Alternation ruled out of Belmont; Hounds set to return
Pin Oak Stable’s ALTERNATION (Distorted Humor), winner of the Peter Pan S.
(G2) at Belmont on
May 14, is no longer under consideration for the $1 million Belmont
S. (G1) on June 11, trainer Donnie Von Hemel announced Sunday morning.
“We just decided to not come to the Belmont,” Von Hemel said. “We thought we
should give him a bit of a breather and point him toward races like the Jim
Dandy (G2) and Travers (G1).”
Both mainstays of the Saratoga stakes schedule, the 1 1/8-mile Jim Dandy will
be contested on July 30 and the 1 1/4-mile
Travers will be held August 27.
With Alternation’s defection, jockey Ramon Dominguez is now in the market for
another Belmont mount. This spring, he has been the regular rider for STAY
THIRSTY (Bernardini), who is currently under consideration for the Belmont.
On Sunday, Stay Thirsty blitzed six furlongs in a sharp 1:12, best of four
works at the distance on Belmont’s fast main track. The Todd Pletcher pupil was
a good-looking winner of the Gotham S. (G3) before disappointing when seventh in
the Florida Derby (G1) and 12th in the Kentucky Derby (G1).
In other Belmont news:
Mrs. John Magnier’s MASTER OF HOUNDS (Kingmambo), most recently fifth in the Kentucky
Derby, is scheduled to ship from Europe to New York on June 7 for the Belmont, clearing quarantine on June 9.
Second in the U.A.E. Derby (UAE-G2) in his only other start as a
three-year-old, the Aidan O’Brien trainee was sixth as the favorite in the 2010
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G2) at Churchill Downs and third in the Racing
Post Trophy (Eng-G1) at Doncaster, having broken his maiden in his fourth start in
Ireland.
Trainer Dale Romans said Sunday that Preakness (G1) winner
SHACKLEFORD (Forestry) is scheduled to arrive at Belmont Park early Monday morning after an
overnight van ride from Churchill Downs.
“He’ll be there early, but I have to check with the van guy later on about
exactly when,” Romans said.
Shackleford, owned by Michael Lauffer and W.D. Cubbedge, led the Kentucky
Derby field into the stretch and held on well for fourth place behind Animal
Kingdom (Leroidesanimaux [Brz]). In the Preakness, he stalked pacesetter Flashpoint
(Pomeroy) and held off the
late-running Derby winner to prevail by a half-length.
Romans, who has not yet announced a decision on whether Shackleford will
start in the 143rd running of the Belmont,
owns two third-place finishes in the race from two starters — Nolan’s Cat in
2005 and First Dude (Stephen Got Even) in 2010.
Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up ANIMAL KINGDOM is doing
“super,” said trainer Graham Motion, and will resume galloping Monday morning
in preparation for the Belmont.
“He jogged today and he was rather full of himself,” Motion said from the
Fair Hill training center in Maryland. “He’ll gallop tomorrow and have a week of
galloping until he breezes next week.”
Motion is hoping to work the colt next Monday, but has not
decided whether it will be at Fair Hill or Belmont Park.
“I kind of want to see how the weather will be,” he said. “In an ideal world,
I would like to breeze him next Monday, but I don’t want to ship and have to
work him up there over a sloppy track.”
MUCHO MACHO MAN (Macho Uno), sixth in the Preakness after losing a left front
shoe, returned to the track Friday morning with a new pair of glue-on front
shoes as he is readied for the Belmont.
“I think we have the shoe situation under control for good,” said Kathy
Ritvo, who trains the 17.1-hand tall colt for Reeves Thoroughbred Racing.
“There are still a lot of things we have to go through to get him to the
Belmont, but right now, he looks great.”
The sixth-place Preakness finish was the first time Mucho Macho Man had
finished off the board in 10 career starts. After running second behind To Honor
and Serve (Bernardini) in the Nashua S. (G2) and Remsen S. (G2) at Aqueduct last
fall, the colt was fourth to DIALED IN (Mineshaft) in the Holy Bull S. (G3), victorious in
the Risen Star S. (G2), third in the Louisiana Derby (G2) and third in the
Kentucky Derby.
“Even in finishing sixth, he was beaten only seven lengths and I am pretty
sure he ran the race with three shoes,” said Ritvo of Mucho Macho Man, a June 15
foal. “I’m pretty sure he’s only going to get better.”
Blue Grass (G1) winner BRILLIANT SPEED (Dynaformer) will breeze again either Monday or
Tuesday as he readies for a start in the Belmont, trainer Tom Albertrani said.
“He’ll breeze again any day now,” said Albertrani, who sent the
colt out for a five-furlong work in 1:00 on May 23, his first breeze since
finishing seventh in the Kentucky Derby. “He came out of the Derby fine, and
came back with a good minute work, so everything looks to be going well since he
ran.”
The Derby, in which Brilliant Speed finished 5 1/2 lengths behind Animal
Kingdom, was the colt’s first start on conventional dirt as a three-year-old. At age
two, he was fourth to eventual Hopeful (G1) winner Boys at Tosconova (Officer) in his
debut at Belmont Park and then seventh behind Curlinello (Smart Strike), eventual Illinois
Derby (G3) winner Joe Vann (Silver Deputy) and fellow Belmont aspirant Mucho Macho Man at
Saratoga.
“He trains well over the dirt,” said Albertrani of the Live Oak Plantation
homebred. “I guess that’s the only thing we still have to find out. Churchill
Downs is a little bit different from the Belmont surface.
“I guess there’s always
that little bit of doubt in the back of your mind whether he’ll take to it, but
I’d be pretty optimistic again. Going into the Derby, I felt good about his
chances of handling the dirt, and I think he gets over it OK, so I’d be
optimistic again.”
Kentucky Derby sixth-place finisher SANTIVA (Giant’s Causeway) took another step toward a start
in the Belmont with a 1:00 3/5 five-furlong breeze at
Churchill Downs on Saturday.
“(The workout) went super and I’m really happy with how he’s doing now,” said
Eddie Kenneally, who trains the colt for Tom R. Walters.
Kenneally said he’ll make a final decision on when Santiva will ship to New
York after the colt turns in his final workout at Churchill Downs next Saturday.
“We’ll breeze him next week, and we’ll go from there,” Kenneally
said.
Santiva, who broke his maiden when he defeated Astrology (A.P. Indy) in the Kentucky Jockey Club
S. (G2) at Churchill in November, prepped for the Kentucky Derby with a second
in the Risen Star at Fair Grounds in February and a ninth in the Blue Grass over Keeneland’s Polytrack in April.