Belmont: Abaco reliant on pace in Athenia

[bc_video_id:306953:]ELMONT, N.Y. – While trainer Shug McGaughey will have one of the favorites in Saturday’s Grade 3 Knickerbocker Stakes at Belmont Park with Boisterous, he will send out one of the more intriguing price plays in the Grade 3 Athenia Stakes with Abaco.

Abaco is scheduled to take on the Chad Brown-trained uncoupled entry of Samitar and Pianist as well as the graded stakes winner Ruthenia in the Athenia, carded at 1 1/16 miles over the outer turf course.

Abaco, a 5-year-old daughter of Giant’s Causeway owned and bred by the Phipps family, reeled off four consecutive victories last year with two of those wins coming at Belmont. She is winless in four starts this year, with runner-up finishes in the Grade 3 Suwannee River at Gulfstream in February and a head loss as the favorite in the Lady Baltimore last month at Laurel.

In the Lady Baltimore, Abaco was blocked behind horses in upper stretch before getting out late and falling just short to Strathnaver.

“Her last race was very good. She was unlucky to lose,” McGaughey said. “She got blocked until the last part of it. When she finally got out, she came running and just missed.”

Abaco has shown the ability to handle less than firm ground, circumstances she is likely to encounter on Saturday. Joel Rosario is named to ride from post 4.

Abaco will be reliant on pace, and there appears to be ample speed in this field with Pianist and Assateague entered.

Pianist won the Grade 3 Gallorette at Pimlico over turf labeled firm, but the course had been hit by rain earlier in the week. She is 2 for 2 at Belmont with one of those wins coming over yielding turf 13 months ago.

“It’s not her preferred turf, but she has handled it before,” Brown said.

Jose Ortiz is named to ride from post 5.

Samitar is also 2 for 2 at Belmont, having won the Grade 1 Garden City last year and the listed Fairy Garden Stakes in July. In her most recent outing, Samitar won the Speed Boat Stakes at Saratoga.

“She’s been training very, very well,” Brown said. “She does prefer firm ground so [course condition] is a concern of mine.”

Course condition is also a concern to trainer Christophe Clement, who said Ruthenia, fourth as the favorite in last year’s Athenia, would not run if the turf came up soft.

Embarr finished second in last year’s Athenia at odds of 24-1. She finished fifth in the Lady Baltimore last out.

My Perfect Ten, winner of the Ellis Park Turf Stakes in her last start, completes the field.

Royal Lahaina, Lady Cohiba, and Moment in Dixie were entered in the event the race comes off the turf.