Belmont Stakes: Pletcher, Brown go for Triple Crown double

ELMONT, N.Y. – Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown won the first two legs of the Triple Crown with horses who won’t be in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park, but owing to the size and depth of their stables, both trainers have a chance to pull off the rare feat of winning two Triple Crown races in the same year with different horses.

Pletcher won the Kentucky Derby with Always Dreaming, who finished eighth in the Preakness and subsequently was taken off the Triple Crown trail. He tries to win the Belmont with Tapwrit and the one-eyed colt Patch, both of whom gave futile chase to Always Dreaming in the Derby before bypassing the Preakness.

Brown sends out Twisted Tom, who will be the third horse Brown has run in a Triple Crown race this year. Cloud Computing won the Preakness for Brown after skipping the Derby, in which the Brown-trained Practical Joke was fifth. But both Practical Joke and Cloud Computing, like talented freshmen on the University of Kentucky basketball team, were one and done in terms of Triple Crown race participation.

Patch, Tapwrit, and Twisted Tom are among the 12 runners who were entered in the $1.5 million Belmont, a race that lost the expected favorite, Classic Empire, on Wednesday owing to a foot abscess. And there were questions on Thursday regarding the status of the Japanese invader Epicharis, who had to be treated Wednesday for lameness in his right front leg, according to veterinary records released Wednesday night by the New York State Gaming Commission.

Trainer Kiyoshi Hagiwara on Thursday morning said he was hopeful that Epicharis could make the race. Epicharis did not go to the track to train, but Hagiwara said Epicharis walked at the quarantine barn. Hagiwara said he hoped to send Epicharis to the track for a regular training session on Friday.

“He looked a little different favoring his right front [Wednesday] afternoon, so we treated his hoof and gave him Bute,” Hagiwara, referring to the legal analgesic Butazolidin, said via a Japan Racing Association interpreter. “It looks like it is getting better, and I think there is no problem with him running in the race. We still have time so, we will give him the best care we can.”

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Epicharis, second last time out in the United Arab Emirates Derby, was heavily recruited by the New York Racing Association, which put up a $1 million bonus for any horse from Japan who could win the Belmont. Epicharis is the only horse in the race who will not use Lasix.

The absence of Always Dreaming, Cloud Computing, and Classic Empire – who it can be argued are the top three of this class of 3-year-olds – has given this Belmont a bit of an anticlimactic feel. The morning-line favorite is Irish War Cry, who finished 10th in the Derby. But the card is so stacked with outstanding, Grade 1 races – six in all – that it’s akin to a Breeders’ Cup card, making it a must-see event.

The highlights include the return of two-time champion Songbird in the Ogden Phipps, Kentucky Oaks winner Abel Tasman in the Acorn, and wide-open runnings of the prestigious Met Mile and, on turf, the Manhattan and Just a Game.

The Belmont is race 11 on the 13-race card. It is the last and, at 1 1/2 miles, the longest of the American classics.

Pletcher and Brown are attempting a feat not achieved in more than 20 years. D. Wayne Lukas won the Derby with Grindstone and the Belmont with Editor’s Note in 1996, and that came one year after Lukas won the Derby and Belmont with Thunder Gulch and the Preakness with Timber Country. In 1970, J.W. Jacobs won the Preakness with Personality and the Belmont with High Echelon.

Pletcher said there’s “no question it’s a different feel than if Always Dreaming had won the Preakness” and thus was going for a Triple Crown sweep on Saturday. He said that loss made Belmont decisions for other horses easier.

“It wasn’t in his best interest to run back in the Belmont, and it made it easier to decide who to run than if Always Dreaming had won the Preakness,” Pletcher said. “You try to do what’s best for each horse, but running a horse against a stablemate hoping to win the Triple Crown would have been the ultimate test of that.”

Both Tapwrit and Patch, like Irish War Cry, ran in the Derby and skipped the Preakness, a strategy that has produced eight of the past 17 Belmont winners. J Boys Echo and Gormley are on a similar schedule.

Brown’s entrant, Twisted Tom, did not run in the Derby or Preakness and was not even nominated to the Triple Crown, so he had to be supplemented to the Belmont for $75,000. He enters the race with a three-race win streak, but this is his graded-stakes debut.

“It’s a fortunate position to be in to have the depth in our barn, especially in this division, to run three different horses in each leg of the Triple Crown,” said Brown, who called Twisted Tom’s recent progress “a pleasant surprise.”

“As the distances have increased, he’s gotten better,” Brown said.

Irish War Cry was not originally intended for this race, but his recent training convinced trainer Graham Motion that he “deserved to be here.”

“The Derby was a disappointment,” he said. “I wanted to go home and forget the Triple Crown, which is what the Derby does to you if you lose.”

Irish War Cry would provide jockey Rajiv Maragh, the comeback player of the year, with the biggest win of his career, only months after returning from serious injuries that kept him sidelined for nearly 16 months.

Robby Albarado, who rides J Boys Echo, is also seeking a triumphant return from a less-severe injury, but one that kept him from riding J Boys Echo in the Derby.

Lookin At Lee, who will become the only horse to run in all three Triple Crown races this year, seeks to give the team of trainer Steve Asmussen and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. a second straight Belmont win, following Creator last year.

Meantime appears to be the one to catch. He and the late-running Hollywood Handsome are making their Triple Crown debuts after bypassing the Derby and Preakness. Multiplier is adding blinkers. Both he and Senior Investment are back in the Belmont after racing in the Preakness.

