BELMONT NOTEBOOK
SEPTEMBER 11, 2013
by John Mucciolo
A Grade 2 test on the lawn highlighted the opening weekend of the fall
meeting at Belmont Park.
Bowling Green H. (G2): Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s homebred HYPER (Victory
Gallop) moved to the fore in early stretch and kept all foes at bay in
registering a half-length win for trainer Chad Brown. The peaking six-year-old
endured 10 furlongs on the firm inner turf in 2:01 1/5 under the guidance of
Javier Castellano.
Track Stats
A total of 20 races were held at the Elmont, New York, venue, with favorites
winning at a 30 percent rate and the top two betting choices combining for 60
percent of the wins during the week. From nine races on the main oval, four
animals won in wire-to-wire fashion (44 percent), while one of the 11 races on
the lawn were taken all the way on the front (9 percent).
The turf wire job came in a turf dash on Saturday in a sprint race. Overall,
we saw all types of winners on the lawn breaking from inside and very wide, up
close and far back early on.
Four winners went all the way on the front on the main oval over the weekend,
but it’s way too early to make any judgments about the surface from such a
limited sample.
Meet Totals
| RACES: | 20 | |
| DIRT: | 9 | |
| TURF: | 11 | |
| FAVORITES: | 6 (30 percent) | |
| 2ND CHOICES: | 6 (30 percent) | |
| TURF WIRE: | 1 (9 percent) | |
| DIRT WIRE: | 4 (44 percent) |
HORSES TO WATCH
Saturday (9/7)
3RD — The Mark Hennig-trained BLITHEY (Exchange Rate) proved that her fine
debut run was no fluke when the Empire State-bred rolled over this field by a
facile 11 1/4 lengths under Castellano. The juvenile miss broke on top and
really turned it on late in a professional move, running away from this field.
Expect the filly to be stakes bound in the very near future.
5TH — START JUMPING (Jump Start) reeled in a clear leader in midstretch and
cruised home a 2 3/4-length winner beneath Castellano. The David
Jacobson-trained gelding was tons the best in here and avoided a claim; a class
rise might be in line for the in-form sophomore.
7TH — BIKINI BEAUTY (Bernardini) was well back early, began to inch closer
approaching the turn for home and blew past her foes late to win going away in a
powerful debut run. Trained by Christophe Clement, the juvenile miss is bred to
be a nice one and certainly appears to have a ton of potential.
Sunday (9/8)
2ND — LONG WATER (Elusive Quality) had no chance with the winner in this
third-place effort, but the Kiaran McLaughlin pupil was more than eight lengths
clear of fourth and we expect this one to graduate before long. The
Kentucky-bred is cut out be a nice one being out of a Grade 1 queen who thrived
at a route of ground.
7TH — SHELDON (Purim) made a solid late run through the lane to earn the
show spot in this debut effort and the two-year-old colt could be a useful one
in the near future for Jimmy Toner, who is better with experienced runners. The
youngster would surely benefit from a trip where he saves more ground in his
comeback run.
A Look Ahead
The Grade 1, $350,000 Garden City and Grade 3, $200,000 Noble Damsel Stakes
will both be offered on Saturday.