with almost a full counterclockwise lap around the oval before commencing a five-furlong effort.

Batten Down, with jockey Junior Alvarado up, went on the outside of Arthur’s Ride as NYRA clockers caught them through splits of 12.54 seconds, 24.80, 36.99 and through five-eighths in 1:01.99 before galloping out in 1:14.19 and 1:28.94. The pair stayed on even terms throughout with Arthur’s Ride a long head in front at the wire. Both horses wore blinkers for the work.

Mott said he was pleased with the effort but is not ready to confirm Batten Down for the Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on June 8 at the Spa.

“I don’t know if I’m running in the Belmont – he [Batten Down] had a nice work,” said Mott. “It couldn’t have gone better. He went with an older horse and they breezed nicely together. Junior was pleased with him, so [now] we decide where we go.

“Maybe we skip the Belmont and go to Ohio possibly,” Mott added regarding the Grade 3, $500,000 Ohio Derby on June 22 at Thistledown. “We’ve got to figure it out.”

Alvarado has been aboard for Batten Down’s last two outings, including his last-out graduation at Churchill Downs. The veteran rider expressed his satisfaction with the way the colt worked.

“I love him. He’s a very nice horse to be around and he’s a very kind horse,” Alvarado said. “He’s a little different in the afternoon and gets very aggressive and wants to go, go, go. But he lets you do whatever you want in the morning. Arthur is a good work horse and it was a very good pairing – beautiful and enjoying their work together.”

Batten Down ran with his head tilted slightly as he ran alongside Arthur’s Ride in the stretch, but Alvarado said it is not something that concerns him.

“He does that. When he gets a little in front or he’s about to pass a horse, he always likes to lean in and play around,” said Alvarado. “He’s always been that kind of horse, but we know that when it’s race time, he gets serious. He’s a totally different animal in the afternoon.”

Batten Down, a full-brother to the Mott-trained multiple graded stakes-winner Tacitus, posted his second work since his romping graduation against elders in a 10-furlong tilt on April 30 at Churchill. With Alvarado in the irons, Batten Down went wire-to-wire and extended his advantage at each point of call, cruising home an 8 3/4-length winner in a final time of 2:02.49.

“I was very pleased with the way he won last time,” said Alvarado. “He got out of there and was moving pretty quick the first part – 23 and change, and then he kept going to 47 and change. When I’m hitting the five-eighths pole, I’m thinking, ‘He’s going to stop completely.’ But he surprised me when he switched leads to the right – he found another gear and took off. Passing the wire, he was so full of energy. I think this race [the Belmont] would suit him perfectly. He knows how to cover that ground and go fast and the same pace the whole way around. He’s got the talent, he’s just got to put it all together.”

Shortly after the track reopened again at 9:30, multiple Grade 1-winner Casa Creed worked in company to the inside of maiden Timeout. NYRA clockers caught them through splits of 12.87, 24.64 and through a half-mile in 48.02 before galloping out in 1:01.25.

“He was very, very, very good,” Mott said of the 8-year-old Casa Creed.

Owned by LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable, Casa Creed has ran in the Grade 1 Jaipur for three consecutive years when contested at six furlongs at Belmont Park – including a win in 2022 – but will not target that event at this year’s Belmont Stakes Racing Festival with the race being run at 5 1/2-furlongs. He will instead look to the Grade 3, $350,000 Poker going one mile on the June 8 Belmont Stakes Card.

Also on the tab Monday for Mott was Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino-winner Resilience, who posted his first work since finishing sixth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 4. The son of Into Mischief worked solo through splits of 13.32, 26.29 and a half-mile in 50.45 before galloping out in 1:04.20.

“I’m trying to figure out what’s next,” said Mott.

Owned by Emily Bushnell and Ric Waldman, Resilience pounced from 5 1/4 lengths off the pace in the Derby to be a half-length off the lead at the three-quarters call, but faded in the stretch and was defeated 7 3/4 lengths. He was bred in Kentucky by Pam Wygod and the late Marty Wygod.

