Beer: How I'd play Belmont Park on Sunday, Oct. 18
The featured race Sunday at Belmont Park is the Grade 2 Matron for 2-year-old fillies. It has pulled a solid field of six as the anchor of the early pick four.
In Race 2, for New York-bred fillies and mares going a one-turn mile, the two favorites on the track’s morning line are drawn to the inside two posts. Both #1 Conquest Superstep and #2 Perfect Freud look perfectly logical in this race, though the former holds the upside as a lightly raced 3-year-old.
Race #3 brings together an uninspiring group of turf sprinters going seven furlongs. I’ve seen enough of the likes of #2 Ziggy the Great, #3 Chang’s Secret, and #7 Blue Pigeon and will look elsewhere. #4 Chelios has sprinted on turf only once, that in his last start at Laurel vs. restricted claiming company. After getting away toward the back of the field and trailing to the top of the stretch, he put in a nice late run to get third behind a pair of horses who would look pretty tough in a field like this one. The other new face to use is #6 Less Than Perfect, who has some speed and is taking a significant class drop.
The Matron is led by #5 Pretty N Cool. Sent in from California by Bob Baffert, she is already a Grade 2 winner sprinting on dirt, and she was last seen finishing second to divisional leader Songbird in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante. She’s okay, but her top Beyer Speed Figure (95) was earned over a sloppy track in her debut, and the figures she has earned in two races over fast dirt provide little margin for error. #6 Libreta flashed potential in a late-running debut behind Grade 1 Frizette favorite Width and came right back to post a convincing score in her second start with a figure of 80. She has drawn an ideal post on the outside and may be value in this race with Pretty N Cool and #3 Constellation taking most of the money. Constellation has run well in both career starts, but her Beyers are ordinary, and she defeated a weak field in her debut at Saratoga.
The pick four closes out with 2-year-old maidens routing on the grass, and #1 Life Imitates Art figures to go heavily favored following a pair of solid performances upstate for Chad Brown. He is a must-use, but we will also include #8 Ballagh Rocks, who raced very greenly in his lone start at Saratoga. Trainer Bill Mott has had an excellent year with his juveniles, especially on turf, and tends to improve them through racing.