Belmont Stakes

Saturday morning was a busy one for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, who breezed a handful of his heavy hitters at Belmont Park, including Mo Donegal and Nest ...

He has won his three starts by a combined 21 lengths, highlighted by his 10 1/4-length romp in the Peter Pan. Most of the horses that run well are closer to the pace,” Joseph said. NYRA clockers caught We the People marking off a quarter-mile in :24.20 as he continued to move strongly through the turn and into the stretch about three paths from the rail. “It seems that in the Belmont it's hard to make up too much ground. “The track with the moisture in it will carry you. “We're coming back in three weeks, so we weren't looking for much. “We don't want to be too far back. This week we wanted just a maintenance type of work, which they were able to execute properly.” He was just galloping. “It was a little fast,” said Brisset as We the People cooled out around the barn. This was more of a maintenance work. WinStar Farm, CMNWLTH and Siena Farm's We the People breezed a half-mile in :47.59 Saturday over the Belmont main track with trainer Rodolphe Brisset in the irons in preparation for the Belmont.

Mo Donegal has been working regularly at Belmont since May 20, which should help him further prepare for this course and long distance. If Irad Ortiz Jr. rides ...

His second dam is Harmony Lodge, a daughter of Hennessy who won the 2003 Ballerina Stakes (G2) at Saratoga among other races in her 24-race career. We the People’s chances to steal the Belmont improve if it looks like he can secure the lead and run freely over “Big Sandy.” Right now, that scenario is possible. Prior to the Belmont win he started three times at Oaklawn for trainer Rodolphe Brisset and won two out of those starts. When he could not find the lead in the Arkansas Derby after running wide on the first turn, his chances were gone. Two months ago Nest won the Ashland Stakes (G1) at Keeneland by 8 1/4 lengths. Nest is a full sister to Idol, who won the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) last year. Again, though, the concern is that the fillies are not fast enough this year. In Nest’s second start she ran in the Tempted Stakes on the same course and lost this time. Then again, the marathon distance always could move Nest up. On the bottom half of the pedigree, though, there are names such as A.P. Indy and Tabasco Cat. The second dam Island Sand won the 2005 Delaware Handicap at 1 1/4 miles. For one, the 1 1/2-mile dirt oval is unique compared with most one-mile ovals at other racetracks. She won at first asking while competing in a route, which means Pletcher saw stamina in this filly immediately.

Fifteen years after he won the Belmont Stakes with a filly, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will try to do it again in the 154th running of the Belmont ...

