Backtohisroots ready to fire best shot in Belmont Turf Sprint
ELMONT, N.Y. – Backtohisroots was sent off at 3-1 in last year’s Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational. His backers never had a chance to root as Backtohisroots stumbled at the break and unseated his rider.
An ankle issue kept Backtohisroots away from the races until this summer. He finally made it back in the Lucky Coin Stakes at Saratoga, where he finished second, beaten a neck. With that race under his belt, Backtohisroots will give the Grade 3, $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational another try on Saturday.
A competitive field of nine is entered in the Belmont Turf Sprint, a six-furlong race that does not appear to possess much speed.
Trainer John Terranova believes Backtohisroots is versatile enough to be placed wherever Luis Saez so chooses.
“Once he jumps and gets his feet underneath him, he can be put where he wants to put him, depending on the pace,” Terranova said. “He’s just a real consistent, very honest horse.”
It was Pulsate who beat Backtohisroots by a neck in the Lucky Coin, and he returns in the Belmont Turf Sprint. That was only Pulsate’s sixth race since returning from a layoff in July 2020, owing in part to a lack of races available to him, according to trainer Robert Ribaudo. Pulsate has been competitive in his last five turf races, including a narrow loss to the well-regarded Fiya in a third-level allowance going six furlongs here on July 4.
Ribaudo likes how Pulsate is training coming up to the Belmont Turf Sprint, but laments the lack of early speed in the field for the 5-year-old, who comes from off the pace.
“It’s a strange race, as there’s no pace whatsoever in the race,” Ribaudo said.
Belgrano, winner of the Rainbow Heir Stakes at Monmouth on Aug. 28, may end up setting the pace in the Belmont Turf Sprint. This looks like a tougher field than the 7-year-old gelding has been facing.
Chewing Gum was beaten two lengths by stablemate Casa Creed in the Grade 1 Jaipur going six furlongs here in June. He is wheeling back in three weeks after finishing eighth in the Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint.
“We shipped back to New York right away after the Kentucky race and said if he’s doing okay we’ll take another shot at it,” trainer Bill Mott said. “It’s coming back on short rest.”
Mott said Chewing Gum is a horse “who needs a lot of pace.”
An interesting horse in the field is Buy Land and See, who has not raced in almost a year. Trainer Tony Dutrow has recently taken over the colt’s training and said the horse has taken him to this race.
“It looks like it’s an aggressive step, but we are that excited and impressed with how our horse is doing and this is where we want to start,” Dutrow said.
Completing the field are Piedi Bianchi, a mare who won the Smart N Fancy; Arrest Me Red, who won the Mahony Stakes at Saratoga; the multiple stakes-winning New York-bred Therapist; and Guildsman, third in the Lucky Coin Stakes.