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Castle Chaos possible for G1 Met Mile

Castle Chaos, who matched a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure last out when a close second in the Grade 2 Carter presented by NYRA Bets, is under consideration for the Grade 1, $1 million Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap on Saturday, June 8 during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, at Saratoga Race Course. The Met Mile, to be contested out of the Wilson Chute, offers a ‘Win and You’re In’ berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in November at Del Mar.

Trained and co-owned by Robert Falcone, Jr. with Sanford J. Goldfarb and Nice Guys Stables, the 6-year-old Palace Malice gelding has endured close runner-up efforts in two of his last three outings, beginning with a rallying nose loss to Tumbarumba in the one-mile Grade 3 Fred W. Hooper in January at Gulfstream Park. That effort also garnered a 97 Beyer.

He followed with an off-the-board effort in the one-mile Listed Stymie on March 2 here but returned to form with a stalking second in the seven-furlong Carter, finishing a neck back of the victorious Post Time, who is Met Mile-bound.

Falcone, Jr. said Castle Chaos may be a better horse when racing closer to the pace.

“He can run both ways,” Falcone, Jr. said. “You don’t want to leave yourself too much to do coming from too far back, but he’s a very versatile horse.”

Castle Chaos has breezed back four times, including a half-mile Friday in 48.55 over the Oklahoma dirt training track.

“He worked well. He’s doing good,” Falcone, Jr. said. “We’re looking at the Met Mile as an option.”

The Kentucky-bred Castle Chaos, who finished third in the Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap presented by NYRA Bets in December here, was haltered for $75,000 from a close runner-up effort on debut in September 2021 at Saratoga.

He was away from the races for one year after finishing last-of-7 in back-to-back starts to complete his 4-year-old campaign. Since a victorious return to action last June at Monmouth Park in a six-furlong optional-claiming sprint, Castle Chaos has climbed the ranks to be competitive at the graded level.

“I think the time off did him a lot of good,” Falcone, Jr. said. “He’d had one little thing after another and with all the time off he came back more mature and really found himself in that one-turn mile category.”

Falcone, Jr. indicated Castle Chaos, who boasts a career ledger of 16-3-5-4 for purse earnings of $370,160, could also come under consideration for the Grade 3, $150,000 Salvator Mile, a two-turn test for 3-year-olds and up on June 15 at Monmouth Park.

Spirit And Glory, a deep-closing type in her early ventures in the U.S., has found a new frontrunning approach here under Jose Lezcano that has resulted in a five-length victory in the one-mile Listed Plenty of Grace in April and a close third last out in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Beaugay.

Co-owned by Falcone, Jr. with Michael Nentwig, Michael Dubb, Beast Mode Racing and John Rochfort, the 5-year-old Cotai Glory mare rallied last-to-first to win her stateside debut in June 2022 at Belmont Park. Since then, she has added four Listed stakes to her tally, including the 2022 Virginia Oaks at Colonial Downs, the Miss Liberty last May at Monmouth and the Albert M. Stall Memorial in February at Fair Grounds.

Last out, in the Beaugay, Spirit And Glory was hounded on the lead by Whitebeam and took a precarious lead into the stretch run but battled on gamely to finish third as Neecie Marie closed from last-of-5 to win by a neck over Whitebeam, who maintained second by a head.

“I ran her back quickly which I usually don’t do with many horses,” Falcone, Jr. said. “She ran her eyeballs out that race getting pressured the whole way around the track and just getting beat at the end.”

While Spirt And Glory is nominated to the Grade 1, $500,000 Just a Game on June 7 at Saratoga, Falcone, Jr. said the mare is more likely to wait a week and run in the Grade 3, $150,000 Eatontown on June 15 at Monmouth.

“We might try the Eatontown and hopefully get her a graded stakes win. We can always see how she runs there and take a shot at a Grade 1 later on,” Falcone, Jr. said. “The Eatontown would give us a little extra time as well. We’ll see how it [the Just a Game] comes up and who is headed in that direction. I’d love to give her a shot here, but we can always come back to the bigger magnitude races. She’s won four stakes and we’ve been picking our spots well and picking up some decent purses while doing so.”

Falcone, Jr. said he’s pleased with how Spirit And Glory has responded to racing on the lead.

