Affirmed Success tops meet opener; two stakes carded for Friday

The name may change but the venue remains the same.

With the renovation of Belmont Park – including the demolition of the grandstand – well underway, the Belmont at the Big A spring meet kicks off Thursday at Aqueduct with an eight-race card. First post is 1:05 p.m. as it will be for most of the 31 days during the meet, which runs through July 7.

Though the Belmont at the Big A spring meet will offer 32 stakes worth $6.625 million, the most significant races typically be run at Belmont Park in the spring have been moved to Saratoga for a one-week session June 6-9. That includes, of course the $2 million Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown, which this year will be shortened to 1 1/4 miles to accommodate the configuration of Saratoga.

The only Grade 1 races to be conducted at Aqueduct this spring are the $750,000 Belmont Derby for 3-year-olds and the $500,000 Belmont Oaks for 3-year-old fillies, both scheduled for 1 3/16 miles on the turf on July 6.

Thursday’s eight-race card includes the $100,000 Affirmed Success Stakes, a six-furlong race for New York-breds named in honor of the Kentucky-bred gelding who won three Grade 1 stakes on this circuit and banked more than $2.2 million.

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The Affirmed Success drew only a field of five and could set up nicely for Donegal Surges, who has returned from a lengthy layoff to win two of three starts, including a pair of statebred allowance races.

“He’s come back very well, he’s been training great. We were looking at an allowance race. This race came up kind of a short field, we decided to take a shot,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “On paper, it could set up well for him.”

Donegal Surges figures to get a nice pace setup with Rotknee, who breaks from the rail, and Excellent Timing, who has the outside, likely to hook up early on the front end.

Rotknee, trained by Mike Maker, is a five-time New York-bred stakes winner who returns to statebred company after getting used in a speed duel and finishing last as the favorite in the Grade 3 Tom Fool on March 2.

Sheriff Bianco returns from a 157-day layoff for trainer Linda Rice. Sheriff Bianco has six wins but 12 second-place finishes in his career, including one in this race last year.

Thrill of It, trained by John Terranova, beat New York-breds in allowance company on Jan. 1. He has made his last three starts in open company, winning a first-level allowance race and twice finishing third in the next condition. He comes out of an April 5 allowance from which the top two finishers came back to win their next starts.

With only five runners, the Affirmed Success is carded as race 3.

Friday’s nine-race card features the Grade 3, $200,000 Sheepshead Bay on turf, which only drew a field of five, topped by McKulick, and the Grade 3 $175,000 Westchester, a prep for the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Saratoga on June 8. The Westchester drew a seven-horse field led Post Time, the Brittany Russell-trained son of Frosted who has won eight of nine starts, including the Grade 2 Carter at Aqueduct on April 6.

Rice, Franco top standings

Trainer Linda Rice, jockey Manny Franco, and owner Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables finished as the leaders in their respective categories at Aqueduct’s 16-day spring meet that concluded Sunday.

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Rice, who won two races on Sunday’s card, finished with 18 winners, two more than Chad Brown. Rudy Rodriguez was third with 10 wins.

Franco ended the spring meet with 28 wins, eight more than Dylan Davis. Jose Lezcano, who missed this weekend due to a concussion, finished third with 18 wins.

Klaravich Stables won seven races, one more than Winning Move Stable.

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