Hofburg likely a serious threat to Justify's bid

ELMONT, N.Y. - That Hofburg will compete in two legs of the Triple Crown is more a function of the horse than his trainer.

Having not made his 3-year-old debut until March 3, Hofburg was considered more of a summertime 3-year-old than a spring classic campaigner by his Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

But after a good-looking maiden win followed by a second-place finish behind Audible in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, Mott decided to run Hofburg in the Kentucky Derby, where he finished seventh, 8 3/4 lengths behind Justify. Off that effort and with three solid workouts underneath him – the last of which came Sunday at Saratoga – Hofburg will be considered one of the more serious threats to Justify’s Triple Crown bid in Saturday’s $1.5 million Belmont Stakes.

“I guess earlier in the spring I would have said we’re meant for the Travers more than anything just because of the number of races we had and the amount of seasoning we didn’t have, but he came around well enough that I think we deserved a chance in the Derby,” said Mott, who trains Hofburg for Juddmonte Farms.

“I still think with a good trip he was going to be a factor in the Derby. I don’t think we had the trip we needed, but I don’t think we made a mistake running the horse in there.”

Hofburg was 16th early on in the Derby and while he was able to save ground under Irad Ortiz Jr., he encountered some traffic issues between the three-eighths pole and the quarter pole that caused him to stall, while Justify was always moving forward. Still, Hofburg did pass many rivals in the stretch and galloped out past Justify after the race.

Mott, who won the 2010 Belmont with Drosselmeyer, has liked what he’s seen since from Hofburg, who on Sunday worked a half-mile in 48.01 seconds, according to New York Racing Association clocker Dave Norton, over Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track. Hofburg worked outside of the Grade 1 winner Good Samaritan, who is pointing to Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.2 million Metropolitan Handicap on the same card.

Hofburg began the work slightly behind Good Samaritan and went his opening eighth in 12.24 seconds and a quarter in 24.02. Hofburg got his final quarter in 23.99 seconds as he beat Good Samaritan by a length and then galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.03 and six furlongs in 1:14.19, according to Norton.

“Went a little quicker than what I thought they might, but we had a good track,” Mott said. “I thought that was a respectable work. He came back and couldn’t blow out a match. These are both very manageable horses, they go off easy and work well; they’re good workmates actually.”

Though Hofburg has only one win from five starts - Restoring Hope is the only other member of the prospective field with just one win - Mott said, “I think we belong, I think he deserves a shot in the Belmont.”

Hofburg will be one of 10 horses who will attempt to prevent Justify’s Triple Crown bid in the Belmont Stakes. There were 11 prospective opponents, but on Sunday an official with Calumet Farm said that Bandua, trained by Dermot Weld, would be pointed to the Irish Derby on June 30 rather than run in the Belmont.

The post-position draw for the Belmont will be held Tuesday at Citi Field prior to the start of the Mets-Orioles game.

Justify is expected to work at Churchill Downs on Monday morning before shipping to New York on Wednesday.

With riders, the Belmont field, is expected to be:

PROSPECTIVE BELMONT STAKES FIELD

HORSE	TRAINER	JOCKEY	LAST RACE/FINISH
Blended Citizen	Doug O'Neill	Kyle Frey	Peter Pan Stakes - 1st (BEL)
Bravazo	D. Wayne Lukas	Luis Saez	Preakness - 2nd (PIM)
Free Drop Billy	Dale Romans	Robby Albarado	Kentucky Derby - 16th (CD)
Gronkowski	Chad Brown	Jose Ortiz	Burradon Stakes - 1st (Newcastle - ENG)
Hofburg	Bill Mott	Irad Ortiz Jr.	Kentucky Derby - 7th (CD)
Justify	Bob Baffert	Mike Smith	Preakness - 1st (PIM)
Noble Indy	Todd Pletcher	Javier Castellano	Kentucky Derby - 17th (CD)
Restoring Hope	Bob Baffert	Florent Geroux	Pat Day Mile - 12th (CD)
Tenfold	Steve Asmussen	Ricardo Santana Jr.	Preakness - 3rd (PIM)
Vino Rosso	Todd Pletcher	John Velazquez	Kentucky Derby - 9th (CD)

The long-range forecast for Saturday is for cloudy skies with temperatures in the mid-to-upper 70s.