Brown holds all the cards in Poker Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – The deck looks stacked in trainer Chad Brown’s favor when it comes to Sunday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Poker Stakes at Belmont Park.

In Catapult, Projected, and Night Prowler, Brown has three major players in the one-mile turf race, which drew a field of six for the turf plus one main-track-only entrant in Weekend Hideaway.

Projected and Catapult finished second and fourth in the Grade 2 Dixie Stakes at Pimlico on Preakness Day. Projected was racing right inside of Catapult, who appeared to resent the restraint of jockey Javier Castellano and was steadied several times.

Projected found running room turning for home, but World Approval had gotten first run on him and proved impossible to catch, winning by 2 1/4 lengths. Projected finished 2 1/4 lengths in front of Blacktype, with Catapult finishing fourth.

On Sunday, without any speed in the race, Catapult likely will be allowed to run away from the gate and to the lead under Jose Ortiz. Ortiz replaces Castellano, who is at Monmouth to ride Timeline for Brown in the Grade 3 Pegasus.

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Prior to finishing second in the Dixie, Projected won a high-caliber allowance race, beating Divisidero and Pleuven, both of whom came back to win stakes.

Brown’s third Poker starter is Night Prowler, who is coming off a neck loss in a third-level allowance race in which he raced up close to the pace.

Rounding out the field are European import Bolting, the hard-knocking 10-year-old New York-bred Lubash, and Ballagh Rocks, trained by three-time Poker winner Bill Mott.

The Poker is the eighth race on a 10-race Father’s Day program that begins at 1:30 p.m. Eastern.

KEY CONTENDERS

Projected, by Showcasing

Last 3 Beyers: 103-101-95

◗ Raced in tight in his last two starts, including a win in a high-class allowance race at Keeneland over Divisidero, who came back to win the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, and Pleuven, who came back to win the Opening Verse at Churchill.

◗ He is winless in four starts at a mile.

Catapult, by Kitten’s Joy

Last 3 Beyers: 95-98-97

◗ His lone win at a mile came over this course in the fall of 2015 in his career debut. He rallied from off the pace to beat Giant Run, who has become a four-time stakes winner.

Ballagh Rocks, by Stormy Atlantic

Last 3 Beyers: 88-100-95

◗ Had a tough trip and may not have cared for the soft going at Churchill when he finished eighth in the Turf Classic on May 6. Prior to that, he finished fourth, beaten only a half-length, in the Grade 1 Maker’s 46 Mile at Keeneland.

◗ Does his best running late.