Belmont at the Big A Notes

NYRA PRESS OFFICE —-

Belmont at the Big A Notes

Neat impressive in G3 Manila score
Subrogate earns career-best 103 BSF
White Abarrio to miss G2 John A. Nerud; Mystic Lake set for G3 Victory Ride; Lure Him In to try G2 Brooklyn
Damaso in good form for Listed Perfect Sting
Master Piece points to G2 Eddie Read

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Red White and Blue Racing’s Neat was awarded a career-high 86 Beyer Speed Figure for his three-quarter-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 3 $250,000 Manila, a one-mile inner turf test for sophomores, at Belmont at the Big A.

Trained by Rob Atras, Neat earned the win with a well-timed ride by Junior Alvarado to pounce on the pace set by Drunk On Sake and outkick Move to Gold in mid-stretch. He faced a late challenge by the rallying Deterministic but found enough to stave off his rival and complete the course in 1:36.37.

“He’s a good doer,” said Atras. “After his races, he comes back good and he jogged good and ate up well this morning. I think that’s how good horses are. Junior did a great job and our plan was to break and sit wherever he was. He’s got a high cruising speed, so he can sit close. He’s pretty handy.”

Atras added he was pleased to see the son of Constitution rebound well from a distant off-the-board finish in the Grade 2 American Turf on May 4 at Churchill Downs.

“He’s got a very quick turn of foot and I’m very fortunate to have a horse like that,” Atras said. “He’s very cool. I’m glad we can throw the last race out and whatever reason it was [for the Churchill effort], it doesn’t matter. We can put that behind us and move forward.”

Neat notched his second graded victory after capturing the Grade 3 Transylvania by a nose in April at Keeneland when piloted by Reylu Gutierrez.

Atras said that effort helped Neat learn what it takes to be competitive at the graded level.

“That showed a lot of heart. He got checked in the first turn and ran off a little bit, and Reylu did a good job letting him settle and even let horses pass him,” said Atras. “For him to still finish with that kick, that was probably the toughest field he’s faced. Between that race and this one, he belongs at this level.”

Atras said he will observe how Neat trains in the coming days before deciding a next start, which could come in either the one-mile Grade 2, $500,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame on August 2 at Saratoga Race Course or the one-mile Grade 2, $500,000 Secretariat on August 12 at Colonial Downs.

“The Hall of Fame is definitely a possibility, and we’ll nominate him for sure,” said Atras. “I needed to see that effort from him yesterday to help plan the next one. It makes sense to go to the Hall of Fame, but there’s also the Secretariat around the same time. We aren’t going to say for sure which one yet, but it’s a good position to be in.”

Atras will try to keep his momentum going into this week at the Big A as he readies Masqueparade for Friday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Brooklyn for older marathoners traveling 1 3/8 miles. Owned by John Holleman, the 6-year-old Upstart gelding was last seen finishing a close third in the 10-furlong Grade 2 Suburban on June 8 at the Spa where he stalked 3 1/2 lengths off the pace and rallied to finish three-quarter lengths back of returning rival Crupi and a neck behind runner-up Bendoog.

“If he runs like last time, we’ll be right there,” said Atras. “We were hoping he’d run like that, and he ran too good to be third. He’s a cool horse. I think a mile and three-eighths seems to be what he likes. He grinds along and doesn’t have a big turn of foot, but he fights in the lane.”

Masqueparade takes on six rivals that include the division’s dominant leader Next, who seeks a repeat win in this event after taking last year’s edition going 12 furlongs at Belmont. Masqueparade finished third to his familiar rival in the Isaac Murphy Marathon on May 1 at Churchill Downs in his first start for Atras.

“If Next runs his race, we’re probably running for second,” Atras said. “But he [Masqueparade] still ran a decent effort [at Churchill] and just got tired in the lane a little bit. I didn’t have him very long before that race and maybe he could have used another breeze, but I just didn’t have the time. I thought he still ran good.”

Masqueparade seeks his second graded win after capturing the Grade 3 Ohio Derby as a sophomore for trainer Al Stall, Jr. His 20-5-2-5 record also includes a win in the 12-furlong Listed Temperance Hill in March at Oaklawn Park.

Kendrick Carmouche will ride from post 4 in the Brooklyn.

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Subrogate earns career-best 103 BSF

Colts Necks Stables’ Subrogate romped to an impressive victory Saturday at Belmont at the Big A, topping a talented field of seven optional-claimers to garner a career-best 103 Beyer Speed Figure.

Trained by Jorge Duarte, Jr. and piloted by Jose Lezcano, the 4-year-old Arrogate colt pressed the pace through hand-timed splits of 22.85 seconds and 45.09 over the fast main track. He took command at the stretch call and powered home under a strong hand ride to score by six lengths over multiple stakes-winner Howgreatisnate in a final time of 1:15.45.

