Belmont Park will kick off the Holiday Weekend with a trio of stakes races,
Rodman, who exits a fast-finishing second to Tizway (Tiznow) in the
Overlooked at 36-1 in the Met Mile, Rodman dropped well off the pace before
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“We were thrilled with his race,” Hushion said. “It was a very good effort,
and he seems to have come out of the race well. We’re hoping for another good
performance.”
A Grade 3 winner at three, Colizeo opened 2011 with a four-length romp in the
Challenger S. at Tampa Bay Downs. He finished third as the favorite in the Skip
Away (G3) at Gulfstream Park in his next start and exits a good second in the
William Donald Schaefer Memorial (G3) at Pimlico, missing by only a neck in a
near wire-to-wire performance. Todd Pletcher trains the well-traveled colt, who
has compiled a 5-3-3 mark from 15 starts at eight different tracks, including a
three-length score in the Star of Cozzene S. at Belmont last October, and the
four-year-old will likely show speed from the start Saturday under new rider
Cornelio Velasquez.
“I’m hoping the race he won at Belmont indicates he likes Belmont,” Pletcher
said . “We’re stepping up a notch here, but it’s a logical step given what he’s
shown.”
Pletcher’s go-to-rider, John Velazquez, will depart Colizeo for Hymn Book,
who will make his graded stakes debut following a victory in the off-the-turf
Three Coins Up S. on May 19 that netted him a 114 BRIS Speed rating. The
lightly-raced five-year-old has raced primarily on turf, recording an overall
mark of 9-5-2-1, but the gelding is two-for-three on the main track for Shug
McGaughey.
“He’s doing well and his last race was good; the numbers were supposedly
really good on him,” McGaughey said. “It might be an ambitious place, but we’ll
see.”
Rounding out the field is stakes winner FLAT OUT (Flatter), a good second in
the Lone Star Park H. (G3) two back and set to make his New York debut off a
sixth in Stephen Foster H. (G1) at Churchill Downs; last year’s Suburban
runner-up CONVOCATION (Pulpit), who exits a third in the Easy Goer S. on June 5;
and ICABAD CRANE (Jump Start), a multiple New York-bred stakes winner who will
make his second straight start against open rivals following a third in the
Schaefer.
Adios Charlie is the one to beat in the Dwyer. A 6 3/4-length maiden winner
“As the Triple Crown races unfolded, it might have been nice to be involved,
Adios Charlie has recorded five consecutive “bullet” workouts in Saratoga in
DOMINUS (Smart Strike) is another lightly-raced sophomore with a promising
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Julien Leparoux will be in to ride the 2-1 second choice on the morning line.
The remaining Dwyer contestants are outsiders. COOL BLUE RED HOT (Harlan’s
Holiday), a recent allowance winner at Belmont, will make his stakes bow for
trainer Angel Penna Jr. TECH FALL (Birdstone), who shows a 2-2-0 line from four
career starts at Delaware Park and Parx Racing, will make his first foray into
stakes waters for Tony Dutrow. ROCKING OUT (Include) exits a third in the
Ziggy’s Boy S. at Belmont, and Monmouth shippers MALIBU GLOW (Malibu Moon) and
HARLAN’S HELLO (Harlan’s Holiday) finished third in the Spend a Buck S. and
fourth in the Pegasus S. (G3), respectively.
The $60,000
Recording S. will feature eight three-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles on
the inner turf. CELESTIAL KITTEN (Kitten’s Joy) and PARTING WORDS (Artie
Schiller [Ire]), the respective second- and third-place finishers in the Sands
Point S. (G2) on May 30, both rate as top contenders, and the Pletcher-trained
SKATING (Awesome Again) will draw support off her close third in the recent
Little Silver S. at Monmouth Park.