JC / Railbird

Belmont Park

Bribon Wins Met Mile

The winner’s circle after the Met Mile this afternoon felt like a flashback to Saratoga last summer, and it wasn’t just the warm summery air or the festive track crowd. The same delighted connections who gathered then for a photo with Grand Couturier — winner of back-to-back Sword Dancer Stakes — were smiling at Belmont after Bribon — winner of the Westchester Handicap last month — won the Met Mile by a half-length over 3-1 co-favorite Smooth Air.

Trainer Robert Ribaudo said after the race that the 6-year-old gelding may get some time off before returning to race upstate. “There’s not a lot in the near future, but he deserves a little break,” said Ribaudo. “Maybe we’ll come back in Saratoga at seven-eighths.”

Final time for the Met Mile was 1:34.15 (with the final quarter in :25.6) after quick early fractions of :22.70, :45.20, 1:08.55 set by third-place finisher Driven by Success. Smooth Air, whose handler was persistently imploring, “Come on, Smoothie!”, well before the field turned into the stretch, became a millionaire with his $120,000 share of the purse. The win on Bribon was jockey Alan Garcia’s second in the race; the rider won on Divine Park in 2008.

Posted in Racing on May 25, 2009 / Tagged Belmont Park, Bribon, Met Mile, Photos, Winner's Circle

In Place

… of the Secretariat statue that adorned the center of the Belmont paddock:

Posted in Racing on May 25, 2009 / Tagged Belmont Park, Paddock, Secretariat Statue

Monday Notes

– Naughty New Yorker, unraced since finishing seventh in the 2008 Suburban Handicap (thanks to TrackMaster for that info), is on the comeback trail, says trainer Pat Kelly, and a start at Belmont before the end of the meet is possible. The 7-year-old NY-bred, who returned to the worktab on May 12, breezed four furlongs in :47.85 (2/25) over the Belmont training track on Sunday.

– Rachel Alexandra worked four furlongs in :50.20 over a sloppy track at Churchill this morning; Mine That Bird went the same distance in :51 with Calvin Borel in the saddle. The uncertainty over whether the Preakness winner will run in the Belmont and who Borel will ride continues with owner Jess Jackson telling reporters today a decision regarding Rachel Alexandra isn’t likely until next week and trainer Chip Woolley backing down from his Monday deadline, saying that he would wait a few more days to name a jockey for Mine That Bird. Will she or won’t she — there’s no shortage of speculation. My guess — she won’t, but that Jackson will take his time, drawing out the story, before making a definite announcement, which seems a cruel thing to do to the Mine That Bird camp … unless they’re fairly certain they’ll get their rider eventually. [Addendum: Claire Novak has the right take on today’s post-work non-story. “We were, essentially, there to report … nothing.”]

– At Monmouth on Saturday, at Belmont today for the Met Mile. Live blogging this afternoon a possibility, occasional on-scene Twitter updates more likely.

Posted in Racing on May 25, 2009 / Tagged Belmont Park, Met Mile, Naughty New Yorker, Rachel Alexandra

While Waiting for the Draw …

Enjoy this T.D. Thornton profile of Dr. Mick Peterson:

This week Peterson is in Louisville to experience his first Kentucky Derby. He’s the solitary figure on the track between the cacophony of morning training and the excitement of the afternoon races, taking his measurements during the break in the action. He’s looking forward to watching the Derby not from one of the cushy luxury suites, but from an obscure hideaway on the far turn known as “The Hill,” where the maintenance crew parks its heavy equipment.

Or this one of DRF clocker Mike Welsch by Joe Drape:

So, Welsch will study how the Derby horses gallop over the next couple of days before deciding where his, and his followers’, $2 bets will go. He will discern who looks fresh and who is sore. He will listen, too, until one of them clears its throat and says, “Bet me.”

Think about what might happen in racing after the Derby:

Wiggins said that if things go well Friday he’d like to see her run in the Belmont. But Lauffer sounded less sure about running Rachel Alexandra against the boys, saying she’ll probably get a break after the Oaks and might return in August for the fillies-only Alabama Stakes at Saratoga.

And, of course, there’s Belmont to distract, opening today for its spring meet.

Posted in Racing on April 29, 2009 / Tagged Belmont Park, Mick Peterson, Mike Welsch, Profiles