Friday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Frantic still has upside in second dirt start
Belmont at the Big A | Race 6 | Post Time 3:38 p.m. (ET)
Linda Rice sends out two of the primary contenders in this race. Lou (#2) figures to go favored as he makes his first start off the claim for this barn, but Rice is getting this colt from Amelia Green, who is off to a very strong start in her brief training career. I wonder how much room Lou has to improve in his 14th career start, but he may just need to hold the form he displayed last time out. He finished third in a race for a lower claiming tag but was facing older rivals Have You Heard and Narciso Dali, who are better than any of the rivals he's meeting here. The bigger concern with this colt is his lack of early speed, especially as he turns back to the shortest distance he's attempted since last summer.
Rice's other entrant, Consider It Done (#7), won first off the claim last time out, breaking his maiden for a $30,000 tag. He beat a decent rival and showed some bravery to come through along the inside of that foe despite racing in tight quarters. He should benefit from drawing outside her as he steps up in class.
There is a fair amount of pace in this race, which may help set things up for Just Clarity (#1). He was beaten by a couple of today's rivals at this level last time, but he gave away too much ground early and was finishing too late, galloping out strongly past the wire. I like the rider switch to Manny Franco, who is more aggressive than the prior jockey and may get him into gear sooner.
My top pick is Frantic (#6), who obviously has to get faster to beat a field like this. He began his career on turf with a couple of decent efforts, but he wasn't running as well as he had trained in the mornings. Trainer Todd Pletcher switched him to dirt for the first time in an April 10 maiden claiming race, and he got the job done quite comfortably. The time was relatively slow, but this horse didn't ever look like he was asked for his best. He traveled under his own power to the quarter pole before getting lightly urged into the lead, then was quickly taken in hand thereafter. I suspect he's capable of better stepping up against a tougher field, and he figures to get dismissed at a square price despite going out for top connections.