Friday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Majestic Dunhill catches right field at his favorite distance

Belmont | Race 4 | Post Time 2:35 p.m. (ET) | Go to the TimeformUS PPs | Not already a TimeformUS member? Sign up

Lenstar (#1) would be a bit of a shock in this race despite his apparent pace advantage, but the rest of the entrants are all major players.

Soldado (#5) and Build to Suit (#3) each figure to attract significant support as they go out for the two top trainers on the circuit. The former is returning from an April layoff after losing a tough allowance race at this level as the favorite. He’s got the speed figures to compete against this stakes-quality field, but I’ve just never been thrilled with his form and want to see him replicate his best races outside of Gulfstream. Build to Suit arguably has more questions to answer as he makes his second start of the year after getting scratched when entered for a $40,000 tag on closing weekend at Saratoga. Was Chad Brown just trying to win the trainers’ title, or has this horse gone in the wrong direction?

I’ll use both of them, but I prefer the logical MAJESTIC DUNHILL (#4). This 5-year-old is a deep closer, which might be a liability in this race. However, I would imagine that Joel Rosario would have him much closer to the pace than usual in this short field. He finished ahead of Soldado when they met at Gulfstream and his dirt sprint form is generally quite strong. Furthermore, this is the softest field he’s met on the dirt since returning from a layoff earlier this year.

THE PLAY

Win: 4
Exacta Key Box: 4 with 2,3,5
Trifecta: 4 with 3,5 with 2,3,5