“She can be tough in the morning and tough for the jocks in the afternoon throwing her head up, she’s real light-mouthed,” Falcone, Jr. said. “Jose gets along great with her, and he just lets her break and do her thing and lets her have fun out there. I think she enjoys running like that more than any other way.”

Bred in Ireland by Dr. Noel Cogan and Patrick Williams, Spirit And Glory is out of the Invincible Spirit mare Supreme Spirit. She has banked $497,220 through a 19-6-2-2 record.

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Jim McKay Turf Sprint-winner Grooms All Bizness eyes G1 Jaipur

Colts Neck Stables’ homebred Grooms All Bizness, last-out winner of the five-furlong Listed Jim McKay Turf Sprint on May 18 Preakness Day at Pimlico Race Course, will now turn his attention to the Grade 1, $500,000 Jaipur presented by Resolute Racing on June 8 Belmont Stakes Day at Saratoga Race Course.

The Jaipur will be contested at 5 1/2 furlongs this year and offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint in November at Del Mar.

Trained by Jorge Duarte, Jr., Grooms All Bizness traveled well off-the-pace in eighth-of-10 early before surging seven-wide to capture the Jim McKay Turf Sprint in a final time of 1:01.80 over soft ground. The 5-year-old Fed Biz gelding was making his first start off a lay-off dating to a third in the 5 1/2-furlong Select in August at Monmouth Park.

“I think three weeks on these turf sprinters is not a crazy thought, especially when they run on no Lasix,” said Duarte, Jr. “We’ll look at how he’s doing in the next week but these Grade 1-sprinters, it seems like a lot of the same cast of characters. We’ll see how he is, but it’s a good, unique race in Saratoga and it would be good to participate.”

The Pimlico performance earned a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure. Duarte, Jr. said coming from farther back demonstrated the versatility of Grooms All Bizness, as he was seen running closer to the pace when capturing Monmouth’s Get Serious in June.

“He usually runs off the first flight. It depends on how fast they are going, seems like last time it was whoever was getting a hold of the track,” Duarte, Jr. said. “He always wants to get his feet under him and make that run, usually on the outside. That’s kind of his forte.”

Out of the Colts Neck Stables-campaigned winning Candy Ride mare Bride to Be, Grooms All Business has won three of his last four starts, good for a lifetime record of 13-5-3-2 with $318,775 in earnings.

Colts Neck Stables’ Nothing Better, the Aqueduct Racetrack six-furlong outer turf course record holder, is also nominated to the Jaipur but will likely look past in favor of the 5 1/2-furlong Get Serious on June 16 at Monmouth or the five-furlong Listed Mighty Beau on June 8 at Churchill Downs.

Last out, the 7-year-old Munnings gelding reared up at the start of the Listed Elusive Quality and essentially lost all chance on May 4 at Belmont at the Big A.

“He needs more of a hand-picked scenario. He’s a front runner and likes firm ground,” Duarte, Jr. said.

Last year, Nothing Better contested the Jaipur off a close second in Pimlico’s Turf Sprint and was 13-1 in the classy 14-horse field. He set the pace going the then six-furlongs at Belmont Park before fading to a close fifth behind graded/group winners Caravel, Big Invasion, Casa Creed, and Dr Zempf.

Duarte, Jr. said if Grooms All Bizness enters the Jaipur that last-out local allowance winner Subrogate will likely also be in tow for the trip to Saratoga in an undercard-allowance.

The 4-year-old Arrogate gray won his seasonal debut on April 12 here sprinting six furlongs on the main track, first off the layoff dating to a pair of fourths in June and July at Monmouth, including in the Listed Pegasus when beaten a head by Howgreatisnate for show-honors behind Salute The Stars and Kingsbarns.

“If I go up with Grooms All Bizness, I would bring him too, for a 2-other-than allowance” said Duarte, Jr. “He also won off the layoff. He ran strong that day. Since he started breezing early as a 3-year-old I thought he was going to be a nice addition to our barn.

“He had a little setback, but we gave him time and he came back in good form. He was always well-regarded,” Duarte, Jr. added.

Out of the Elusive Quality mare Goose Lemon Drop, Subrogate was a $250,000 purchase at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He boasts a lifetime record of 5-2-1-0 with $121,100 in earnings.

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