Belmont Stakes 2012: Halls target repeat with My Adonis

ELMONT, N.Y. – Owners George and Lori Hall and trainer Kelly Breen pulled off a Belmont Stakes shocker last year with 24-1 shot Ruler On Ice.

This year, those same connections are back to take another swing with My Adonis, who was a last-minute addition to the Belmont Stakes field. My Adonis, who finished second to defending juvenile champion Hansen in the Grade 3 Gotham at Aqueduct in March, is listed at 30-1 on the morning line of Daily Racing Form’s Mike Watchmaker, 20-1 on the morning line of NYRA’s Eric Donovan.

My Adonis was entered in the Kentucky Derby, but was on the also-eligible list. When there were no defections by 9 a.m. on the day before the Derby, he was scratched and vanned to Pimlico, where he finished third in the Canonero II Stakes on May 5.

Breen said the ship from New Jersey to Kentucky and then to Baltimore “knocked him out.”

In subsequent training, however, My Adonis showed Breen that he has bounced back and could be sitting on a big race. On May 27, My Adonis worked five furlongs in 59.80 seconds, the fastest of 31 moves at the distance.

“It came down to how good we thought the horse was doing, and if he was doing as well as we were doing last year going into it, let’s take a shot,” Breen said. “If he wasn’t doing well, we weren’t going to run.”

[BELMONT STAKES: Past performances, video updates, contender profiles, odds]

On Wednesday, My Adonis vanned from Monmouth to Belmont and arrived at the security barn at 11 a.m. Breen, who has stalls at Belmont in Barn 31, called having to go into a stakes barn “a nuisance.”

“I have stalls at Belmont Park for the first time and I can’t even go into my own barn,” Breen said. “I don’t make the rules; I just try to obey them.”

Last year, Ruler On Ice won the Belmont from post 3 in a 12-horse field. Saturday, My Adonis will break from post 12, one slot outside I’ll Have Another.

“I think it gives us a great option,” Breen said. “I’m sure I’ll Have Another is probably happy with his post. Being on the outside you can see what everybody’s doing. I’d rather have the 12 than the 1 for sure.”

Ramon Dominuez will ride My Adonis.