Brooklyn closes out marathon Belmont Stakes card

The Brooklyn Invitational is run over 1 1/2 miles, one circuit around the Belmont Park main track, and if they go too slow the horses might come home in the dark.

The Brooklyn goes as race 13, post time 8 p.m., and hopefully the nine participants get to bed early Friday night.

For Campaign, it won’t feel that late since his body clock is set to West Coast time. The California shipper is trained by John Sadler, who had a win and two seconds from four starters at Belmont in 1992 and since has gone 12-0-1-0. Maybe the bleak record will throw some bettors off the trail and help the price on a horse that looks very competitive.

Four-year-old Campaign has raced only eight times, making five starts on dirt and his last four in Sadler’s barn. Sadler won the Santa Anita Handicap with Gift Box and Campaign finished a solid fourth in that race, coming back eight days later to rally last to first and win the Tokyo City, his first dirt start as far as 1 1/2 miles.

“We’ve always felt he would want to run a long distance – the longest distances possible,” said Sadler.

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Ignore the slow final and fractional times in the Tokyo City; Santa Anita’s dirt track has played slow for months, especially so that card.

“I think Santa Anita is deeper than Belmont this year,” said Sadler, who has been impressed with Campaign’s workouts preparing for the Brooklyn.

It wouldn’t be a Brooklyn without 7-year-old War Story, who won this race in 2017 and finished a fine second to Hoppertunity last year. War Story tailed off late last season, and a winter break, trainer Jorge Navarro said, did him great good. War Story needed his comeback race, the $1 million Charles Town Classic, and lost a lot of ground finishing a solid third going 1 1/8 miles around three turns.

Todd Pletcher has three runners, the longshot Biblical, the emergent Marconi, and You’re to Blame, a stronger contender than his stablemates. You’re to Blame got better the farther Pletcher stretched him last season and won his only start over 1 1/2 miles, the Greenwood Cup at Parx Racing, where he beat War Story a neck Sept. 3. You’re to Blame races for the third time in 2019 and three weeks ago nearly won the Pimlico Special over 1 1/4 miles despite a wide draw, trouble at the start, and a ground-losing trip. You’re to Blame had to rally from the back of the field in Baltimore but has positional speed at long distances and could even lead Saturday.

Rocketry, always a stayer but moved to dirt with good effect last fall by trainer Jimmy Jerkens, beat You’re to Blame going 1 5/8 miles in the Temperence Hill last Sept. 30. On May 9, in the Flat Out Stakes here over 1 3/8 miles, Marconi took the measure of 6-5 favorite Rocketry by almost three lengths, though Rocketry made up good ground after falling too far behind the leader.

“He was closing pretty good,” said Jerkens, who believes Rocketry’s in form comparable to last fall.

Sonneteer stretched out to 1 1/2 miles for the first time April 30 at Churchill and won the Champions Day Marathon by more than seven lengths. He, too, could get his picture taken near the end of a marathon day of racing.