Manhattan, Just a Game wide-open affairs on Belmont undercard

Man o’ War winner Twilight Eclipse looks to keep his good luck going in the Manhattan (NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography)

Earning a first Grade 1 victory in last month’s Man o’ War (G1), Twilight
Eclipse (Purim) will attempt to keep his hot streak at the highest level going
in the $1 million
Manhattan
(G1), a 1 1/4-mile inner turf fixture at Belmont Park, which precedes the
third leg of the Triple Crown on Saturday’s 13-race Belmont S. (G1) program.

Frustrated at every turn by divisional champion Main Sequence (Aldebaran)
last season, as well as in the Mac Diarmida (G2) in February, Twilight Eclipse
rebounded from a subsequent loss in the Pan American (G2) to take the 1 3/8-mile
Man o’ War by a neck over the pacesetting War Dancer (War Front), with Hyper
(Victory Gallop) three lengths farther back in third. War Dancer figures to set
the pace again, with Twilight Eclipse not far behind.

Hyper, who was making his first start since November 2013 in the May 9 Man o’
War, was a course-and-distance winner of the Bowling Green (G2) two season ago
and also placed in the Canadian International (Can-G1). He’s joined here by Chad
Brown-trained stablemates Big Blue Kitten (Kitten’s Joy), a multiple Grade 1
winner and recent hero of the Fort Marcy (G3), and Slumber (Cacique), who adds
blinkers following a recent fifth in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (G1). The
seven-year-old was previously second in the Gulfstream Park Turf H. (G1) and
Mervin H. Muniz Jr. Memorial H. (G2).

Ball Dancing proved best in the Jenny Wiley at Keeneland in April (Coady Photography)

Another contentious grass field awaits bettors in the $700,000
Just a Game
(G1), a mile event for fillies and mares. Ball Dancing (Exchange Rate), who
captured the Sands Point (G2) in her U.S. debut last September and most recently
captured the Jenny Wiley (G1) at Keeneland, figures to be among the favorites.

Coffee Clique (Medaglia d’Oro), who won the 2014 Just a Game by a nose, is
back to defend her title. Unraced for the remainder of the season following that
performance, Coffee Clique has finished third in the Honey Fox (G2) and second
in the Churchill Distaff Turf Mile (G2) in her comeback outings.

Lady Lara (Excellent Art) and Sandiva (Footstepsinthesand) beat Coffee Clique
to the finish in the March 28 Honey Fox, but were behind that rival in the May 2
Churchill feature. The latter was taken by Tepin (Bernstein) in wire-to-wire
fashion at 9-1, and the Mark Casse pupil will attempt to make it two in a row
here.

Grade 1 veteran Discreet Marq (Discreet Cat), fourth as the favorite in this
race last year, is five-for-eight on the Belmont turf courses and enters off a
slow-paced victory in the May 9 Beaugay (G3). Also exiting that race is
runner-up Photo Call (Galileo).

The field is rounded out by Grade 2 vixen Filimbi (Mizzen Mast), second in
the Jenny Wiley last time; J Wonder (Footstepsinthesand), a multiple Group 3
winner in England who was a rough-trip fourth in the Beaugay; and multiple
stakes winner Baffle Me (First Samurai).

Australian import Power Alert (Alert), a course-record setter in last month’s
Twin Spires Turf Sprint (G3) at Churchill Downs), stretches out to six furlongs
for the $300,000
Jaipur (G3).
The Brian Lynch will have to go breaking from post 1 in the field of 13.