Master Fencer walked for one hour Thursday morning outside his barn at Belmont Park and his connections are confident there are no issues with the colt that would prevent him from running in the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on June 8 at Belmont Park.
When Preakness winner War of Will runs in the Belmont Stakes next Saturday, he will potentially create mutuel value on his rivals. What follows is a look at four of those opponents, whom most excite based on their form, workouts, and pedigrees.
Master Fencer gave his connections a bit of a scare Wednesday morning at Belmont Park when he took an awkward step and stumbled toward the end of a workout in preparation for the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes here on June 8.
Japanese invader Master Fencer was considered to be one of the “buzz” horses heading into this year's Belmont Stakes. But that buzz was definitely tempered following Master Fencer's first official workout at Belmont Park shortly after 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
There was an overflow field of 21 horses entered for the Kentucky Derby. The 13-horse field for the Preakness was the largest for that race since 2011 and one short of capacity. When it comes to running in the Belmont Stakes, enthusiasm is not as high.
Tacitus, who could vie for favoritism with Preakness winner War of Will in the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes on June 8, put in a solid five-furlong workout Sunday at Belmont Park in preparation for the third and final leg of the Triple Crown.
With the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, to be decided at a grueling 1 1/2 miles, there was a distinct pattern to the handful of workouts recorded over the Belmont Park main and training tracks this weekend. The trainers of all five Belmont contenders to breeze here Saturday and Sunday were looking for strong, extended gallop-outs just two weeks out from the race.
Trainer Todd Pletcher's success in the Belmont Stakes has come primarily with horses who disappointed in the Kentucky Derby. Pletcher is hoping for more of the same with Spinoff.
Trainer Bob Baffert, who has won two of the last four Belmonts – completing Triple Crowns with American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018 – confirmed Friday that Game Winner, last year's 2-year-old champion male who finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby, would not run in the June 8 Belmont. Baffert said he was not pointing any other horse to the last leg of the Triple Crown.
New York native Mike Repole has made no secret that his greatest ambition in racing is to win Long Island's biggest race, the Belmont Stakes. Repole Stable has sent out four horses as a solo owner in the oldest and longest leg of the Triple Crown, with Stay Thirsty finishing second in 2011. Last year, he ran two horses in partnership, with Repole Stable and St. Elias's Vino Rosso finishing fourth behind the unbeaten Justify.
