Belmont Clocker: Senior Investment, Epicharis continue to train well
Belmont Park
Weather: Overcast
Track: Fast
Temp.: 55
ELMONT, N.Y. – The weather here has felt more like April than June over the past few mornings, cold and dreary as trainers put the finishing touches on their contenders for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes.
The final two works for this year’s Belmont were turned in here Tuesday, maintenance-type breezes by Senior Investment and Epicharis.
Senior Investment, who had a busy day Monday, jogging and galloping three miles in total, was the first to go. Working shortly after the main track opened at 5:30 a.m., Senior Investment cruised a half-mile in 50.11 seconds with jockey Dylan Davis aboard. With his ears pricked as he crossed the wire, Senior Investment galloped out with very good energy, completing five-eighths in 1:02.85 and pulling up six furlongs in 1:17.67.
Senior Investment continues to make a favorable impression since arriving following his third-place finish in the Preakness.
Epicharis went to the training track about 30 minutes later, breezing five furlongs in 1:06.03 while only really extended from the three-eighths pole to the wire. He came down the lane with a final quarter in 23.97 before galloping out six furlongs, well off the rail, in 1:20.66 over a surface that has been on the deep and dull side over the last 10 days.
The UAE Derby runner-up, Epicharis has trained willingly since his arrival over the weekend and on Saturday could be among the primary pace factors, along with Meantime.
J Boys Echo, Multiplier, and Hollywood Handsome arrived from Kentucky on Tuesday and all went to the track for the first time Wednesday. Multiplier was the busiest of the trio, jogging and galloping a combined 2 1/2 miles for trainer Brendan Walsh, while Hollywood Handsome galloped a routine 1 1/2 miles.
Although his horses do the majority of their work in the morning on the training track, Todd Pletcher sent his two Belmont contenders, Tapwrit and Patch, over to the main track to gallop on each of the past two mornings and likely will continue to do so, weather permitting, the remainder of the week.
Lookin At Lee got in some gate schooling on Wednesday before galloping a very slow and easy 1 1/4 miles while training, as he always does, with blinkers on.