Eye Witness and Charging square off in the Paradise Creek
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The talented Kentucky-based runners Eye Witness and Charging will meet in New York on Saturday for the $150,000 Paradise Creek at Belmont Park.
The seven-furlong turf race for 3-year-olds will go as the second race on an 11-race card that starts at 12:30 p.m. Eastern.
A field of nine is set for the Paradise Creek, including Grade 3 winner Joey Freshwater, stakes winner Vacation Dance, and the stakes-placed runners Inflation Nation and Golden Nugget.
Eye Witness could go favored off his back-to-back wins at Turfway. He won a maiden special weight over a mile in his second career start Jan. 1, then cut back to six furlongs to account for the Animal Kingdom by five lengths March 25.
“He’s really starting to come out,” said Wesley Ward, who trains Eye Witness.
Eye Witness has made one other start, finishing third by a head in a maiden at six furlongs on turf at the Belmont at Aqueduct meet on Sept. 23.
“We brought him back to Kentucky, gave him a little time because he’s a big colt, and he started to come around,” Ward said. “He really came around.
“At Turfway, he bounced out of there going a mile and won with authority.”
For the return to turf, Eye Witness breezed on the grass at Keeneland on April 29, going five-eighths around the dogs in a bullet 1:01.80.
“He worked with Arrest Me Red,” Ward said of the Grade 2 winner of more than $850,000. “We’re ready.”
Eye Witness, a son of City of Light who brought $650,000 at the Keeneland September auction in 2021, races for the partnership of Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier, Jonathan Poulin, Derrick Smith, and Michael Tabor.
Jose Ortiz has the mount from post 4.
Charging will be making his stakes debut after a six-length maiden special weight win April 26 at Keeneland. He broke on top from post 10, set quick fractions, and covered 5 1/2 furlongs on firm turf in a sharp 1:02.02.
“It was a 3 and up race,” said trainer Brad Cox.
Charging’s impressive win came after a runner-up finish in a Fair Grounds maiden special weight at a mile on turf March 26.
“We zeroed in on the [Keeneland] race after the second-place finish at Fair Grounds,” Cox said. “Florent [Geroux], who has ridden him in all three starts, made the comment that maybe a little bit shorter for him and he was spot on. He really responded well with the shortening up.”
The performance put Charging on track for the Paradise Creek.
“We wanted to keep him around one turn and there wasn’t a lot of opportunity out there,” Cox said. “It would be nice to try him in a first-level allowance, but there’s really not one out there for 3-year-olds right now. We thought that this race made sense. He looked like he definitely liked the turnback last time. We felt like if he was doing good, we could give it a shot. He’s doing well, came back and put in a good work at Keeneland.”
Manny Franco has the mount from the rail for Bob LaPenta, e Five Racing, and Madaket Stables.
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