Queen’s Plate prospect Speightsong won the ninth race comfortably, giving Patrick Husbands a hat trick on the program. Speightsong covered seven furlongs in 1:23.20 in the optional claimer, earning an 81 Beyer Speed Figure.
Three allowances highlight today’s 11-race card, all coming late in the day. The first of them, and also the richest, goes as the eighth, with older turf horses racing 1 1/16 miles on turf in a money allowance.
Chalk players were shooting fish in a barrel across town, as favorites went 86 for 210 at Aqueduct’s spring meet for a .409 batting average. Things typically become less clear through the early stages at Belmont, however.
The main track played honestly on the 23rd and final day of Aqueduct’s spring meet, with three of eight races won wire to wire, including an easy score by Henry’s Gal in the filly division of the $100,000 New York Stallion for 3-year-olds.
A sharp comeback by millionaire Departing in the featured ninth race was the story of Wednesday afternoon racing at Churchill Downs.
The 2-year-olds are coming out, and the card begins with the second juvenile race of the meet. Mike Harrington trained April 25 beaten favorite City Ride in the first race for 2-year-olds. Harrington tries again Thursday with Saturday Yodeler.
It was suspicious when race-1 favorite Sidebar dropped to $16,000 claiming off just one subpar effort in an allowance race. It did not look right.
California Chrome is a Kentucky Derby standout. He’s the fastest horse and also the classiest.
Perhaps the most remarkable running line from the prep races was Dance With Fate vaulting from 11th at the pace call to the lead in midstretch of the Blue Grass Stakes.
By any measure, California Chrome’s romps in the San Felipe and Santa Anita Derby in his last two starts were the best pair of performances any member of this Derby field has ever put together.
