Easy Goer matches intruiging up-and-comers

ELMONT, N.Y. – An ungraded $150,000 stakes for 3-year-olds on the Belmont Stakes undercard may sound like a Not Ready for Prime Time Players situation, but last year’s winner of the 1 1/16-mile Easy Goer, West Coast, went on to win an Eclipse Award, and there are several promising runners in Saturday’s lineup.

When was the last time you saw a horse break flat-footed, rush up to early contention between horses, and go on to win by 14 lengths? Rugbyman did exactly that in a Belmont Park maiden race for trainer Graham Motion.

Then there’s Mask, trained by Chad Brown, who missed the break at Gulfstream Park in his debut, but threaded a needle between horses in the stretch and pulled away to score by three lengths. He came back to post an easy-as-can-be victory in the one-mile Mucho Macho Man with jockey Javier Castellano high up in the irons at the finish.

Although Mask finished eighth of 14 last time out in the Pat Day Mile on Kentucky Derby Day, many horses failed to show their best over that afternoon’s difficult, sloppy track.

Breaking the Rules hasn’t been quite as eye-catching as Mask or Rugbyman, but he comes into the Easy Goer 2 for 2 at six furlongs – and now he’ll get to stretch out to what may be a more suitable distance.

“He acts like he wants to go long,” said trainer Shug McGaughey, who trained Easy Goer for the Phipps family, who own and bred Breaking the Rules.

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In his Gulfstream Park debut, Breaking the Rules was blocked by a wall of horses entering the stretch. When a hole failed to open, Irad Ortiz Jr. swung him down to the rail. He dug in to get up by a neck while appearing to just be finding his best stride.

In his second start, Ortiz kept Breaking the Rules to the inside and he ran by several battling rivals and outfinished a horse who had gotten the jump on him. He earned a 92 Beyer Speed Figure, which matches up well here.

“His first race at Gulfstream he was kind of green, but he was still able to win,” McGaughey said. “But the other day I thought he was very professional. I think he can probably place himself pretty forwardly in this race.”

Flying further under the radar are High North and Dark Vader.

Trained by Brad Cox, High North will be making his sixth consecutive stakes start. He won the Northern Spur at Oaklawn Park in his first start with blinkers. Last time out, he appeared keen and attended the pace three wide for the first seven furlongs of the Peter Pan before flattening out to finish fourth.

Peter Eurton has shipped Dark Vader in from California off a first-level optional-claiming score in which he earned a field-high 95 Beyer.