Belmont Notes
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– Hard Spun (right) arrived at Belmont this afternoon. He’ll put in his final work for next Saturday’s Belmont Stakes on Sunday or Monday, said trainer Larry Jones.
– Slew’s Tizzy put in his final work for the race, going four furlongs in :49 flat, according to trainer Gregory Fox (NYRA). The Lone Star Derby winner will ship from Lexington on Tuesday.
– Here come the longshots: Let’s see, only five possible starters and a $1 million purse. It’s no wonder the unknown Digger is now a Belmont contender (DRF).
– Street Sense has been sold to Darley (ESPN). Hard Spun too (Blood-Horse).
Not Belmont Bound
Thursday update: Oops. I read the situation all wrong. Street Sense will skip the Belmont, point to the Travers (DRF).
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That’s about the only conclusion that can be drawn from a press release sent out by Churchill Downs today, announcing a news conference at the track with trainer Carl Nafzger on Thursday at 10:30 a.m., a follow-up phone conference for remote journalists at 11:30 a.m., and a web video replay of the conference for the public starting at noon. Oh, and there’ll be a “video opportunity” on Wednesday morning, when Street Sense works. So, it looks like we’ll have the top three finishers of the first two classics meeting once more in New York. A Triple Crown might not be on the wire, but a Hard Spun-Curlin-Street Sense rematch is still a good story. Fellow TBA-er Michael, of Curb My Enthusiasm, will be covering the remote press conference and promises updates throughout.
Wednesday morning addendum: Alan at Left at the Gate guesses the decision will be no. And the early DRF report on Street Sense’s work this morning is hardly glowing.
No Belmont for Nobiz
From Belmont Park notes:
Despite a nice five-furlong breeze of 1:00 1/5 over Belmont’s fast main track this morning, Elizabeth Valando’s Nobiz Like Shobiz is doubtful to run in the Belmont Stakes, according to trainer Barclay Tagg.
“He worked great, I thought,” Tagg said of the move with jockey Cornelio Velasquez up. “He galloped out six furlongs in 1:13, but I’m not planning on running him in the Belmont.”
A number of factors were considered by Tagg and Valando concerning the Wood Memorial winner’s potential run in the Belmont.
“If it were a walkover or a two-horse race, I would run,” Tagg said. “A $1 million race is a $1 million race.”
Tagg’s no fool. He knows his still maturing colt is no match for the likes of Curlin right now. Nobiz Like Shobiz will instead be pointed to the Dwyer, Jim Dandy, and Travers.
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Jessica Chapel writes and edits in Massachusetts. Railbird is a Thoroughbred horse racing blog published from June 2004 to July 2019. More / Contact
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