“I thought he dug in and kept trying, ran hard to the wire but had a little too much to do.”\r\n\r\nEarlier in the morning, We the People, the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes winner, went a half-mile over the main track in 47.41 seconds, according to Welsch, who had We the People’s final quarter in 23.31. He galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.17 and out again in 1:14.37. Rodolphe Brisset, trainer of We the People, was aboard the horse and had him three paths off the rail.\r\n\r\n:: Bet the Belmont Stakes with confidence! I think this is a good year to give it a try.”\r\n\r\nJose Ortiz will ride Nest in the Belmont as her regular rider, Irad Ortiz Jr., is committed to Mo Donegal. Mo Donegal is following a similar path to previous Pletcher Belmont Stakes winners Palace Malice and Tapwrit. Both ran in the Derby and skipped the Preakness. Jose Ortiz rode Tapwrit to victory in the Belmont.\r\n\r\nSimilar to Tapwrit in 2016, Mo Donegal did not have a great trip in the Kentucky Derby. He got away slowly from the rail, was too far back coming under the wire the first time, and then went about 10 wide in the lane. Tomorrow, if he goes out there and does the same thing and he comes back good I won’t be worried about the track.”\r\n\r\nBarber Road works from gate; Rosario picks up mount\r\n\r\nAt Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., Barber Road breezed five furlongs out of the starting gate Saturday morning in 1:00.80 in his final work for the Belmont. Sixth in the Kentucky Derby with a career-best 94 Beyer Speed Figure last out, Barber Road worked in company with an unraced 4-year-old gelding named A Little Wild when galloping out well in front.\r\n\r\nAfterward, John Ortiz, who trains Barber Road for WSS Racing, revealed that Joel Rosario has picked up the mount for the Belmont, replacing Reylu Gutierrez. Ortiz also said Barber Road will not race in blinkers after eight straight races wearing them.\r\n\r\nOrtiz said he and the owners are “very excited about” securing the services of Rosario, the 2021 Eclipse Award-winning jockey and a two-time Belmont winner (2014, 2019).\r\n\r\n"He’s won the race twice before and knows the track,” Ortiz said. “He has been very professional.”\r\n\r\nThe work from the gate was the first in nearly a year for Barber Road, whose respectable Derby run was preceded by four straight stakes at Oaklawn Park in which he finished second three times and third once.\r\n\r\n“We just wanted to wake him up a little,” Ortiz said. On May 27, Nest had a strong three-furlong gallop-out following a five-furlong move in 1:03.18, also in company with Mo Donegal. Saturday, Nest galloped out five furlongs in 1:02.29 and six furlongs in 1:14.18, after finishing about a length back of Mo Donegal. She began the work two lengths behind Mo Donegal.\r\n\r\nIn 2007, Rags to Riches entered the Belmont off a dominant performance in the Kentucky Oaks, which followed a superb victory in the Santa Anita Oaks. This year, Nest won the Grade 1 Ashland and then finished second to Secret Oath in the Kentucky Oaks.\r\n\r\nPletcher said his previous success with Rags to Riches in the Belmont “has given us confidence to try it with a filly knowing that we had success before, and really with this filly she’s always given us the impression she wants more distance. “We’re optimizing our efforts here.”\r\n\r\n:: Get ready for the Belmont Stakes with DRF Past performances, picks, clocker reports, and betting strategies!\r\n\r\nGutierrez rode Barber Road in seven of the colt’s nine career starts, including as the jockey’s first-ever Derby mount.\r\n\r\n“We’re very happy and very proud of Reylu for being such a good team member and always looking out for the horse’s best interests,” Ortiz said. “I would say all things being equal she’s given us every indication that she’s ready to give it a try.”\r\n\r\nNest and Mo Donegal were two of four Belmont Stakes contenders who worked Saturday at Belmont Park, along with We the People and Skippylongstocking. Two additional candidates – Barber Road and Howling Time – worked Saturday at Churchill Downs. As of Saturday, there are 10 horses being considered for the Belmont Stakes with entries taken and post positions to be drawn Tuesday.\r\n\r\nPletcher said when he and the owners – Aron Wellman, the president of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which owns Nest in partnership with Mike Repole – nominated Nest to the Triple Crown it was with the Belmont Stakes, run at 1 1/2 miles in mind.\r\n\r\n:: DRF's Belmont Stakes Headquarters: Get the latest news, info on contenders, past performances, picks, and more \r\n\r\n“Strongly-bred for the distance, she’s always been a good galloping filly that doesn’t pull hard, has a lot of the characteristics of horses that tend to do well at longer distances,” said Pletcher, who in 2013 sent out the filly Unlimited Budget to a fifth-place finish in the Belmont.\r\n\r\nThe gallop-outs past the wire have been the best part of Nest’s last two workouts. ELMONT, N.Y. – Fifteen years after he won the Belmont Stakes with a filly, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will try to do it again in the 154th running of the Belmont next Saturday.\r\n\r\nPletcher, who won the 2007 Belmont with Rags to Riches, all but confirmed Nest, the Kentucky Oaks runner-up, as a starter for this year’s Belmont following a Saturday workout over the Belmont training track. Join DRF Bets and get a $250 deposit match bonus, $10 free bet, and access to FREE DRF Formulator!\r\n\r\nThe main track was fast but still had some moisture in it.\r\n\r\n“That track will carry you when it has moisture in it,” said Brisset, who worked here many years as an exercise rider for Bill Mott. “Even without looking at the time, he was really smooth today. For him being that calm, it’s a really good sign.”\r\n\r\nAbout an hour after We the People went, Skippylongstocking, fifth in the Preakness, went five furlongs in 1:02.56, per Welsch. Working by himself, Skippylongstocking got his last quarter in 25.53 under jockey Manny Franco, who will ride the horse for the first time in the Belmont."We weren't looking for much, he's fit,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. He was beaten 3 3/4 lengths by Rich Strike.\r\n\r\n“When things started to open up and he started to make his run, he had to go really wide and Barber Road was kind of laying on him the whole way down the lane,” Pletcher said. Nest went a half-mile in 49.89 seconds, per Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch, in company with Mo Donegal, the Kentucky Derby fifth-place finisher who also is running in the Belmont.\r\n\r\n“I was pleased with what I saw,” Pletcher said.