Hammersly's preview: Rosario looks to stay hot

Riding high and looking for more

Rider Joel Rosario probably hasn’t come down from his high last Saturday when he won the Grade 1 Belmont aboard Tonalist and the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps aboard Cross Hatches, and while he won’t reach such a pinnacle on this card, he’s still lined up with a number of contenders.

In race 4, he has the mount on Boss Man, coincidentally for Bill Mott, with whom he teamed to win the aforementioned Ogden Phipps. Boss Man has been knocking on the door and comes off a sharp third, beaten just a half-length in a race exactly like this (1 1/4 miles on the inner against maidens) May 18.

Race 7 sees Rosario teamed with Easy Living going 1 1/16 miles on the Widener Course as the 3-year-old daughter of champion 3-year-old Big Brown faces winners for the first time. She showed talent in her debut on turf here last Sept. 11, rallying to be a sharp second. She wasn’t seen again before returning to beat maidens on dirt here May 2. She’s back to turf for this New York-bred N1X, and the karma may be good. She’s trained by Christophe Clement, who gave Rosario a leg up on Tonalist for the Belmont.

More good karma could be coming in race 9 as Rosario again teams with Clement on Shimba. The son of Exchange Rate makes his debut on the Widener Course going a mile. Exchange Rate has proven to be a strong grass sire, and the works are strong. There likely are some expectations here as well – he cost $320,000 at auction. Clement continued his good run, winning twice here Wednesday as well.

Grade 1 winner facing maidens?

Alajmal pops up in race 4, a 1 1/4-mile race for maidens on the inner turf course. At first glance, his placement looks wrong. After all, he was last seen winning a Grade 1 race, and now he’s in against maidens.

Well, not so fast. Yes, that was a Grade 1 race he won when last seen Nov. 23, but the Colonial Cup he won came over hurdles at Camden. He was Grade 1 placed when running third in the same race the year prior. So he’s not a winner on the flats – hence his eligibility for this race. He has a couple third-place finishes in seven starts on the flats on turf, so he’s shown some ability, and this distance actually may be too short for him. After all, the Colonial Cup was at 2 3/4 miles, more than twice as long as this race.

Spot play

Race 6
REAL ESTATE RICH (#7, 2-1) has been knocking on the door at the N1X level of late, and today’s slight drop may be just what the doctor ordered. After two thirds and two seconds against N1X foes, he moves in against starter allowance rivals. He has versatility, and you get a high-percentage barn (Jacobson). Don’t expect to get rich on him, but he could be your linchpin for a number of your multi-race wagers.