Mohawk: Thursday 6/4 Analysis
Garnet Barnsdale's Mohawk analysis for Thursday June 6, 2015.
Garnet BarnsdaleJun 02, 2015
Garnet Barnsdale's Mohawk analysis for Thursday June 6, 2015.
I will not play, nor can I endorse playing, the pick five or the early pick four Thursday at Belmont Park, and that is because of the placement of race 4.
Despite steadily increasing crowds at racing’s Triple Crown events and the very real chance that American Pharoah on Saturday will become the sport’s first Triple Crown winner in 37 years, an attendance record will not be set at Belmont Park this weekend.
Pierre Hernandez-Ortega, the rider whose license was revoked last Thursday by the stewards at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa., for allegedly possessing an electrical device, will appeal the decision and seek a stay of the ruling, his attorney said on Tuesday.
Six juvenile fillies have come from far and wide for Thursday’s 104th running of the Astoria, the first of 17 stakes to be run at Belmont Park through Saturday.
Victor Espinoza, the man who rides American Pharoah in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, is already on a list that includes Bill Hartack, Milo Valenzuela, and Kent Desormeaux, all of them in the Hall of Fame. That’s pretty good company, but all the same Espinoza would like to jump ship and join the club made up of Johnny Loftus, Earl Sande, Willie Saunders, Charlie Kurtsinger, Eddie Arcaro, John Longden, Warren Mehrtens, Ron Turcotte, Jean Cruguet, and Steve Cauthen.
There is no right recipe for getting a horse from Kentucky Derby and Preakness wins to the Belmont, but methods have radically changed since Affirmed nipped Alydar in 1978, the last Triple Crown winner. Seattle Slew signaled his Belmont readiness working a fast mile in 1:37, something no trainer of this era would likely consider. In 1973, Secretariat worked a mile and 1 ¼ miles between Preakness and Belmont. Last year, California Chrome had one timed workout at a mere half-mile.
The catalog for the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sale has been released, featuring a total of 332 selected yearlings on offer.
Trainer Michael de Kock has competed in and won major races all over the world, but not until last month had he ever run a horse in the Kentucky Derby, when Mubtaahij finished eighth in the field of 18. His participation in American classics will double on Saturday, when Mubtaahij competes in the Belmont Stakes.
Once trainer Leah Gyamarti gets Wonder Gal’s season started, everything else should fall into place. But due to an unusual set of circumstances, Wonder Gal comes into the Grade 1 Acorn on Saturday having had only one race since finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies last fall.