Only a few trainers are familiar with the Belmont Stakes route. Todd Pletcher represents the NYRA Bets winner's circle better than anyone else. Rags to Riches, the third and most recent filly to win the "Test of the Champion," made history in 2007. In 2013, he released Palace Malice, and in 2017, he released Tapwrit.
After the 154th running of the one 12-mile Belmont on Saturday, no one would be surprised if the Hall of Famer returns to that familiar terrain. Mo Donegal and Nest, a filly who will try to follow Rags to Riches' gallant lead, are two horses he has significant involvement in. that bringing the appropriate kind of Horse to the Belmont is the most significant aspect of the race. You'll need a horse with plenty of stamina who won't lose rank too quickly.
Mo Donegal and Nest fit the bill nicely. Mo Donegal, a son of Uncle Mo, finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, his most recent run, despite the distance. Almost certainly, the post-position draw did. The colt and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. struggled to overcome the rail in the 20-horse field.
Stakes of the Wood Memorial When the Churchill Downs starting gate opened, the Presented by Resorts World Casino champion was barely awake. The trainer noticed, "He got tired in the gate." "He hopped at the start and stayed there the longest of anyone.
The shaky start highlighted how small the margin for error is in a Triple Crown race. Pre-race preparations were rendered useless.
The shaky start highlighted how small the margin for error is in a Triple Crown race. Pre-race preparations were rendered useless.
We planned to lay in the middle of the pack. Pletcher explained, "Instead, we were 19th." "We couldn't quite get there if we could have improved our position and followed Zandon, who was chasing Epicenter.
Rich Strike, the seemingly impossible longshot, beat Epicenter, while Zandon came in third. Mo Donegal, owned by Mike Repole and Donegal Racing, finished fifth. However, when everything is considered, he does not miss much. From the top, he was three and a quarter of a length.
"At no stage in the race did we get into that optimum position," Pletcher remarked. "What I liked about him was that he never gave up." He dashed to the finals.
The connections were undoubtedly encouraged by that finish – and the rest of the 3-year-body old's of work – to continue to the Belmont. With a couple of third-place finishes and $711,800 in earnings, Mo Donegal has won half of his six career starts.
The Nest was a less obvious choice after finishing second to Secret Oath in the one 1/8-mile Longines Kentucky Oaks. Although Secret Oath finished fourth in the Preakness Stakes against the boys, Nest's pedigree suggested she deserved to be considered for the Belmont marathon. She is the daughter of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, who was nearly defeated by Rags to Riches in the 2007 Triple Crown final leg. Curlin is the sire of Palace Malice, the 2013 Belmont winner. Marion Ravenwood, by A.P. Indy, the 1992 Belmont victor and Horse of the Year, similarly shouts the farther, the better. Nest debuted at Belmont Park on Sept. 25 and won by five lengths over a mile and a sixteenth. Since then, she's been a picture of consistency, winning four of the six races she's entered, with one second and a third. Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Repole Stable, and Michael House have awarded $850,550.
We were all on board that she was a bred-for-this-race filly with the ability to contend with these colts." Pletcher remarked, She's started training with Mo Donegal." "What we wanted to see was how she trained.
Pletcher is methodical in his approach to everything he does, which is one of the reasons he has won seven Eclipse Awards as the best trainer in North America. He isn't the type to take risks. He isn't the type to throw prudence to the breeze and demand too much of his horses.
He contemplated Malathaat, the eventual 3-year-old champion filly, for last Year's Belmont but decided against it. "I suppose Malathaat was truly created for this race last year, but the timing wasn't right," he added. "Everything went according to plan in this filly's situation."
If Pletcher wins his fourth Belmont, he will tie for fifth all-time with Max Hirsch, D. Wayne Lukas, and R.W. Walden. Consider him twice as dangerous in his pursuit of that goal this year.
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