Belmont: Haynesfield targets Westchester for return

Haynesfield, recently voted New York-bred Horse of the Year for a second consecutive year, is expected to make his 5-year-old debut in the Grade 3, $100,000 Westchester Stakes on April 30 at Belmont.

Toby Sheets, the assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen, said that Haynesfield is scheduled to have his final breeze for the Westchester on Saturday.

“We’d like to run there if everything is good,” Sheets said. “For a November to May layoff it’s not an easy spot.’’

Haynesfield, who defeated Blame in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont last October, has not run since finishing second by a head to Jersey Town in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on Nov. 27.

Others expected for the Westchester include Caixa Eletronica, Christmas for Liam, Convocation, Schoolyard Dreams, and Soaring Empire.