Arcangelo not definite for Belmont Stakes despite Peter Pan win
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ELMONT, N.Y. - Arcangelo's connections haven’t been in a hurry with their 3-year-old thus far, and that’s not going to change as they map out a plan for where the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes winner will make his next start.
While the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on June 10 will definitely be in the conversation, it will be a little while before trainer Jena Antonucci and owner Jon Ebbert make a decision.
“The biggest question, and it’s an honest question, is what does a mile-and-a-half do for us and is it the right move for the horse?” Antonucci said Sunday morning. “Because obviously the race after that is going to be a cutback. So, that’s the question.”
After the Belmont Stakes, there are plenty of lucrative stakes for 3-year-olds, most at 1 1/8 miles, with the $1.25 million Travers on Aug. 26 run at 1 1/4 miles.
Antonucci said that Arcangelo did come out of the Peter Pan “in good order, seems happy, seems proud of himself. I guess we don’t get to fly under the radar anymore.”
Arcangelo, a son of the late champion Arrogate, hardly flew under the radar in the Peter Pan, going off the 5-2 second choice after being pegged at 10-1 on the morning line. He validated his solid maiden victory at Gulfstream on March 18 with a determined performance in the Peter Pan, beating unbeaten and race favorite Bishops Bay by a head. It was 8 3/4 lengths back to third-place finisher Henry Q.
Antonucci doesn’t seem to have any doubts about Arcangelo’s ability to get the 1 1/2 miles, should the decision be made to run in the Belmont. Antonucci liked the way Arcangelo finished the race, getting his final three furlongs in 36.48 seconds to complete 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.71. That translated to a 97 Beyer Speed Figure.
Antonucci, who has a division in Florida, has three horses stabled at Belmont Park; she plans to keep Arcangelo here for the time being. Depending on where Antonucci decides to run Arcangelo next may determine if he stays at Belmont or ships to Saratoga, where he will be stabled for the summer.
“We’ll be here for right now, he’ll get a few days [off] until he starts walking on his hind legs,” Antonucci said outside Belmont barn 39. “He was pretty full of himself this morning.”
Depending on what happens in Saturday’s Preakness, Arcangelo could need a new rider if he runs in the Belmont. Javier Castellano rode Arcangelo in the Peter Pan, but he is also the rider of Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness favorite Mage.
The top three finishers from the Peter Pan get their starter and entry fees for the Belmont Stakes - totaling $30,000 - waived.
Bishops Bay, the runner-up in the Peter Pan, is not likely to be pointed to the Belmont, according to Ned Toffey, general manager of Spendthrift Farm, which is one of the bevy of partners who own the lightly raced colt.
“He’s a horse that’s still learning,” Toffey said Sunday “He showed us he can run a mile and an eighth, he handled the stretch-out extremely well, was up on the pace and finished up the way he did. He’s had a little bit of a tendency at the end of his races to wait on horses. That’s a very good horse that ran him down. I don’t know how much of that was [Bishops Bay] getting tired or him just not really understanding the task and how to finish off a race, but I think Arcangelo is going to be a horse who is going to prove very formidable moving forward.”
*** Red Knight, winner of the Grade 1 Man o’ War, and Candy Man Rocket, winner of the Grade 3 Runhappy Stakes, also earned 97 Beyer Speed Figures for their Saturday stakes wins here.
Red Knight is believed to be the first 9-year-old to win a Grade 1 flat stakes on the New York Racing Association circuit since John’s Call won the Turf Classic and Sword Dancer in 2000. Among the options for Red Knight in New York is the Grade 1, $750,000 Manhattan here on Belmont Stakes Day.
Candy Man Rocket, who won the Runhappy by 1 1/2 lengths, will be nominated to the Grade 2 True North on June 10, trainer Bill Mott said after his victory Saturday, though he was far from committing to the race.
“I’m sure the True North will come up tougher than this race,” Mott said.
Candy Man Rocket adds more depth to Mott’s sprint division roster to go along with defending Sprint champion Elite Power and Cody’s Wish, both of whom are being pointed to the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on June 10.
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