Il Campione makes U.S. debut in Poker Stakes
ELMONT, N.Y. – The North American debut of the Chilean-bred champion Il Campione adds intrigue to an already interesting renewal of Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Poker Stakes at Belmont Park.
A winner of 8 of 10 starts, all in Chile (one of his losses came when he unseated the rider), Il Campione makes his first start since February and first for trainer Chad Brown. He’ll face nine rivals in the one-mile turf race, including Ironicus, good-looking winner of the Grade 2 Dixie at Pimlico last out; Long On Value and Heart to Heart, both multiple graded stakes winners; and King Kreesa, the 2013 Poker winner.
Il Campione, a son of Scat Daddy, was purchased by a group headed by Lane’s End Racing. He has won at distances ranging from about six furlongs to about 1 1/2 miles. Brown said a mile is as short as he would ever want to run the colt.
“Certainly we’d love to win the race, and if he runs his ‘A’ race he certainly can win the race,” Brown said. “We’re really looking to go forward off of this with the main objective to go in the longer-distance races. The Arlington Million is one race on the radar.”
Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Il Campione from post 6.
The Poker seems loaded with a fair amount of speed, led by King Kreesa, who went gate to wire in the 2013 Poker, and Heart to Heart, a front-running winner of the Jefferson Cup at Churchill last fall.
A strong pace could help both Ironicus and Long On Value, who seemed headstrong when up close and wide to a modest pace in the Dixie.
The Poker is carded as race 5 (3:24 p.m. Eastern) to accommodate several jockeys who are scheduled to ride the stakes on the evening program at Churchill Downs.
KEY CONTENDERS
Il Campione
◗ He has impressed Brown with his morning training, including at least one turf workout in company with Slumber, last weekend’s Manhattan winner.
“I have had the horse long enough now where I formed my own opinion based on his training and who he’s been training with,” Brown said. “He’s been training extremely well, like a Grade 1-level horse. With that said, we’re looking forward to getting him started.”
◗ Brown said he wants to run him on firm ground, and may not run if the course were to soften up from forecasted thunderstorms.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 6 Il Campione. Trainer Chad Brown is 9-3-1-0 with a $3.68 ROI over the past five years with foreign shippers in turf route graded stakes at Belmont Park. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Ironicus (Last 3 Beyers: 96-90-87)
◗ He displayed a terrific turn of foot after enjoying a ground-saving trip from Javier Castellano in winning the Grade 2 Dixie at Pimlico last out.
“He had been training awfully well,” trainer Shug McGaughey said. “I thought he’d run well but he exceeded my expectations. He’s going to sit back and make a run. If they go in 49, he’s going to be a little bit closer.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Ironicus. Trainer Shug McGaughey is 27-10-3-3 with a $2.72 ROI over the past five years with last-out winners in turf route graded stakes on the NYRA circuit. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Long On Value (Last 3 Beyers: 87-93-100)
◗ He looks to bounce back from a fourth-place finish as the favorite in the Dixie, where he was wide and rank from the outside post.
◗ Now drawn in post 2 and shortening up to a mile, he should be able to settle off the pace and come with a run like he did winning the Grade 3 Canadian Turf at Gulfstream in February.
◗ At 124 pounds, he is spotting 2 to 8 pounds to the rest of the field.