A pair of dirt events, the $150,000 Kelso H. (G2) and $150,000 Gallant Bloom (G2), are among the five stakes being offered on Saturday’s 10-race card at Belmont Park.
Multiple Grade 1 victor Code of Honor will face four rivals in the one-mile Kelso. Winner of Travers (G1) and Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) last year, the Shug McGaughey-trained colt opened his 4-year-old season with a victory in the 1 1/16-mile Westchester at Belmont, but Code of Honor has not been a serious factor finishing third in the Met Mile (G1) and fourth in the Whitney (G1) in his last two outings. Javier Castellano will pick up the mount.
Westchester runner-up Endorsed should appreciate the cutback in distance following a second in the 1 1/8-mile Alydar S. at Saratoga. Junior Alvarado rides the Bill Mott trainee. Multiple stakes hero Stan the Man enters in good form for John Terranova, posting a 1 1/2-length triumph in the 6-furlong Tale of the Cat S. at Saratoga, and the versatile gelding is a three-time winner at a mile.
Grade 1-winning juvenile Complexity, a good second in the Aug. 29 Forego (G1) over a sloppy track, will be the one to catch with Jose Ortiz. Chad Brown conditions the 4-year-old colt. Ohio-bred stakes winner Mo Dont No completes the field.
The 6 1/2-furlong Gallant Bloom is a prep for the Nov. 7 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) at Keeneland, and Frank’s Rockette will be the one to beat among six distaffers.
The 3-year-old filly will face elders for the first time with a three-race win streak, romping by 2 1/2 lengths most recently in the Sept. 5 Prioress (G2) at Saratoga, and the Mott-trained daughter of Into Mischief will show speed with Alvarado.
Bronx Beauty and Royal Charlotte, the 1-2 finishers from the Sept. 13 Regret S. at Monmouth Park, are the main challengers. Pacific Gale has placed in five stakes over the last two seasons, but she must improve to earn her first win since 2018.