Post time for the Belmont is listed as 6:37 p.m. Eastern. It will be shown live on NBC during a two-hour telecast that begins at 5 p.m. There is live coverage on NBCSN from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The day’s first race is at 11:35 a.m.

The forecast from Weather.com is for a high temperature of 82 degrees and only a 20 percent chance of precipitation.

POST	HORSE/SIRE		TRACK ODDS	WATCHMAKER ODDS	BEST BEYER	DERBY FINISH, BEYER	PREAKNESS FINISH, BEYER	JAY PRIVMAN AND MIKE WATCHMAKER COMMENTS
		- designates Keeneland Sales grad
1	Twisted Tom		20-1	20-1	78	**	**	JP: Admire the sportsmanship to put up $75,000 supplement but think he's not quite this good yet.
	by Creative Cause							MW: If he weren't a Brown/Castellano production, he'd probably be 3 or 4 times the price he will be.
	Owner: Cobra Farm; Trainer: Chad Brown; Jockey: Javier Castellano
2	Tapwrit		6-1	8-1	96	6th, 88	**	JP: Bothered at start in Derby, but was fortunate to split rivals on far turn before rallying up gold rail.
	by Tapit							MW: Gold rail on Oaks Day, but Jay and I disagree about the Derby bias. His Tampa form hasn't held.
	Owner: Bridlewood Farm, Eclipse Thoroughbred & Robert LaPenta; Trainer: Todd Pletcher; Jockey: Jose Ortiz
3	Gormley		8-1	10-1	94	9th, 82	**	JP: SA Derby winner certainly capable on his best day, but never quite know what to expect from him.
	by Malibu Moon							MW: At least he did some running in the Derby before tiring, in line for a good trip, intriguing sort.
	Owner: Mr. & Mrs. Jerome Moss; Trainer: John Shirreffs; Jockey: Victor Espinoza
4	J Boys Echo		15-1	15-1	102	15th, 71	**	JP: Shuffled back early and lost position, but never picked up feet at any point. Reunited with Albarado.
	by Mineshaft							MW: Hasn't run back to his perfect setup win over Preakness winner Cloud Computing in the Gotham.
	Owner: Albaugh Family Stable, Bobby Flay; Trainer: Dale Romans; Jockey: Robby Albarado
5	Hollywood Handsome		30-1	30-1	88	**	**	JP: Beat elders in allowance race last time while earning career-best fig. Not impossible at big number.
	by Tapizar							MW: Jay must see something in him that I don't, but I won't knock him as he'll be a very big price here.
	Owner: Mark & Nancy Stanley; Trainer: Dallas Stewart; Jockey: Florent Geroux
6	Lookin At Lee		5-1	5-1	98	2nd, 98	4th, 94	JP: Closer needs contested pace for his best chance. Cashes many checks, winless in last eight tries.
	by Lookin At Lucky							MW: Got a good pace in Preakness but was outfinished; had a dream trip in Derby, looking elsewhere.
	Owner: L and N Racing; Trainer: Steve Asmussen; Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
7	Irish War Cry		7-2	3-1	101	10th, 79	**	JP: Looked like he was going best of all three furlongs out in Derby, but folded while against inside bias.
	by Curlin							MW: Disagree on the bias. Had no excuse in the Derby, but when on his game, he's as good as any 3yo.
	Owner: Isabelle de Tomaso; Trainer: Graham Motion; Jockey: Rajiv Maragh
8	Senior Investment		12-1	6-1	95	**	3rd, 95	JP: Think his long, loping stride will be well suited to Belmont. Definitely has improved in recent starts.
	by Discreetly Mine							MW: His Beyers have improved, but was lucky to win Lexington and just clunked up in the Preakness.
	Owner: Fern Circle Stables; Trainer: Kenny McPeek; Jockey: Channing Hill
9	Meantime		15-1	15-1	91	**	**	JP: Think he moves up on off track, which he got last two starts. Should be part of a contested pace.
	by Shackleford							MW: He likes a wet track, but I don't agree he moves up on it. Either way, this is an ambitious spot.
	Owner: Silverton Hill; Trainer: Brian Lynch; Jockey: Mike Smith
10	Multiplier		15-1	15-1	94	**	6th, 94	JP: Thought he had a gorgeous trip in Preakness and simply wasn't good enough against this caliber.
	by The Factor							MW: Not only does he look in deep against even these, he's also sprint-bred top and bottom. Pass.
	Owner: Gary Barber, Adam Wachtel & George Kerr; Trainer: Brendan Walsh; Jockey: Joel Rosario
11	Epicharis		4-1	6-1	94	**	**	JP: Made much of the running in UAE Derby before losing narrowly, but question quality of that field.
	by Gold Allure							MW: Didn't deserve to lose in UAE Derby, but that was 11 weeks ago and there's other speed here.
	Owner: U. Carrot Farm; Trainer: Kiyoshi Hagiwara; Jockey: Christophe Lemaire
12	Patch		12-1	12-1	89	14th, 74	**	JP: Despite wide Derby post, had fairly clean trip until traffic problems on far turn while being outrun.
	by Union Rags							MW: He figures to absolutely adore the distance. The question is whether he's good or fast enough.
	Owner: Calumet Farm; Trainer: Todd Pletcher; Jockey: John Velazquez