Course lovers clash in feature
ELMONT, N.Y. – Bio Pro will appreciate the drop in class while Golden Rifle should enjoy returning to his favorite course, as both horses look to return to the winner’s circle in an $85,000 multi-conditioned allowance race going seven furlongs on the turf Wednesday at Belmont Park.
Starting Wednesday, first post has been moved up 15 minutes to 12:50 p.m. and Wednesday’s card includes a pick six carryover of $29,459. This race will be the fourth leg of that sequence.
Bio Pro, trained by Bill Mott, is seeking to end a three-race losing streak, all coming in stakes company. Last time out, Bio Pro finished fifth, but just 1 3/4 lengths behind two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan in the Grade 2 Bernard Baruch Handicap at Saratoga.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Bio Pro. Trainer Bill Mott is 3 for 24 with a $0.64 ROI (and 0 for 8 on the NYRA circuit) over the past two years going from route to sprint on turf. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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“It was kind of odd because he was laying right there, then he lost ground around the turn and then he came again,” Mott said.
“It looked like he was going to get nothing and didn’t get beat that far. He just didn’t run the turn that well.”
Wednesday’s race is run around one turn and over the course on which Bio Pro recorded his last victory, which came on May 24.
Golden Rifle went 3 for 3 over Belmont’s turf course during the spring meet, including two wins at seven furlongs. Most recently he finished second, a length behind Heaven’s Runway in a third-level allowance race going 5 1/2 furlongs at Saratoga.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Golden Rifle. Trainer Chad Brown is 11 for 31 with a $2.41 ROI over the past two years in turf sprints at Belmont with horses coming off a finish in the money. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
“Five and a half is probably a little short for him, but I thought he ran really well in that race,” said Chad Brown, who claimed Golden Rifle for $30,000 for Paul Pompa in the spring at Gulfstream. “Certainly the Belmont track he likes the best.
“Pompa picked him out. When he got to us I said, ‘This horse is built like a sprinter, put him in that program,’ and got lucky. He’s got a lot of heart, this horse.”
Strong Impact, an 8-year-old gelding claimed by David Jacobson for $80,000 in the spring, is a six-time winner over the Belmont turf. He is coupled with Praetereo, but only one may run as Cornelio Velasquez is named on both.
Key contenders
Bio Pro (Last 3 Beyers: 100-100-84)
◗ He gets significant class relief after facing two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan in Grade 2 Bernard Baruch at Saratoga last out.
◗ He will appreciate cutting back to a one-turn race.
◗ Mott said his biggest concern is running him back in 25 days.
Golden Rifle (Last 3 Beyers: 84-95-85)
◗ He is 3 for 4 since being claimed out of a 1 1/16-mile race, with all three wins coming at Belmont.