Selections

Belmont July 8

Race 1

  • 6  Storm Team
  • 8  Betany
  • 3  Master Merion
  • Secondary (2, 4, 5)

Race 2

  • 4  Iron Mizz
  • 7  Bareeqa
  • 8  Selenite
  • Secondary (1, 6)

Race 3

  • 8  National Flag
  • 4  Roaming Union
  • 6  Shangroyal
  • Secondary (5)

Race 4

  • 9  Romantic Music
  • 1A  Lillie’s Answer
  • 3  Munchkin Money
  • Secondary (7, 10)

Race 5

  • 5  Roman Approval
  • 11 Turbo Street
  • 4  Conquest Sandman
  • Secondary (1, 6, 10)

Race 6

  • 3  Practical Joke
  • 2  Battalion Runner
  • 5  Giuseppe the Great
  • A small but talented field of runners goes in the Dwyer at a mile on the main track. I’m giving the nod to Practical Joke coming out of the key Kentucky Derby. Practical Joke is 0 for 3 this year, but was competitive in all his races and should relish this cutback in distance. The obvious second choice is Battalion Runner who ran very well in the Wood and has a nice series of works for the return today. The tough Pletcher/Valasquez combo makes this one a must use in the horizontals.

Race 7

  • 2  Mind Your Biscuits
  • 1  Stallwalkin’ Dude
  • 4  Tommy Macho
  • 7  Unified
  • It’s hard to pick against Mind Your Biscuits who won the Golden Shaheen in Dubai in March and was third in last year’s BC Sprint, but this is a fairly deep field and there are a few others worth a look. Stallwalkin’ Dude has a penchant for the distance and the BEL dirt and certainly has the class to compete with this group. My price pick is Tommy Macho, a horse that has been competitive in Graded races this year, and should relish the cutback to the 7F distance of this race. Losing to Mor Spirit in the Metropolitan certainly doesn’t downgrade the horse, and he really was up against it in the Carter where speed held up the whole way. He’s worth a long look today.

Race 8

  • 12  Sistercharlie
  • 9  Dynatail
  • 8  New Money Honey
  • Secondary (2, 5, 10)
  • In this very competitive renewal of the Belmont Oaks, I’m leaning toward the one of the Euro imports, Sistercharlie. She won at G2 at Saint Cloud in April and returned to run a troubled second in a G1 at Chantilly. While her Timeform ratings in those races are not as high as some others in here, she is on the improve and Chad Brown has a tendency to improve these Euro imports even more. Given there are four Chad Brown runners, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him dominate the race. My longshot prospect is Dynatail. She hasn’t been with quite the competition that some of the others have, but he figures suggest she can compete here. I think she’s worth a look at the odds.

Race 9

  • 6  Shaman Ghost
  • 5  Follow Me Crev
  • 2  Matt King Coal
  • Secondary (4)
  • While I didn’t think the Suburban came up particularly strong, it could be a competitive race. Shaman Ghost runs nothing but graded races these days, and has only finished out of the money once, in last year’s Suburban. This year’s renewal doesn’t have horses the likes of Effinex, and that has to make Shaman Ghost look a lot better. Unfortunately, the horses that could make a race of it are likely to be well backed behind the favorite, so a price is unlikely.

Race 10

  • 3  Homesman
  • 2  Ticonderoga
  • 4  Oscar Performance
  • Secondary (1, 7, 9)
  • Aidan O’Brien brings a few over for Belmont’s big day, including Homesman. The Kentucky bred has been a Group winner in Ireland, and gets Lasix for today’s run. He has good figures and has already proven successful at the distance. The longshot play is Ticonderoga. Chad Brown though well enough of the horse to place him in the BC Juvenile Turf, and gets a good rider switch today to Castellano. Worth a look.

Race 11

  • 9  Big Exchange
  • 8  Pollack
  • 5  Wingman
  • Secondary (4, 6)