The victory improved Subrogate to 3-for-3 on the year following an allowance win in April over muddy and sealed footing here and an optional-claiming score on June 8 during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course that garnered a 99 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I can’t say it came out of nowhere because he has been getting better, but it was impressive to watch,” Duarte, Jr. said. “There were some old-class shooters in that race, for sure. My horse is in form, and he’s been thriving through racing.”

Duarte, Jr., a former jockey, said he isn’t too concerned about Subrogate not switching leads down the lane.

“Historically, if you watch his races, he’s always done that. In this company, it isn’t bothering him to be competitive,” Duarte, Jr. said. “We try to correct this with the riders and the more we tried it, it didn’t seem like he was very willing to switch over, but it didn’t slow his pace down.

“In breezes, if he laid on that left lead, he was still clicking at a good pace and giving the indication that it doesn’t seem to bother him,” Duarte, Jr. added. “Over the years we’ve seen good horses that don’t switch leads. We are monitoring it and we had our vet look at it and there’s nothing there physically, it’s more a mental thing.”

Duarte, Jr. said Saturday’s race was initially being used as a bridge to the six-furlong Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash on July 28 at Laurel Park, but Duarte, Jr. said he will keep the Spa’s six-furlong Grade 1, $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap on July 27 under consideration. A good result in either race could propel Subrogate to the seven-furlong Grade 1, $500,000 Forego on August 24 at Saratoga.

“The plan before this performance was to run him in the De Francis and based on that – if he ran well – maybe try the Forego,” Duarte, Jr. said. “The De Francis would be a nice introduction to stakes company. It’s a long year and there’s a lot of good purses out there, still. I think he’s done everything right and I would hate to have him bounce in a race like that [Vanderbilt]. We’ll see how he comes out of it and if he’s giving me the signs that he’s ready to take a shot this early in a Grade 1, but it’s not out of the picture.”

Subrogate showed promise during his 2-year-old campaign, winning at second asking last May in a maiden special weight sprint at Belmont Park ahead of a pacesetting fourth in his first two-turn try in the 1 1/16-mile Listed Pegasus last June at Monmouth Park in which Salute the Stars bested yesterday’s Grade 1 Stephen Foster-winner Kingsbarns by a neck. He completed his campaign with a fourth in an optional-claiming sprint last July at Monmouth and was off nearly nine months.

“When you have a 3-year-old by Arrogate that can run, you get excited. We were definitely thinking two-turns, dirt,” Duarte, Jr. recalled. “When we ran him in the Pegasus, he didn’t run a bad race but he just needed a little time. So, that’s why you see that line until he came back in April at Aqueduct. He’s come back in great form. We’re glad we gave him the time he needed.

“He’s maturing and he’s not done much wrong, really,” Duarte, Jr. added. “He has a pedigree and we’ll do best by the horse first always.”

Subrogate, a $250,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, is out of the Elusive Quality mare Goose Lemon Drop, who is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-winner Lochte.

Duarte, Jr. conditions a pair of talented older turf sprinters for Colts Neck Stables in multiple stakes-winners in Grooms All Bizness and Nothing Better.

Grooms All Bizness, a 5-year-old Kentucky homebred son of Fed Biz, has won four of his last five starts, including a successful title defense in the five-furlong Get Serious on June 18 at Monmouth.

Duarte, Jr. said Grooms All Bizness, who has notched five of his six career wins at Monmouth, came out of the race in good order and could point to either the $100,000 Wolf Hill on July 20 at the New Jersey oval or step into graded company in the Grade 2, $300,000 Troy on August 3 at Saratoga.

“He loves that track – don’t ask me why – he ran very well and came out of the race well. We’ll see about races like the Troy or the Wolf Hill,” Duarte, Jr. said.

Grooms All Bizness has banked $378,775 through a 14-6-3-2 record.

Nothing Better, a 7-year-old Munnings chestnut, needed a little time off after his half-length score in the Mighty Beau on June 8 at Churchill Downs.

“After his race at Churchill, he came back and had a little bit of a virus and he was a little bit sick, so we gave him a week off in our paddocks and he seems well,” Duarte, Jr. said. “He’s in good form again and we’ll breeze him a time or two and see where we stand.”

Bred in Kentucky by Don Alberto Corporation, Nothing Better sports a ledger of 27-10-5-3 for purse earnings of $701,382.

Duarte, Jr. credited the connections at Colts Neck Stables for their patient approach with the ultra-consistent turfers.

“We tend to give horses time off in the winter. We have a nice facility here in New Jersey,” Duarte, Jr. said. “We have 18 paddocks and these sprinters have stayed here in the winter and done OK. They’re older and they keep running at a good level and I think it’s worked rather than running them all year.”

