Hard Love should embrace longer distance of Pennine Ridge

ELMONT, N.Y. – Even as Hard Love was performing well in 1 1/16-mile turf stakes such as the Central Park last year and the Woodhaven last month, trainer Jonathan Thomas was anticipating stretching the horse out in distance.

Saturday, Thomas will run Hard Love 1 1/8 miles for the first time in the Grade 2, $200,000 Pennine Ridge Stakes at Belmont Park. Though rain is in the forecast, it is expected the Pennine Ridge will remain on the turf.

The Pennine Ridge sets a horse up for the New York Racing’s Association trio of turf marathon stakes that begins with the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Derby at 1 1/4 miles on July 10.

“You don’t know until it happens, but the look of him and the style of how he runs, he’s a right-off-the-pace horse that has a lot of stamina that I think could go a mile and a quarter and even further to a mile and a half,” Thomas said this week. “He seems to have a big, relentless way about him.”

Hard Love, a son of Kitten’s Joy, won his debut last Oct. 10 by two lengths before chasing and finishing second to a loose-on-the-lead Never Surprised in the $100,000 Central Park Stakes at Aqueduct last Nov. 10. In the $100,000 Woodhaven Stakes on April 17, his 3-year-old debut, Hard Love chased and passed Original while beating It’s a Gamble by 1 1/4 lengths.

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“I felt like we were a little short into that race, missed a bunch of works because of the weather,” said Thomas, who added that heading into this race “from a preparation standpoint, he seems to be extremely fit. I like the draw, we’re drawn a little [inside] so we can save some ground.”

Hard Love, who has three solid works on the turf, will break from post 4 under Javier Castellano.

Sainthood, 11th in the Kentucky Derby, makes his turf debut in the Pennine Ridge. Sainthood finished second in the Jeff Ruby Steaks over Turfway Park’s synthetic surface. After the Derby, trainer Todd Pletcher worked Sainthood twice over the turf course at Belmont and saw improvement.

“I thought he trained better,” Pletcher said. “He quickened up at the end of his breezes pretty well and he galloped out stronger than some of his dirt works. I thought the most obvious difference [on turf] was his turn of foot.”

Joel Rosario will ride Sainthood from post 5.

Pletcher also sends out Shaftesbury, who won his maiden here on April 24 in his fifth start, but first beyond a mile.

“That last race was a breakthrough race for him,” Pletcher said. “He’s run into a couple of nice horses along the way. He may be a horse who likes Belmont a little more than he did the Gulfstream course.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Shaftesbury from post 3.

Safe Conduct has two wins and a second in three turf starts, all for trainer Phil Serpe. Safe Conduct beat Public Sector in a first-level allowance here on May 2. Public Sector is also back in the Pennine Ridge.

Step Dancer, who won the Awad here over yielding turf last October and was beaten a neck with a wide trip in a New York-bred allowance, is live at a likely price for trainer Barclay Tagg.

Shawdyshawdyshawdy, The Reds, and Minuteman complete the field.