Medal Count to work at Churchill before shipping next week
to Belmont
Grade 3 winner Medal Count, eighth-place finisher in
the May 3 Kentucky Derby, will work Saturday under
the Twin Spires before shipping to Belmont Park next Thursday where he will try
to spoil the Triple Crown hopes of California Chrome in the Belmont Stakes on June 7.
The bay son of Dynaformer galloped at Churchill on
Thursday morning after the renovation break under exercise rider Faustino
Aguilar for trainer Dale Romans.
“He’s doing great,” Romans said. “He’s a Triple Crown-caliber horse, needs to
run a Triple Crown race and should improve going a mile-and-a-half. As we know
it, it’s been close to 40 years, 11 chances; no one has been able to do it
(sweep the Triple Crown) yet so California Chrome has a tough thing to do.”
When asked what type of trip Medal Count would need to be able to win the
Belmont Stakes, Romans explained, “He should be laying fairly close going a
mile-and-a-half because you can’t let them get away from you in that race.”
Romans has saddled four Belmont runners, with his best
finishes coming as third-place efforts in 2005 with Nolan’s Cat and 2010 with
First Dude.
Jockey Robby Albarado has been confirmed to ride Medal
Count in the Belmont, where he has finished second twice, once in 2007 with
Curlin and again in 2008 with Denis of Cork. This will be Albarado’s fourth
Belmont mount.
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