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White Abarrio to miss G2 John A. Nerud; Mystic Lake set for G3 Victory Ride; Lure Him In to try G2 Brooklyn

C Two Racing Stable, Prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Antonio Pagnano’s multiple Grade 1-winner White Abarrio was a distant fifth last out in the one-mile Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on June 8 Belmont Stakes Day at Saratoga Race Course for trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr., and was subsequently moved to his previous conditioner Saffie Joseph, Jr.

The 5-year-old Race Day multimillionaire, who entered off a puzzling 10th overseas in the Group 1 Saudi Cup on February 24 at King Abdulaziz Racetrack, was pointed for a cutback in distance in the seven-furlong Grade 2, $200,000 John A. Nerud on July 6, at Belmont at the Big A.

Mark Cornett, racing manager of C Two Racing Stable, said the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic-winner will not contest the Nerud due to an illness following his last effort.

“We are not going there. He was sick and has to get over that first. We’ll be looking for a new spot at the appropriate time whenever that may be,” said Cornett. “We are taking it day by day, letting the horse tell us what to do. Whenever his blood work gets right and he gets over whatever this is that he has.”

Last year, White Abarrio won when cutting back to seven furlongs in a March optional claimer at Gulfstream Park after an off-the-board finish in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup there in January. He went on to run third in the Grade 1Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park before a pair of Grade 1 scores in the nine-furlong Whitney at Saratoga and 10-furlong Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park.

C Two Racing Stable will have upcoming action at Belmont at the Big A with Mystic Lake, entered in Thursday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Victory Ride, and Lure Him In set to contest Friday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Brooklyn.

Mystic Lake will carry a field-high 122 pounds from post 1 versus four rivals in the 6 1/2-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies. Trained by Joseph, Jr., she made the grade last out with a 4 1/2-length wire-to-wire score from post 1-of-12 under returning rider Flavien Prat in the Grade 3 Miss Preakness on May 17 at Pimlico Race Course.

“She came out of the one-hole in the Miss Preakness when she won that,” said Cornett, who co-owns with Stefania Farms. “She is an older filly now, they mature. She’s run good races before, she is just doing it against better horses now and we hope she can carry it over.”

The Florida-bred Mo Town dark bay utilized pacesetting tactics to capture a pair of seven-furlong stakes this year at Tampa Bay Downs in the Gasparilla in January and the state-bred Sophomore Fillies in March.

The $130,000 OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase is out of the Itsmyluckyday mare Salty Soul.

C2 Racing Stable, Double B Racing Stables, Paul Braverman and Mach 1 Racing Stables’ Lure Him In seeks his first graded triumph on the heels of back-to-back fourths in Grade 3 company at less than marathon distances for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.

The 7-year-old Khozan gelding was defeated 4 1/2 lengths last out in the Steve Sexton Mile on May 27 at Lone Star Park, two months after a similar result in the 1 1/16-mile Ghostzapper at Gulfstream.

“I think naturally he will be forwardly-placed, sitting up on the lead, second or third, right off-the-pace,” said Cornett regarding the stretch out. “I think he will be able to carry his speed one mile and three-eighths, one mile and a half in these races. We will find out, you never know until they do it, but we will find out.”

Cornett added that Soul of an Angel, who was fifth in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps presented by Ford on June 8 at Saratoga, will look to the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher on July 20 at Monmouth Park. She may run into reigning Champion Older Mare Idiomatic who looks to avenge a head defeat to Randomized in the Phipps– the rival Soul of an Angel closed to beat by 4 3/4 lengths in the local Grade 2 Ruffian in May.

“Randomized got out on the front end in the Phipps on a speed-favoring track. She [Soul of an Angel] was back, made kind of a middle move inside the sixteenths pole but then flattened out a bit,” said Cornett. “We are pointing her to the Molly Pitcher so it looks like she’ll run against Idiomatic again.”

Cornett added that he hopes Soul of an Angel, owned in partnership with Agave Racing Stable, will get a better chance to employ her late turn-of-foot.

“That is her style. She’s going to be in the back of the pack, and is a one run closer type of horse,” he added.

C Two Racing Stable and Mathis Stable’s juvenile filly The Queens M G was also seen at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival finishing off-the-board as the favorite in the 5 1/2-furlong Astoria won by Whatintheliteral. The effort marked her stakes bow and her debut for Joseph, Jr. after winning at first asking in a 4 1/2-furlong sprint in April at Keeneland for conditioner Israel Acevedo, where Whatintheliteral was a distant fifth.

Cornett said the daughter of Thousand Words will have her sights set on the Listed $175,000 Schuylerville, a six-furlong sprint for juvenile fillies on Thursday, June 11 Opening Day of Saratoga Race Course.

