Belmont: Draw It looks like value play

ELMONT, N.Y. – Of the two overnight stakes carded for Wednesday at Belmont Park, the $60,000 Mom’s Command looks a lot more appealing from a wagering standpoint, in part because zeroing in on the horse to beat is not easy.

The Mom’s Command, for 3-year-old fillies at one mile, will be run as the third race on the card, immediately following the Corma Ray for New York-bred sprinters. Both races are worth $60,000.

The New York-bred Miss Valentine, a two-time stakes winner and runner-up in the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks, is the most accomplished of the seven runners entered in the Mom’s Command. She appears, however, best-suited around two turns and must deal with the rail on Wednesday.

Shared Heart was an 11-length winner at Gulfstream in January but was then off for seven months before finishing third in a first-level allowance race at Saratoga in the slop.

Draw It looms an intriguing price play coming off a second-place finish behind the loose-on-the-lead Love and Pride in the Proud Spell Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 19. In that race, Draw It ran sporadically, moving into second early on down the backside, dropping back to next-to-last at the quarter pole, before showing renewed interest in the stretch to get second.

Trainer Tom Albertrani is adding blinkers to Draw It’s equipment hoping it makes a difference.

“Rajiv said she was looking around quite a bit at the moment she was dropping back,” said Albertrani, referring to jockey Rajiv Maragh who rides Draw It again. “She’s trained in [blinkers] and it looks like she goes good in them.”

Another value horse could be Daring Reality, who won an overnight stakes going one mile here in May at 23-1. That day, she was well off the pace early, rode the rails to gain contention around the turn and into the stretch, then tipped three wide at the eighth pole while running past Dance Quietly and Ava K. to get the victory. She is winless in three starts since then, but those races were around two turns. David Cohen rides for Cal Lynch.

Spring Jump, Marion Ravenwood and Offlee Wicked complete the field.

Repole entry tops Corma Ray

Owner Mike Repole is looking for a big Saturday when he sends out Stay Thirsty in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Uncle Mo in the Kelso, and Calibrachoa and Caixa Eletronica in the Vosburgh. Before then, however, Repole hopes to win some pocket change with either Driven by Success or Be Bullish in the $60,000 Corma Ray for New York-bred sprinters at seven furlongs.

Driven by Success, trained by Todd Pletcher, came off a six-month layoff to defeat Be Bullish by 1 1/4 lengths in the Easy N Dirty Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 26. Driven by Success went gate to wire that day and figures to use that speed again Saturday. He may have to deal with Bound by Humor, who cuts back to a one-turn race following a fifth-place finish in the Albany at 1 1/8 miles.

Repole claimed Be Bullish for $75,000 off a win going six furlongs here on June 17. He twice ran second in state-bred stakes at Saratoga, including an unlucky neck loss to Ibboyee in the John Morrissey. Be Bullish, trained by George Weaver, might be forced to use his speed from the rail.

Shrewd One is a possible upsetter. He makes his second start off a four-month layoff and returns to his favorite track and could get pace in which to close.

Pretty Boy Freud and Law Enforcement complete the field.