'Advantage' has drawbacks

ELMONT, N.Y. - Buoyed by three consecutive dry days and a forecast that doesn't call for rain again until Wednesday night, the Belmont Park racing office carded four turf races for Wednesday's nine-race card.

All look to be good betting races, especially the featured second-level allowance race for fillies and mares, 3 and up, at 10 furlongs on the inner turf course. A field of nine was entered.

Distance is a question mark for virtually all the fillies except for Cozie Advantage and Sunstone. But, both of those mares have other issues.

Cozie Advantage won a 10-furlong allowance race at Belmont last September, but has not run since last October when she was beaten two lengths at this condition at nine furlongs.

Trainer John Kimmel said Cozie Advantage underwent colic surgery shortly after that race and was given most of the winter off. She has been training steadily at Saratoga, and has run well fresh before, but Kimmel still believes she may need a race.

"I think she's ready to where a race will do her more good than continuing to train her," Kimmel said.

Sunstone is only 2 for 22 in her career, but she has raced competitively against graded stakes competition. She was beaten less than 2 1/2 lengths in stakes such as the New York, Glens Falls, and Long Island handicaps. The last time she raced at this condition, Sunstone finished fourth as the 4-5 favorite.

Two of the more interesting horses in this race are One and Twenty and Magnificent Val. One and Twenty won her first two tries on turf, including the Grade 3 Natalma Stakes at Woodbine last September.

In her first start this year, she finished eighth, beaten only 3 1/4 lengths in the Via Borghese Stakes over a chewed up Gulfstream turf April 6. One and Twenty scratched out of Sunday's Sands Point Stakes when the race was moved to the dirt. Trainer Rick Violette plans to use this as a prep for the $750,000 American Oaks at Hollywood July 5.

As the only 3-year-old in the field, One and Twenty gets in with 114 pounds under Richard Migliore.

That's a 10-pound break from Magnificent Val, who is intriguing because Jerry Bailey rides for the Paraneck Stable, a combination that hasn't hooked up often.

Magnificent Val has run two of her better races at nine furlongs, including a victory two starts back over the Belmont turf. Last out, Magnificent Val raced out of conditions when fifth in a seven-furlong race.

Give and Take and Miss Hellie complete the field.