“She came out of her race sick but has come back well and we are pointing her to the Schuylerville. She beat the winner of the stake by 13 lengths the last time they ran against each other,” said Cornett. “Our filly got banged around out of the gate, whether it was that or being sick, she just didn’t fire. We will put her back there [in the Schuylerville] and see what we’ve got.”

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Damaso in good form for Listed Perfect Sting

Perrine Time Thoroughbreds’ Damaso will step up to stakes company for the first time since her juvenile season in Thursday’s Listed $150,000 Perfect Sting, a one-mile inner turf test for older fillies and mares, at Belmont at the Big A.

Trained by Kathleen O’Connell, the 4-year-old Outwork bay has hit the board in 5-of-6 efforts this year, entering off two consecutive frontrunning scores going 1 1/16-miles at the allowance level, in April at Tampa Bay Downs and last out on June 2 at Monmouth Park.

Damaso will break from post 3 with Jose Lezcano aboard versus four rivals in the Perfect Sting.

“She’s really stepped up to the plate in the last two races. I think this is a good, logical spot,” said O’Connell. “Jose Lezcano has won a lot of races for me. I have a lot of faith in him. He rides the turf real well and I know he always gives me his best.”

In her April allowance score at Tampa Bay Downs, Damaso set the pace before drifting out into the center of the course during the stretch run, but was able to hang on and win by a diminishing 1 3/4 lengths.

O’Connell said she doesn’t anticipate drifting out to be a problem because it was likely the result of seeing something on the course.

“She doesn’t usually drift out. She doesn’t run with blinkers and I think she saw something,” O’Connell explained. “I think she saw a bunch of birds that were on the course that day.”

Previously, Damaso ran a close third when coming from off the pace, beaten three-quarter-lengths going one-mile over good turf there on April 6. She traveled three lengths back in fifth position before rallying late to get up for show-honors.

O’Connell said the performance, while not a victorious one, demonstrated her versatility to come from off the pace.

“That day she got off bad, because she got bumped so badly from the gate. She still ran a huge race and just got beat,” said O’Connell. “For a lot of these fillies, it is just how the race unfolds. You just have to let them flow into it. I’m not saying I would take her behind just because she came from off the pace in that one race, but I don’t think she has to be anywhere. It’ll be up to Jose how he sees fit to ride her.”

Damaso began her career 2-of-9 for trainer Timothy Hamm, including off the board stakes efforts as a juvenile at Saratoga Race Course in the Grade 3 Adirondack on dirt and the Listed P.G. Johnson. In late 2023, she competed for trainer Jose D’Angelo and missed the board in three starts over the Tapeta at Gulfstream Park.

Bred in Kentucky by Turnley Farms LA and out of winning Violence mare Ms Dupree, Damaso was a $23,000 purchase at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. She holds a record of 18-5-1-3 with $134,052 in earnings.

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Master Piece points to G2 Eddie Read

Michael Iavarone, Julia Iavarone, Nicholas Zoumas and Frank Argano’s multiple graded stakes-winner Master Piece, last-out winner of the Grade 2 Fort Marcy here, will make his next start in the nine-furlong Grade 2, $250,000 Eddie Read on July 28 at Del Mar.

Trained by Rick Dutrow, Jr. and piloted by Dylan Davis in the nine-furlong Fort Marcy on May 4, the 8-year-old Mastercraftsman ridgling tracked the pace from third position and surged to the lead at the stretch call with plenty in the tank to stave off the rallying mutuel favorite Ottoman Fleet by a neck.

The winning effort garnered a 101 Beyer Speed Figure and Ottoman Fleet has since captured the Grade 3 Arlington and Grade 2 Wise Dan at Churchill Downs.

“He ran big and he’s doing good,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “Dylan is going to go out there to Del Mar to ride him. He’s a very happy horse. I love having him around the stable.”

Master Piece joined the Dutrow, Jr. stable in July of last year and added the 11-furlong Grade 2 Red Smith to his ledger here in November.

And while there are options locally for Master Piece, Dutrow, Jr. pointed to the gelding’s stellar record with trainer Michael McCarthy at Del Mar that includes a 16-1 win in the 2022 Grade 2 Eddie Read along with runner-up efforts in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap in 2021-22.

“If you look at his Del Mar record, you see that he always shows up. The weather has a lot to do with it in my opinion. Since I’ve picked him up, I’ve been wanting to run him out there and now we have the opportunity,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “He’s coming off a big win, so he’ll be going out there for confidence.”

Master Piece, who won a Group 2 in his native Chile, was bred in Chile by Haras Don Alberto. He has banked $832,577 through a 29-8-4-4 record.