Brown entry strong but not unbeatable

ELMONT, N.Y. – Though trainer Chad Brown has a formidable entry of Spirit Animal and Financial System entered in Wednesday’s $77,000 first-level allowance feature at Belmont Park, there appears to be plenty of depth among the 11 runners entered to run 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Conviction Trade, trained by former Brown assistant Jorge Abreu, rallied from next-to-last in an eight-horse field to win his debut for maiden $75,000 claiming at odds of 24-1 here on Sept. 12. That race was at 1 1/16 miles.

Abreu said he wasn’t looking to run Conviction Trade for a claiming price, but the Sept. 12 race was the first suitable one he could find for the 3-year-old son of Exchange Rate.

Abreu said jockey Jose Lezcano “liked the horse the first time he breezed him for me in Saratoga but they didn’t have a race for him.”

“This one came up, I wanted to run the horse, so I took a little chance,” he said.

Abreu said Conviction Trade has done very well since the race and believes “the distance is going to help him.”

“Jose said the same thing,” Abreu said.

Trainer Christophe Clement entered the uncoupled entry of Uhtred and Mr. Alec. Clement said he plans to scratch Mr. Alec but is eager to bring Uhtred back off a four-month layoff. Uhtred won for maiden $50,000 claiming by a neck and most recently, on June 28, won a starter allowance by 1 1/4 lengths over Willing to Speed.

“He’s never stopped improving,” trainer Christophe Clement said. “I like him.”

Asked about going 1 1/8 miles, Clement said “I think he will enjoy that very much.”

The horses in the Brown entry both are coming off layoffs.

Spirit Animal came off a 10-month layoff to run fourth in a similar condition on July 18 at Saratoga, steadying late when runner-up Swamp Rat tightened things up on him nearing the wire. That race was won by Value Proposition, part of a coupled entry with Spirit Animal. At 2, Spirit Animal won his maiden going 1 1/16 miles at Belmont.

Financial System, who won for maiden $40,000 claiming at Aqueduct in April 2018, is coming off a head loss to Hierarchy in a race similar to this at Saratoga on Aug. 8. Hierarchy beat Financial System in the final stride.

“He ran really well and he seems to be doing well,” said Brown, who added that Financial System should have no problem with the mile and an eighth.

Rapt is a New York-bred who is 3 for 24 and who has lost his last 15 starts. Rapt’s last victory came here going 1 1/16 miles on July 4, 2017.

Everyonelovesjames is 2 for 3 at Belmont and makes a second start here this meet after finishing fifth, beaten three lengths, going seven furlongs. The Jonathan Sheppard trainee won two New York-bred allowances here during the spring/summer meet at Belmont.

Depserado, Gauguin, Chantry Flats, and Leaveematthegate complete the field on turf. Southern Bridge is entered to run only if the race is moved to the dirt.