The Truth or Else joins Belmont fray; Pletcher trio, Frosted to work Friday

The Truth or Else joins Belmont fray; Pletcher trio,
Frosted to work Friday

The Truth or Else is two-for-three over the Belmont main track (NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography) Trainer Kenny McPeek, who upset War Emblem’s bid for a Triple Crown with Sarava in 2002, said Thursday morning that he will more than likely point The Truth or Else (Yes It’s True) toward the $1.5 million Belmont S. (G1) on June 6. The Truth or Else, who had picked up 11 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby earlier this year, is coming out of a 1 1/2-length allowance victory over the local track on May 22, which, according to McPeek, was a major deciding factor heading into the Belmont S., in which American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) will be bidding to become racing’s first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. “My horse loves the Belmont track,” McPeek said. “He has two starts and two wins on a dry track at Belmont. And he’s out of a Colonial Affair mare (multiple Grade 3 scorer Lakenheath) so he should get the distance. His last race was a confidence builder. He got a good time and an excellent speed figure. His last two races have set him up for this. He really needed to win his last race, which he did.” The chestnut is owned in partnership with McPeek and New Jersey natives Harold and Helen Lerner. “The owners are from the area, which makes the race even more special,” he added.

McPeek also trained Atigun, who finished third in the 2012 edition;
Unstoppable U, sixth in 2012; Frac Daddy, 14th in 2013, and Pineaff, ninth in
1999.

“He’s just a really solid horse,” McPeek said. “The Truth or Else is bigger
and stronger than both Sarava and Atigun. Weird things happen in the Belmont.
You shouldn’t duck one horse in a race. American Pharoah could possibly not
handle the surface. You don’t know. So long as it’s a dry track, we’ll pull the
trigger.”

McPeek said that two-time Belmont S. winner and Hall of Famer Edgar Prado
will have the mount.

The field for the 1 1/2-mile Belmont S. is hovering at 10. On Thursday,
trainer Mark Casse said Conquest Curlinate (Curlin), who is stabled at Churchill Downs,
would not run in the Belmont. Conquest Curlinate was not nominated to the Triple
Crown and would have had to be supplemented to the Belmont for $75,000. He will
be pointed instead to the Queen’s Plate.

American Pharoah is scheduled to arrive at Belmont Park on Tuesday, along with
fellow Belmont contender Keen Ice (Curlin). Coming down from Saratoga Race Course will
be Frammento (Midshipman), trained by Hall of Famer Nick Zito, who won the Belmont in 2004
with Birdstone and again in 2008 with Da’ Tara, both times upsetting Triple
Crown hopefuls.

Scheduled to breeze Friday morning for their upcoming roles in the “Test of the
Champion” are the Todd Pletcher trio of Madefromlucky (Lookin at Lucky), Materiality
(Afleet Alex) and Carpe Diem (Giant’s Causeway);
the Kiaran McLaughlin-trained Frosted (Tapit); and Preakness runner-up Tale of Verve
(Tale of Ekati) for
trainer Dallas Stewart.

Mubtaahij (Dubawi) is set to work once more this weekend before galloping up to the race.

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