Full Screen looks to rebound from Charles Town Classic flop
:quality(75))
ELMONT, N.Y. – It’s not exactly clear what happened to Full Screen in the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic in August, where shortly after he began to move, jockey Paco Lopez began to ease him out of the race.
That was 10 weeks ago, and Full Screen shows a series of solid workouts since then for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. Sifting through his past performances, it’s not hard to find that this 7-year-old gelding has previously bounced back from poor efforts to run well the following race.
That’s what his backers will be hoping for Friday at Belmont when Full Screen drops back into an allowance/optional $110,000 claiming race going 1 1/8 miles that tops Belmont Park’s eight-race card.
Full Screen has twice been claimed for $100,000 or more. Big Toe Stables and Joseph took him for $110,000 on June 5 at Saratoga and got two solid runs in him in this same condition before the Charles Town race.
Edgard Zayas rides Full Screen for the first time.
Stronsino, who ships up from Parx Racing for Jamie Ness, is coming off a third-place finish behind Winterfell in the Polynesian Stakes going a one-turn mile Oct. 3 at Laurel. Prior to that, Stronsino finished third in the Greenwood Cup going 1 1/2 miles at Parx.
“I wanted him to go to the lead and slow it down, but the jockey didn’t do what I told him,” Ness said. “He ran third, ran a good race, but I think he could have done better.”
Ness wasn’t overly disappointed in the effort by Stronsino in the Polynesian Stakes, when he finished third, three lengths behind Winterfell and one length behind Zero Blitz.
“Good race, two tough horses that beat him,” Ness said. “The horse, he’s kind of workmanlike . . . he’s going to bring the same race every time. If he’s good enough, he’ll get there. If not, he’ll get beat.”
Trainer Todd Pletcher has always felt Classicist has more talent than what he’s shown to date. Pletcher has gelded Classicist to see if that helps with his pre-race behavior, which may have contributed to his underachieving career.
“I think we’ll know when we see how he behaves himself in the paddock,” Pletcher said. “It seemed like the last few times we’ve run him, he’s got himself worked up a bit. I wouldn’t say he left his race in the paddock, but he didn’t do himself any favors. Interested to see if it changes his demeanor.”
Pletcher also sends out Tuscan Sky, who Pletcher said is one of the most inconsistent horses he’s ever trained. Pletcher does like the outside draw in this spot.
“I think the post position is very helpful, he’s a horse that just will not take any kickback,” Pletcher said.
Yo Daddy finished fourth in a spot similar to this Oct. 4. Pentathlon, winner of that race, came back to win the Forty Niner Stakes, while Georgia Magic, third in that Oct. 4 race, came back to win one of the starter handicaps on Oct. 17.
Winston and Cool Intentions round out the field.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.