Asking a 3-year-old to cover a 1 1/4-mile distance is often clouded in mystery and the $1 million Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) is no exception.
Of the nine starters in the stakes for sophomore runners, only three have raced at 10 furlongs or more, and for one member of that trio there's an added element of intrigue.
While China Horse Club and WinStar Farm's Sainthood figures to be one of the favorites in the Belmont Park stakes and has run 1 1/4 miles—in no less prestigious of a setting than the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1)—the July 10 Belmont Derby will mark the son of Mshawish's first start on turf.
A 1 1/4-mile grade 1 stakes with a $1 million purse might seem an ambitious spot for a debut on sod, yet the connections of the Todd Pletcher-trained grade 3 winner have high hopes he can handle the challenge.
"We're looking forward to running in the race," WinStar president, CEO, and racing manager Elliott Walden said. "Todd liked how he has breezed on turf and thought he went very well. The colt's dad was an accomplished turf runner as well as a dirt runner (a grade 1 winner on both surfaces) so we hope Sainthood falls into the same footsteps."
Sainthood should have a grass race under his belt before Saturday's race, but Mother Nature had different plans. Heavy rains forced the shifting of the traditional Belmont Derby prep, the usually grassy May 29 Pennine Ridge Stakes, to the sloppy main track, where Sainthood prevailed by a length after a tough stretch duel with The Reds in a stakes that was downgraded to grade 3 status due to the surface change.
Though Sainthood, who was 11th by 12 3/4 lengths in the Run for the Roses, has not raced on turf, he was second on a synthetic surface in the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) at Turfway Park, and horses who can handle all-weather tracks generally do well on grass. He also has the aforementioned benefit of a 10-furlong start going into Saturday's first leg of the New York Racing Association's Turf Triple for 3-year-olds.
"I think having a mile-and-a-quarter race helps. Class and ability probably trumps that, but it doesn't take much to get them beat," Walden said about the son of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Lemon Hero who was bred by Edward Taylor and Springland Farm. "He's a nice horse whose form has held up very well. The horse who was third when he broke his maiden won the Ohio Derby (G3, Masqueparade). I do believe he will run well Saturday. He's trained well and he has showed up every time except the Derby and he only got beat 12 lengths there not 20. We're looking forward to seeing how he stacks up with America's best turf horses."
The other two starters with classic distance experience will provide the international flavor that has been a staple of the race in recent years.
Leopardstown Racecourse
Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Westerberg's Bolshoi Ballet shipped from Ireland for famed European trainer Aidan O'Brien with a pair of group 3 wins on his résumé. He was seventh June 5 in his last start, the 1 1/2-mile Cazoo Derby (G1) at Epsom Downs.
"He's been training well since the Derby," said assistant trainer T.J. Comerford. "Once he has good to firm ground, that makes a difference. I suppose the race wasn't ideal that day at Epsom. The ground may have gone against him."
Ryan Moore will fly in from overseas to ride the son of Galileo.
Japanese connections will send out Teruya Yoshida's Tokyo Gold, a winner of the Derby Italiano Universita Campus Bio-Medico di Roma (G2) in his last try for trainer Shinya Kobayashi.
Jockey John Velazquez will handle Tokyo Gold Saturday when he faces eight rivals.
The American contingent will also feature Natalie Baffert and Debbie Lanni's Du Jour. The son of Temple City won the 1 1/16-mile May 1 American Turf Stakes Presented by Derby City Gaming (G2T) for trainer Bob Baffert, Natalie's husband, on a day of fame and infamy for the Hall of Famer. Though Baffert won the Kentucky Derby a few races later with Medina Spirit, post-race testing found a banned substance in his system, leading to the trainer being barred from entering races at Churchill Downs and New York Racing Association tracks.
A hearing on the NYRA ban is scheduled for July 12 and in the interim, Du Jour, a winner of three of five starts, was moved to trainer Bill Mott's barn so he can run in Saturday's stakes.
Like Sainthood, Robert LaPenta, Augustin Stable, and Madaket Stables' Hard Love was entered in the Pennine Ridge, but was scratched when the race came off the turf. Instead he faced older horses in a June 5 allowance optional claimer at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Belmont Park and triumphed by a head for his third victory in four career starts.
"We were thrilled with the way he was training before the Pennine Ridge, but we were happy the allowance race was in the book, and we were delighted by the way he ran against older horses. Going into a race against the top 3-year-old turfers in the country, you want to be battle-tested, and we thought he got that against older horses with a dogfight down the lane in which he found a way to get his head in front at the wire. He's done very little wrong," trainer Jonathan Thomas said about the Kitten's Joy ridgling who has yet to be tested beyond nine furlongs. "From what we've seen, the efficient way he moves, his pedigree, his disposition, we've been excited to try the mile-and-a-quarter distance. He seems to have a fair bit of stamina, though you never know until they do it. We've been excited to stretch him out."
The Turf Triple series for colts will continue Aug. 7 with the $1 million Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) at Saratoga Race Course and conclude at Belmont Park Sept. 18 with the $1 million Jockey Club Derby Invitational Stakes, which offers a free "Win and You're In" spot in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T).
Belmont Park, Saturday, July 10, 2021, Race 9Entries: Belmont Derby Invitational S. (G1T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Palazzi (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 122 Mark E. Casse 15/1 2 2Bolshoi Ballet (IRE) Ryan L. Moore 122 Aidan P. O'Brien 7/5 3 3Safe Conduct (ON) Jose Lezcano 122 Philip M. Serpe 15/1 4 4Sainthood (KY) Joel Rosario 122 Todd A. Pletcher 10/1 5 5Du Jour (KY) Flavien Prat 122 William I. Mott 9/2 6 6Hard Love (KY) Manuel Franco 122 Jonathan Thomas 5/2 7 7Tokyo Gold (FR) John R. Velazquez 122 Satoshi Kobayashi 15/1 8 8Cellist (KY) Julien R. Leparoux 122 George R. Arnold, II 12/1 9 9Hidden Enemy (IRE) Luis Saez 122 Steven M. Asmussen 30/1
