Belmont Stakes: Angel of Empire will be blinkers-on, kind of
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ELMONT, N.Y. – Technically, Angel of Empire will be getting a change of equipment when trainer Brad Cox adds blinkers for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes.
However, the blinkers are not totally new to Angel of Empire, who has frequently trained in them throughout his career, but never raced in them.
“I pretty much work everything in blinkers when they’re young,” Cox said.
But when Cox started running Angel of Empire a distance of ground, “I thought I’d just leave them off, let him relax, and it worked out well.”
Angel of Empire won both the Grade 2 Risen Star and Grade 1 Arkansas Derby without blinkers, so Cox wasn’t going to make a change entering the Kentucky Derby. In the Derby, where Angel of Empire was sent off the 4-1 favorite following the scratch of morning-line favorite Forte, Angel of Empire, under Flavien Prat, was 16th of 18 early on, advanced inside down the backstretch, and then rallied in the stretch to finish third, 1 1/2 lengths behind Mage.
“He trained in them all winter, we just never made a change obviously, he was running very well,” Cox said. “He ran well last time, but Flavien came back and said it might not be a bad idea to add the blinkers to him and see if it works out.”
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Cox said he first started using blinkers on Angel of Empire in the mornings because the horse was a bit of a lazy workhorse. Angel of Empire worked in blinkers leading up to the Kentucky Derby.
“They were great leading up to the Derby, I feel like they continue to be very, very good,” Cox said of Angel of Empire’s works. “He’s a horse that’s become much more consistent in the mornings. He’s a horse that sometimes would need company to keep him honest.”
It was just two years ago that Cox won the Belmont Stakes with Essential Quality, who finished fourth – elevated to third with the disqualification of Medina Spirit – as the Kentucky Derby favorite.
Angel of Empire, who drew post 8, is one of three horses Cox will send out in the Belmont. His other two are Tapit Shoes, who drew the rail, and Hit Show, who drew post 7.
Cox said he expects Tapit Shoes to come away from the gates running under Jose Ortiz. Hit Show, who got a great trip in the Derby while finishing fifth, will likely be fairly close as well under Manny Franco.
With the defection on Monday of Raise Cain – who will instead run in Sunday’s Matt Winn Stakes at Ellis Park – nine horses were entered Tuesday for the $1.5 million Belmont, run at 1 1/2 miles.
Forte, who was scratched from the Kentucky Derby due to a bruised foot, drew post 6 and was made the 5-2 morning-line favorite by New York Racing Association line-maker David Aragona.
Forte is trained by four-time Belmont Stakes winner Todd Pletcher, who also will send out Tapit Trice, the second choice on the morning line at 3-1.
Angel of Empire was made the third choice at 7-2 followed by Preakness winner National Treasure (5-1), Peter Pan winner Arcangelo (8-1), Hit Show (10-1), Red Route One (15-1), Tapit Shoes (20-1), and Il Miracolo (30-1).
The Belmont Stakes is carded as race 12 on a 13-race card that begins at 11:20 a.m. The Belmont is scheduled for shortly after 7 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally for the first time on Fox.
Several $5 daily doubles on tap
The New York Racing Association will offer five special daily double wagers, four of which involve stakes run Friday and Saturday. They all carry a $5 base wager and have a takeout of 18.5 percent.
The four two-day double wagers are Friday’s Belmont Gold Cup with Saturday’s Belmont Stakes; Friday’s Acorn with Saturday’s Ogden Phipps; Friday’s Intercontinental with Saturday’s Woody Stephens; and Friday’s New York Stakes with Saturday’s Metropolitan Handicap.
There also is a $5 double with Saturday’s Metropolitan and the Belmont Stakes, which are carded as races 10 and 12.
There is a two-day pick six, with a 20-cent minimum, that links Friday’s Acorn and Belmont Gold Cup with Saturday’s Jaipur, Met Mile, Manhattan, and Belmont Stakes.
There are two all-turf pick three wagers, one Friday and one Saturday, that have a $3 minimum. The Friday pick three consists of the Just a Game, Belmont Gold Cup, and Intercontinental. The Saturday pick three includes the Poker, Jaipur, and Manhattan.
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