Belmont Park: Nordic Truce may offer more value than stablemate Right One in Jaipur

ELMONT, N.Y. – Right One will likely be regarded as the stronger half of trainer Christophe Clement’s uncoupled entry in Saturday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Jaipur Stakes at Belmont Park. But stablemate Nordic Truce may have just as good a chance to win the last graded stakes event of this meeting at a better price.

Nordic Truce is one of just two graded or group stakes winners in the Jaipur field set to contest seven furlongs over Belmont’s Widener turf. That victory came early in his 3-year-old season in the Grade 3 Transylvania at Keeneland in April 2010. Nordic Truce has just one victory from six starts since, that coming in a 7 1/2-furlong allowance race at Gulfstream on April 22 when he overcame being significantly headstrong early to get the victory. Nordic Truce came back in the Grade 2 Highlander Stakes at Woodbine on June 26 and finished ninth after taking a bad step entering the far turn.

“He got scared of something on the turn, he jumped it, I’m not sure why,’’ Clement said. “After that he was never going well. I just thought it was a waste of a race. He came back great, let’s put him right back and go from there. Seven-eighths should be a great distance for him.’’

Jean-Luc Samyn rides Nordic Truce from post 2.

Right One took advantage of a strong early pace to win his first two North American starts for Clement. In the Grade 3 Poker, the early fractions were pedestrian and Right One was too far back and couldn’t catch up while finishing third behind Courageous Cat, who came back to win the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Hollywood Park. The fourth-place finisher from the Poker, Beau Choix, came back to win an overnight stakes here on July 7.

“He was a bit further back than he should have been,’’ Clement said. “We got beat by Courageous Cat, who came back and won a Grade 1, so it wasn’t a bad race.’’

Javier Castellano rides Right One from post 7.

The 7-year-old Yield Bogey finished second in the Poker, his first start in eight months. Trainer Pat Kelly figured Yield Bogey would be sharp off the layoff so he wasn’t surprised to see him on the lead. Kelly isn’t sure where Yield Bogey will be placed early on in the Jaipur, but he does like the fact he’s cutting back in distance.

“Three-quarters, seven-eighths is always better,’’ Kelly said. “He worked good the other day; he’s ready to go.’’

Gantry could be the one to beat if able to duplicate his turf debut 23 days ago in which he set a course record of 1:06.87 for six furlongs. Trainer Mike Hushion is wheeling him back rather quickly, but doesn’t necessarily think he will regress, or bounce.

“Maybe it’s something he can go forward off of,’’ Hushion said. “He didn’t run a lights-out number. We all know that tracks make track records in most cases.’’

Targhee Pass, never worse than second in five starts at Belmont, Radiohead, and Evolutionist complete the field.