JC / Railbird

Belmont Archive

A Generous Payout

Yesterday’s prices for the winners of each race in the tough Belmont pick six sequence: $9.90, $14.60, $8.20, $7.00, $19.00, $8.00. Short prices, mostly, yet not a favorite in the bunch. Payout on the pick six, a very generous $191,700 apiece to the holders of the two winning tickets.

Posted in Belmont on October 15, 2007

Coming Back to Win

Genuine Devotion went on my watch list after her last race, a six-furlong N1X over the Belmont turf on September 15, in which she’d wired the field in 1:07.97. Pretty good, but what impressed were the fractions: She ran the first quarter in :22.63, the second in :23.01, the penultimate eighth in :11.71, and the final eighth in a quick :10.6. She returned in Sunday’s Xtra Heat Handicap, which looked like a tough spot for her first stakes try, with graded stakes-tested Society Hostess, Stormy Kiss, and G City Gal entered, but they proved no problem for the three-year-old filly, who took an early lead, set the pace, then drew away to win by 2 3/4 lengths. Final time was 1:08.65, with fractions of :22.44, :22.66, :11.34, and :12.18. Not bad; her Beyer speed figure comes back as 100. Genuine Devotion is now 3-for-6, 2-for-3 on grass. Favored Society Hostess, who had won five of seven starts for trainer Christophe Clement and was coming off a nine-month layoff during which she had ankle surgery, finished fourth.

Posted in Belmont on October 14, 2007

Sweet Cat’s Sis Scores

– Life Is Sweet, a full sister to 2004 champion juvenile filly Sweet Catomine, routed her competition in the fifth at Belmont this afternoon, going 1 1/16 miles on the grass in 1:41.47. It was the two-year-old’s second career start for trainer Bill Mott. Debuting at Saratoga (in the same race won by Indian Blessing, who took the Frizette Stakes oh so impressively on Saturday), she showed little going 5 1/2 furlongs on the dirt, racing far off the pace and finishing eighth, more than 14 lengths back. Today’s distance and surface switch suited Life Is Sweet’s apparent style better: The Storm Cat filly picked off rivals on the outside then exploded at the top of the stretch, drawing away to win by nine lengths over Tessitura as the 9-5 favorite.

– Nobiz Like Shobiz won’t start in the Breeders’ Cup Mile despite his push-button victory in the Jamaica Handicap on Saturday. Trainer Barclay Tagg said the three-year-old colt, now 3-for-3 on the turf, will point to the November 25 Hollywood Derby instead (DRF). “The problem with running in the Mile is that even if he wins, he won’t get the accolades he deserves,” said Tagg. “English Channel or whoever wins the Breeders’ Cup Turf will probably be turf champion and he’s not going to be three-year-old champion, so what does he really have to gain by running in the Mile?” Well, maybe an Eclipse after all. Jim Gluckson explains to Paul Moran.

Posted in Belmont on October 7, 2007