While trainer Bill Mott may not have been able to become the first trainer in 28 years to record a repeat victory in the Kentucky Derby, he stands a very good chance to become the first trainer in 30 years to win back-to-back runnings of the Belmont Stakes. Mott won last year’s Kentucky Derby with Sovereignty, who after skipping the Preakness came back five weeks later to win the Belmont. This year, Mott sent out Chief Wallabee to a fourth-place finish in the Derby – leaving Bob Baffert (1997-98) as the last trainer to win back-to-back Derbies. That performance, however, demonstrated Chief Wallabee should be a major factor in the $2 million Belmont Stakes on June 6 at Saratoga. D. Wayne Lukas is the last trainer to win consecutive Belmont Stakes, having won three straight from 1994-96. In the interim, there have been 11 occasions where a trainer attempted the feat without success. Mott’s decision to skip the 2025 Preakness with the Derby winner created a mild uproar as Mott and Godolphin were criticized in some circles for forgoing a shot at a Triple Crown. Sovereignty came back to win the Belmont, Jim Dandy, and Travers and, despite missing the Breeders’ Cup with an illness, was named Horse of the Year. In addition to talent, Sovereignty had experience. He raced three times as a 2-year-old and the Derby was his third race at 3. Chief Wallabee did not make it to the races at 2 and didn’t start until Jan. 10. To Mott, Chief Wallabee was always playing catch-up and that experience may have cost him in narrow defeats to Commandment in the Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Mott harkened to 1988, when Forty Niner and Seeking the Gold were among the top 3-year-old males. Forty Niner, who bested Seeking the Gold in the Haskell and Travers that year, had six starts at 2, winning four stakes. Seeking the Gold didn’t start until Dec. 27 of his 2-year-old year. “He always kind of stands out to me as he was just that little bit of experience away from being as good as Forty Niner,” Mott said. Mott wondered if Chief Wallabee’s lack of experience would hamper him in the Kentucky Derby. Hard to say, really. There were a couple of points in the race where Chief Wallabee had issues, ultimately finishing fourth, three lengths behind Golden Tempo and Renegade, who were a neck apart at the wire. Sent off the 7-1 fifth choice in the 18-horse Kentucky Derby, Chief Wallabee raced in mid-pack down the backstretch, had to steady ever so slightly approaching the top of the stretch, then in midstretch got bumped by Further Ado when Ocelli came in on Commandment, starting a chain reaction. “He proved to me that he had some determination,” Mott said. “I thought getting bothered the way he did, he dug in and came on and got up for fourth money. With a clean trip, maybe he gets a little more than that.” Mott said the idea of running back in the Preakness was never discussed by owners Katherine and Mike Ball. Mott said it was logical to skip the race and point to the Belmont, a race Mott also won in 2010 with Drosselmeyer. Chief Wallabee “was such an inexperienced horse, with the lack of foundation that you’d prefer to have going into the Kentucky Derby, to ask him to run in the Derby and back in two weeks that would have been an awful lot for this particular horse,” Mott said. “He didn’t have the foundation in him to do it. I didn’t think it was the right thing to do. Having five weeks in between would suit him a little better, give him a little more recovery time from the Derby and give him an opportunity to show a little better in the Belmont.” :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports Chief Wallabee has worked twice in Saratoga. On May 16, he went a half-mile in 48.60 seconds. On Saturday, Chief Wallabee worked a solid five furlongs in 1:01.16, per Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch. He worked in company with the 3-year-old Gilded Bandit, who was credited with a half-mile in 48 seconds and who is targeting the Grade 1 Woody Stephens. “He worked well, looks good, eating well,” Mott said. “He doesn’t look like he’s lost any weight. He looks like he’s still carrying his flesh well enough.” Chief Wallabee will have one more workout next weekend, then he’ll line up against possibly 10 rivals that will include at least five horses he faced in the Kentucky Derby – Golden Tempo (first), Renegade (second), Commandment (seventh), Emerging Market (10th), and Potente (12th) – as well as Preakness third Chip Honcho, Peter Pan winner Growth Equity, Blue Grass runner-up Ottinho, and maiden winner Powershift. Ocelli, third in the Derby and fourth in the Belmont, is a possible Belmont starter. Chief Wallabee will likely be a top-four betting choice in the Belmont, perhaps behind only Renegade, the Derby second choice; Golden Tempo, who won the Derby at 23-1; and maybe Commandment, the Derby fourth choice. “With the race under him in the Derby, and with that little bit more experience and the time in between, hopefully, that makes him a factor in the Belmont,” Mott said. Ocelli’s status depends on work The maiden Ocelli, third in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Preakness, would be the only horse to compete in all three legs of the Triple Crown – if he runs. Trainer Whit Beckman said Sunday that he plans to work Ocelli at Churchill Downs on Saturday and will decide after that whether or not to run in the Belmont. Beckman said he and his ownership group are also considering targeting an early July maiden race with an eye toward the Travers on Aug. 29. Beckman said that so far, Ocelli seems to have come out of his fourth in the Preakness in good order. “At this point I’m happy with his overall condition, no worse for the wear,” Beckman said. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  Incredibolt and Robusta are the other two horses who competed in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, but neither are targeting the Belmont Stakes. ◗ Manny Franco will ride Growth Equity in the Belmont Stakes, trainer Chad Brown confirmed Monday. Franco has ridden Growth Equity twice, including a maiden victory at Aqueduct on March 20. As of Monday, riding assignments for Chip Honcho, Commandment, Powershift, and Potente had not been confirmed. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.