G1 winner Almanaar returns in Friday allowance
ELMONT, N.Y. – Friday’s 11-race card will kick off with a $100,000 allowance race on the turf that features the return to the races of Grade 1 winner Almanaar.
Almanaar hasn’t run since he won the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf in February 2017, beating Beach Patrol.
“That horse had an injury, it took a long time to rehab him,” trainer Chad Brown said. “The team at Shadwell did an outstanding job and sent this horse back in really good condition. Knock on wood, he stays sound. I’m excited about the possibilities for this horse this year if he stays healthy.”
The 1 1/16-mile turf race also drew King Kreesa, the multiple stakes-winning New York-bred who is reunited with trainer David Donk. King Kreesa went 5 for 19, including a victory in the Grade 3 Poker in 2015, for Donk when he had him from 2014-16.
Oscar Performance targets Poker
Multiple Grade 1 winner Oscar Performance will make his 4-year-old debut in the Grade 3, $300,000 Poker Stakes on June 17, trainer Brian Lynch said.
Oscar Performance has not started since finishing ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar last November.
Lynch said Oscar Performance had to spend some time in the Ruffian Clinic across the street from Belmont Park after his May 22 work due to a case of colic.
“It resolved itself pretty good, we got a good work in him last week, we’ll work him again three-quarters this weekend and kick off his year,” Lynch said.
