Everfast works at Churchill Downs for Belmont Stakes; field of 10 expected

ELMONT, N.Y. – Everfast won the first race of his career and has lost 10 straight since, but his runner-up finish in the Preakness behind War of Will and the way he has trained since has given trainer Dale Romans the confidence that Everfast is headed the right direction heading into the 151st Belmont Stakes on Saturday.

Everfast – a grandson of Belmont winner A.P. Indy – completed his training for the Belmont on Monday at Churchill Downs, where head clocker John Nichols had him going five furlongs in 1:01 and galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.60 and seven furlongs in 1:28.

“Good Belmont work, nice, just like you’d want him do to it going into a big race,” Romans said from Churchill Downs.

Everfast was second in the Holy Bull earlier this year, then was badly beaten in the Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby before a fifth-place finish in the Pat Day Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard. He then was a fast-finishing second in the Preakness, beaten 1 1/4 lengths by War of Will.

“He’s been a little more aggressive, a little more arrogant the way he does things,” Romans said.

:: Belmont Stakes one-stop shop: Get Clocker Reports, PPs, packages, and more

Everfast – who was scheduled to fly here on Tuesday – is one of 10 horses who were expected to be entered in the Belmont on Tuesday. War of Will, the only horse this year who will run in all three Triple Crown races, and Tacitus, who was placed third in the Derby after originally finishing fourth, should vie for favoritism. Entries were due Tuesday morning, and posts were to be drawn Tuesday night at Citi Field – similar to last year – prior to the game between the Mets and the Giants.

Luis Saez, disqualified from a Derby victory aboard Maximum Security, has the mount on Everfast. Jose Ortiz rides Tacitus, and Tyler Gaffalione is back aboard War of Will.

The rest of the expected field, including riders, is Bourbon War (Mike Smith aboard), Intrepid Heart (John Velazquez), Joevia (Jose Lezcano), Master Fencer (Julien Leparoux), Sir Winston (Joel Rosario), Spinoff (Javier Castellano), and Tax (Irad Ortiz Jr.).

Mark Casse, who trains War of Will, doubles up with Sir Winston. Todd Pletcher also has two entrants, Intrepid Heart and Spinoff.

Tax had been on the fence since a workout on Saturday that didn’t overly impress trainer Danny Gargan, but on Monday – after Tax had new glue-on shoes affixed by noted blacksmith Ian McKinlay – Gargan said Tax would be entered.

Gargan said Tax had a minor issue on his right front foot coming out of his workout, but after getting the new shoes, Tax jogged satisfactorily on the Belmont training track Monday.

“I think he might have stepped on a rock coming back to the barn,” Gargan said. “He had a little spot on the inside that he patched up, not a quarter crack or anything like that. He’s 100 percent sound now.”

Tax most recently crossed the wire 15th in the Derby before being promoted to 14th on the disqualification of Maximum Security. Prior to that, he was second to Tacitus in the Wood Memorial.

“If you throw out the Derby, he’s as good as anybody in the race,” Gargan said. “Obviously, I’m not going to run unless he’s perfect.”

Also Monday, trainer Gregg Sacco fully committed Joevia to the Belmont, and said Jose Lezcano would ride. Joevia, infamous for cutting off half the field in the Wood Memorial under Nik Juarez, most recently won the Long Branch at Monmouth on May 12.

Master Fencer, the Japanese invader who closed stoutly late in the Derby to cross the wire seventh before being promoted to sixth, continued to have an easy training schedule since a workout last week in which he wore bell boots and stumbled nearing the wire.

On Monday, he trained solely on the training track, after visiting both the training track and main track on Sunday. He is scheduled for a workout on Wednesday, with Julien Leparoux – his Derby rider – scheduled to be in town for the drill.

The Belmont is part of a blockbuster, Breeders’ Cup-quality card on Saturday at Belmont Park that includes seven other Grade 1 races – the Met Mile, Ogden Phipps, Manhattan, Just a Game, Acorn, Woody Stephens, and Jaipur – as well as the Grade 2 Brooklyn and the listed Easy Goer.

It was a gorgeous, cloud-free morning at Belmont Park on Monday, with high temperatures for the day in the low 70s, and that trend is forecast to continue for much of the week, according to The Weather Channel, which predicts a 74-degree day and only a 10 percent chance of rain for Saturday.

– additional reporting by David Grening