Game Winner out of Belmont; Master Fencer in transit from Kentucky

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Bob Baffert is taking a pass on this year’s Belmont Stakes.

Baffert, who has won two of the last four Belmonts – completing Triple Crowns with American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018 – confirmed Friday that Game Winner, last year’s 2-year-old champion male who finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby, would not run in the Belmont on June 8. Baffert said he was not pointing any other horse to the last leg of the Triple Crown.

Of Game Winner, Baffert said, “I want to get him really, really right. The goal’s the Travers [at Saratoga on Aug. 24], run him one time before that.”

Baffert said he didn’t know where he would point Game Winner to next. Game Winner, who was beaten a nose in the Rebel and a half-length in the Santa Anita Derby, had a very wide trip in the Kentucky Derby where he finished sixth. He was elevated to fifth after the disqualification of Maximum Security. Both Game Winner and Maximum Security are owned by Gary and Mary West.

Meanwhile, trainer Gregg Sacco said Friday that Joevia, winner of the Long Branch Stakes on May 12 at Monmouth Park, is under serious consideration for the Belmont Stakes. Sacco said part of the decision could be based on whether Maximum Security runs in the Grade 3, $150,000 Pegasus Stakes on June 16, a race for which Joevia also is being considered.

Sacco said taking on Maximum Security in a race with a $150,000 purse was less appealing than running in the Belmont Stakes with no standout for a $1.5 million purse.

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Joevia, a son of Shanghai Bobby, has two wins and two seconds from five starts. His only bad race came in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial when he was poorly ridden by Nik Juarez, veering in from his outside post and interfering with several horses. He finished seventh, 13 lengths behind Tacitus, but was disqualified and placed last. Prior to that, he finished second to Alwaysmining in the Miracle Wood Stakes at Laurel and second to Haikal in the Jimmy Winkfield at Aqueduct.

“Other than the crazy race in the Wood Memorial, he’s done nothing wrong,” Sacco said.

In the Long Branch, run over a sloppy track, Joevia dueled with Red Gum to the quarter pole. Red Gum took a bad step and unseated his rider at that point, while Joevia opened up a clear lead and easily beat his other two rivals.

“He galloped out strong that day,” Sacco said. “He always gave us the impression that he’d run farther. The Long Branch was certainly a step in the right direction. He’ll have to improve off that effort.”

◗ Master Fencer, who finished seventh, but was elevated to sixth in the Kentucky Derby, was scheduled to arrive at Belmont Park on Friday night after a van ride from Keeneland where he had been training before and after the Derby.

◗ Spinoff, Intrepid Heart, Sir Winston, and Tax were all scheduled to breeze at Belmont Park on Saturday morning in preparation for the Belmont.

Joel Rosario was expected to breeze Sir Winston and will most likely ride him in the Belmont Stakes. Rosario rode Sir Winston to a second-place finish in the Peter Pan. He also rode Everfast to a second-place finish in the Preakness.

◗ Tacitus, the Wood Memorial winner and third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, was expected to breeze Sunday at Belmont.

Others being considered for the Belmont are Preakness 1-2-3 finishers War of Will, Everfast, and Owendale.

◗ The New York Racing Association will offer a two-day pick six that will end with the Belmont Stakes and involve all stakes races.

The bet, which will be a 20-cent minimum wager with a 15 percent takeout and a mandatory payout, will begin Friday, June 7, and end Saturday, June 8, with the Belmont. The other races in the sequence will be selected after entries are drawn for the two cards.

Churchill Downs offered a similar wager using all Grade 1 races on the Oaks and Derby cards. That base wager was $2, and the pool was $479,561.