Belmont Park: Half-dozen last-out winners meet

ELMONT, N.Y. – Six last-out maiden winners at six different tracks square off in Wednesday’s Track Barron, an $85,000 overnight event that serves as the first stakes of the season for 2-year-olds in New York.

The 5 1/2-furlong Track Barron, carded as race 8, is the only scheduled dirt race in a pick-six sequence with a $39,758 carryover from Sunday. After another round of rain Monday, it’s possible at least some of those five scheduled turf races could join 59 others that have already been rained off at the meet.

Shanghai Bobby, a Todd Pletcher-trained colt who captured the first baby race of the season at Aqueduct, has had five subsequent workouts and will likely go favored under Rosie Napravnik. Purchased as a yearling for $105,000, Shanghai Bobby is the only member of the field to have won from off the pace.

Second choice in the wagering will either be Cay to Pomeroy or Video Storm.

In his debut here May 11, the New York-bred Cay to Pomeroy out-dueled Broadway Hit, a Pletcher colt who was bet down to 1-2. Cay to Pomeroy was 7-1 that day for Dominic Galluscio, and although he is the lone entrant who wasn’t favored in his maiden win, he is also the only one who has been as far as five furlongs.

Video Storm actually went wire to wire twice at Pimlico last month for John Salzman, but was disqualified the first time, and returned 12 days later to gain his maiden win. He boasts the two best Beyer Speed Figures. Richard Monterrey is along for the ride.

Handsome Jack, a lengthy winner at Churchill Downs second time out for owner-trainer Wesley Ward, gets a switch to Joel Rosario, who shifted his tack to New York after winning Sunday’s Beverly Hills Handicap aboard Capital Plan at Betfair Hollywood Park.

Rosario said that he and his agent, Ronnie Ebanks, “talked about making this move a year ago, but the time wasn’t right,” said Rosario. “When he brought it up this time, I said, ‘Let’s do it.’ I’ll probably have to wait a little longer because the track is so big, but it still comes down to the horses you ride. Going to New York gives me an opportunity to get on good horses in big races.”

Rosario’s only other scheduled mount is 2-year-old newcomer Searchingforahero in race 2, also for Ward.