Dunkirk joins Charitable Man, Summer Bird on Belmont
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Florida Derby (G1) runner-up DUNKIRK (Unbridled’s Song) was not expected to
work until Monday, but with an eye on the weather forecast for Belmont Park,
trainer Todd Pletcher “called an audible” and moved up the drill to Saturday. As
a result, the gray joined fellow Belmont S. (G1) contenders CHARITABLE MAN
(Lemon Drop Kid) and SUMMER BIRD (Birdstone) on a busy morning at Big Sandy.
“The forecast calls for a chance of rain tomorrow or Sunday, and I didn’t
want to get into a situation where I was backed up,” Pletcher said. “This was
his most important breeze leading up the Belmont.”
Dunkirk, most recently 11th in the Kentucky Derby (G1), took to the fast main
track with retired Hall of Famer Angel Cordero Jr. The royally bred colt
proceeded to work five furlongs in company with multiple Grade 1-placed
stablemate Munnings (Speightstown), each clocking 1:00.77. The pair tied for the
seventh-fastest of 23 moves at the distance.
“He went very well,” Pletcher said of Dunkirk. “He’s a solid work horse. He’s
enthusiastic, but not overly aggressive. Angel said he went very well and
handled the surface well.”
Pletcher added that Dunkirk would work again next Saturday or Sunday.
Multiple Grade 2 hero Charitable Man, exiting an emphatic victory in the
Peter Pan S. (G2), zipped a half-mile in :47.88 under exercise rider Renzo
Morales.
“He went very smoothly,” trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said. “He went off a
little quick, but that’s a good sign.”
Charitable Man, who is three-for-three on dirt and two-for-two at Belmont
Park, posted the second-fastest of 39 trials at the trip. By 1999 Belmont winner
Lemon Drop Kid, the dark bay will work again next Saturday as he preps for the 1
1/2-mile “Test of the Champion.”
“It’s great to think he’s by Lemon Drop Kid, who won a mile and a half race
here,” said McLaughlin, who saddled Jazil to victory in the 2006 Belmont. “We’ll
keep our fingers crossed for the next two weeks. We’ve always had a lot of
confidence in this colt; it’s a shame we weren’t ready for the first Saturday in
May, but he’ll be ready for the first Saturday in June.
“It was great to see the Derby winner, MINE THAT BIRD (Birdstone), come back
and run so well against RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d’Oro) in the Preakness
(G1),” he added. “Hopefully, they come here and run well and finish second and
third behind Charitable Man.”
Summer Bird, sixth in the Kentucky Derby, worked seven furlongs in 1:26.47
with Hall of Fame rider Edgar Prado aboard. The only horse to work seven-eighths
over the main track, the Tim Ice pupil was caught in splits of :24 3/5 and :48
3/5 in his first work over the surface.
“I was happy with it,” Ice said of the son of 2004 Belmont winner Birdstone.
“It looked like he wasn’t handling it 100 percent, but that’s why we’re here
early, to let him get a feel for it. It looked like he was spinning his wheels a
little bit through the lane, but he came back in great shape.”
Ice said Summer Bird, a rallying third when making his stakes debut in the
Arkansas Derby (G2) two back, will walk Sunday and return to the track on
Monday.
In other Belmont news:
Upstate at Saratoga, the Nick Zito-trained NOWHERE TO HIDE (Vindication)
negotiated four furlongs in :49.84 on the fast Oklahoma training track. Fourth
in the Risen Star S. (G3), Tampa Bay Derby (G3) and Illinois Derby (G2), the bay
is coming off a 17th-place finish in the Run for the Roses.
Nowhere to Hide is one of three Zito runners listed as possible for the
Belmont, along with Peter Pan third BRAVE VICTORY (Lion Heart) and Federico
Tesio S. scorer MINER’S ESCAPE (Mineshaft).
At Churchill Downs on Saturday, Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird galloped
two miles before the renovation break under exercise rider Charlie Figueroa.
Kentucky Oaks (G1) and Preakness heroine Rachel Alexandra also galloped
before the renovation break under exercise rider Dominic Terry.
Both Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird are scheduled to work Monday.