Jockey Club Gold Cup

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

The main event of a smashing Belmont Park card on Saturday is the $750,000
Jockey Club Gold Cup Invitational (G1), which attracted a top field of seven.
The common sentiment is that the sophomores have an edge in here, and while we
often take the contrarian view, we will agree with the masses on this occasion.

Grade 1 hero and two-time track-record setter QUALITY ROAD (Elusive Quality)
might not be a natural 1 1/4-mile horse, but the ultra-talented colt appears to
be rounding into a peak performance, and this 1 1/2-turn event can help a horse
run a little farther than he may naturally want. Trained by Todd Pletcher, the
Kentucky-bred has a high cruising speed and should get a dream trip in this race
while tracking in second prior to the turn for home from the widest post. The
strapping bay ran much better than his third-place finish in the Travers S. (G1)
appears on paper last out, and we expect him to be fully fit for this engagement
under John Velazquez.

SUMMER BIRD (Birdstone) also ran better than his 3 1/2-length score in the
Travers might seem, as jockey Kent Desormeaux took it easy on his foes that day
— he could have won by much more in our view. The dual Grade 1 star has
impressed us in his last two tries when he’s gotten into the race very early
rather than just making one run from the back, and that’s a sign that he is
maturing and peaking at the right time. The chestnut will likely be
stalking in third or fourth behind a decent enough early clip, and his best
might just be too much for this solid field.

We liked the fourth-place finish by TIZWAY (Tiznow) in the Whitney H. (G1)
last out for James Bond, and we consider the vastly improved longshot as a live
exotics player in here. Winless in his first five outings with just one placing,
something clicked for the four-year-old this campaign and he’s been a different
animal, posting BRIS Speed figures of 107, 105 and 101 in three of his last four.
The dark bay will probably be on the lead early, and if Quality Road gives him
too much breathing room, the four-year-old might get brave under Rajiv Maragh.

The interesting SETTE E MEZZO (Dyanformer) has not tried dirt since his debut in
March of 2008 for Bill Mott and is hard to back in this spot. The steady
four-year-old is bred to run all day and should handle the dirt we would think,
but we still can’t say that he is faster than many of these at this stage of his
career. We like the move by Mott and will never second guess him, so we may put
a saver bet on him if the price is large. Ramon Dominguez will break from the
rail aboard the bay.

Suburban H. (G2) runner-up ASIATIC BOY (Arg) (Not for Sale) has run well in three
starts in the U. S. for conditioner Kiaran McLaughlin and drilled a bullet
half-mile leading into this event. The six-year-old will add blinkers for this
which could catapult him to a new level at a big price. We couldn’t fault
anyone who takes a shot on the classy veteran. Alan Garcia retains the mount.

We don’t like the expected trip Grade 1 star MACHO AGAIN (Macho Uno) will get
in here, and we also think that he may digress after chasing Rachel Alexandra
(Medaglia d’Oro) in the Woodward S. (G1) last out, so we’re taking a stand
against the Dallas Stewart pupil. The four-year-old gray is in excellent form
and has strung a trio of top races together for the first time in his career,
winning the Stephen Foster H. (G1) and finishing a fine second in the Whitney H.
(G1) in other recent outings. If the colt was a proven commodity at Belmont, we might
feel differently about looking elsewhere.

Suburban winner DRY MARTINI (Slew Gin Fizz) is a two-time winner over
this oval who should stay as much as anything in the field for Barclay Tagg. The
long-striding gelding has little early speed and will likely be left with too
much to do in the stretch, but he looks like a horse you absolutely must use to
fill out your vertical exotics with beneath Edgar Prado.