Big Handsome heads Paradise Creek cast

ELMONT, N.Y. – It was not by design that Big Handsome has developed into a turf sprinter. But after three failed attempts on dirt, trainer Tony Dutrow decided to try something different with the 3-year-old son of Street Boss, and now Big Handsome likely will be favored in Saturday’s $100,000 Paradise Creek Stakes, scheduled for seven furlongs over Belmont’s Widener turf course.

Big Handsome finished fourth behind Cloud Computing over Aqueduct’s inner track on Feb. 11. After that, he was shipped to Payson Park, where he worked twice on turf before winning a maiden race by four lengths on the grass at Gulfstream. Big Handsome came back to win a turf allowance at Belmont on April 30.

“What he’s doing on the turf is what we all thought he was capable of all along,” Dutrow said. “We just didn’t see it until we switched him to the turf.”

Big Handsome drew the outside post in a field of eight that includes one main-track-only entrant. From the rail out, the field is Derek’s Smile, Have Another, Line Judge (MTO), Kitten’s Cat, Small Bear, Harlan’s Harmony, Mongo Nation, and Big Handsome.