Two-time graded stakes winner Get Smokin returns to the site where he broke his maiden two years ago, competing as part of an eight-horse field of 4-year-olds and up in the $100,000 Seek Again Stakes May 22 going a mile on turf at Belmont Park.
Get Smokin, owned by Mary Abeel Sullivan Revocable Trust, started his 4-year-old campaign with a three-quarter length score in the Tampa Bay Stakes (G3T) at 1 1/16 miles on turf Feb. 6. That followed a competitive fourth, just three-quarters of a length back to winner Domestic Spending, in a blanket finish in the Hollywood Derby (G1T) in November at Del Mar going 1 1/8 miles.
After running eighth last out in the Maker's Mark Mile Stakes (G1T) April 9 at Keeneland, trainer Tom Bush said Get Smokin has been training well at Belmont and could benefit from a more compact racing schedule.
"I'm happy to have the six weeks between races instead of 10 or 11 weeks; it seems he can maintain his conditioning a little better," Bush said.
Get Smokin graduated at second asking over Belmont's turf in September 2019 and last year won his first career stakes when besting Seek Again-rival Decorated Invader by a head in the Hill Prince Stakes (G2T) going one mile over a yielding turf course in October.
"He's run on some ground that's had quite a bit of give to it and he's run well," Bush said. "He's also trained well and competed on firm ground."
Get Smokin, a son of Get Stormy with a 3-3-2 record in 13 starts, will break from post 5 with Junior Alvarado aboard.
Owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, William Freeman, William Sandbrook, and Cheryl Manning, Decorated Invader seeks his first victory since taking the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (G2T) last summer at Saratoga Race Course. He has lost four in a row, most recently finishing third in the Danger's Hour Stakes April 10 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
"I was actually very disappointed; he had trained OK, but I was unhappy with the race, unhappy with the trip, and unhappy with everything, but that's OK; we just turned the page and moved on," trainer Christophe Clement said.
Joel Rosario, aboard for Decorated Invader's last three stakes wins, will be in the irons from post 7.
Chad Brown will saddle a pair of entrants in Delaware and Flavius . The former is 4-1 on the morning line, the latter 2-1, the slight favorite over Decorated Invader at 5-2.
Get Smokin is 5-1 in the 10-horse field, counting Danny California and Yankee Division, two horses that trainer Rudy Rodriguez entered as main-track only entrants.
The inaugural running of the Seek Again is the ninth race on the 10-race card with a post time of 5:12 p.m. ET.
Belmont Park, Saturday, May 22, 2021, Race 9Entries: Seek Again S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Epic Dreamer (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 120 Mark E. Casse 12/1 2 2Tiberius Mercurius (KY) Luis Saez 118 Thomas Albertrani 30/1 3 3Tell Your Daddy (KY) Kendrick Carmouche 118 Thomas Morley 10/1 4 4Danny California (NY) Rider TBA 122 Rudy R. Rodriguez 8/1 5 5Get Smokin (KY) Junior Alvarado 124 Thomas M. Bush 5/1 6 6Delaware (GB) Manuel Franco 122 Chad C. Brown 4/1 7 7Decorated Invader (KY) Joel Rosario 124 Christophe Clement 5/2 8 8Olympic Runner (KY) John R. Velazquez 120 Mark E. Casse 10/1 9 9Yankee Division (NY) Rider TBA 118 Rudy R. Rodriguez 6/5 10 10Flavius (KY) Javier Castellano 122 Chad C. Brown 2/1
