5/31/15
Last updated: 5/30/15 5:24 PM
Tale of Verve, Mubtaahij and Frammento post final major
Belmont moves
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Tale of Verve posted a
bullet move in his final major work for the Belmont Stakes
(NYRA/Susie Raisher/Adam Coglianese Photography) |
Belmont S. (G1) hopeful Tale of Verve (Tale of Ekati) took to the Belmont
Park main track early Saturday morning to log his final breeze in advance of the $1.5
million “Test of the Champion” on June 6.
With exercise rider and jockey Kortez Walker up for the
work, the bay colt clocked a bullet five furlongs in :59, the fastest
of 23 recorded works at the distance.
“He galloped out good and came back blowing, which is good
because it means he got something out of it,” said Dallas Stewart, who trains
Tale of Verve for owner/breeder Charles Fipke. “He came back great and looked
awesome.”
Coming off solitary maiden win on April 23 at Keeneland,
Tale of Verve was entered as an also-eligible for the May 2 Kentucky Derby (G1)
but failed to make the race. He was then sent to Pimlico for the
Preakness S. (G1) two weeks later and finished second — seven lengths behind
Derby victor American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) — at odds of 28-1.
“I hope he has another step forward in him; that’s what
we’re here for,” said Stewart, who finished second in a Triple Crown race for
the third year in a row.
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The Fipke homebred will have a long way to travel if he is
to vanquish Triple Crown hopeful American Pharoah, who galloped 1 1/2 miles over
the Churchill Downs main track on Saturday morning. The 1 1/2 miles of the Belmont
is considerably farther than Tale of Verve has ever raced, but Stewart sees that
as a positive.
“It’s in his breeding,” the Kentucky-based horseman stated. “He’s a big horse
and has a great stride, so hopefully it will add up. It’s going to be a matter
of stamina, and hopefully the best horse will win.”
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Mubtaahij took to the main
track at Belmont Saturday morning to ready for the third jewel
of the Triple Crown
(NYRA/Susie Raisher/Adam Coglianese Photography) |
Widely traveled Belmont Stakes entrant Mubtaahij (Dubawi) continued his
preparations for next Saturday’s race, turning working five-eighths in 1:01 on
the Belmont main track Saturday morning to record the seventh-fastest time at
the distance.
The Irish-bred colt was scheduled to work on the turf, but the move to the
main track was made because the turf was too firm, according to Trevor Brown,
assistant to trainer Mike de Kock. Brown said he was very pleased with
Mubtaahij’s effort over the main track and is positive the bay colt has taken
more kindly to the surface when compared with Churchill Downs, where he finished
eighth in the Kentucky Derby in his first start in America.
With de Kock’s arrival to New York expected for Monday, Brown said the U.A.E.
Derby (UAE-G2) winner would have an easy week.
“We’ll freshen him up now this week,” Brown explained. “We’ve been pretty
hard on him; that’s our normal routine. Two weeks out we work him hard and the
last week freshen him up, but he’s going good and we’re very happy with him.”
At Saratoga Race Course on Saturday, Mossarossa’s Grade 2-placed Frammento
(Midshipman) put in his final timed work for the final jewel of the Triple
Crown.
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Working in company with maiden three-year-old Hard Scuffle (Hard Spun),
Frammento was clocked in :48 for a half-mile over the fast Oklahoma training
track. Going out at 7:45 a.m. (EDT) in the first set after the maintenance
break, he galloped out five furlongs in 1:02 1/5.
“He looked great,” Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito said. “They got him in :12,
:24, :48 — you can’t beat that. I even got him a little quicker, but that was
OK. I’m happy. It was good.”
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Frammento, seen here readying for the Derby at Keeneland,
will go for his first stakes win in the Belmont
(Keeneland/Coady Photography) |
Regular exercise rider and Zito assistant trainer Maxine
Correa was aboard for the work, Frammento’s third since an 11th-place finish in
the May 2 Kentucky Derby and all coming on the Oklahoma training track.
“He felt great. He started off real cool and relaxed and he
picked it up at the quarter-pole and flew home. He galloped out beautiful and
finished up strong,” Correa said. “He started off just behind a horse and stayed
a little wide. He was happy to stay behind the horse until the quarter-pole and
as soon as I asked him to go, he kicked on. It was really good.”
Frammento was given a half-mile in :49 1/5 on May 23 and blew out three
furlongs about two weeks after the Derby in :36 4/5.
“Last Saturday when he worked, he just kept going. Max does
a good job on him. He went pretty darn good last weekend, and this is what we
wanted him to do today, just sharpen him up a little bit. He’s over-ready,” Zito
said.
“Everything is good. He’s developed nice, he’s held his flesh and he’s held
himself. He’s doing everything right.”
Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith will ride Frammento in the
Belmont for Zito, who won the race with Birdstone in 2004 and Da’ Tara in 2008,
both times spoiling a Triple Crown bid.
Prior to the Derby, Frammento was sixth in the Holy
Bull S. (G2) and third in the Fountain of Youth S. (G2) at Gulfstream Park, and fourth
in the Blue Grass S. (G1) at Keeneland. He will be racing for the first
time at Belmont Park.
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“In the times I’ve breezed him, sometimes with company and
sometimes without, he seems to have matured a lot over the winter and sort of
got his head together, realizing what he’s supposed to do,” Correa said. “He’s
coming around nicely.”
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