Illman: How I'll play Belmont Park on Saturday, June 4
The Grade 3, $200,000 Pennine Ridge Stakes headlines Saturday afternoon’s card at Belmont. Let’s take a look at a couple of potential price plays:
Race 7 – New York-bred maiden special weight
4 – BORN FOR A STORM (10-1 morning line, 6-1 value line)
This statebred maiden special boasts several intriguing pedigrees, but I’ll trust top trainer Chad Brown to have first-time starter Born for a Storm ready to rock.
A $70,000 yearling purchase, Born for a Storm is a half-brother to multiple stakes-placed Dreaming of Cara. This sire-broodmare sire “nick” (Flatter/Quiet American) has produced Economic Model, who won first out for Brown last year at Saratoga and is now a graded stakes-placed sprinter, and stakes-winning sprinters Flat Bold and Brigand.
Interestingly, our ace Daily Racing Form clocking crew in New York notes that Born for a Storm’s last two workouts came in company with Economic Model, a 3-year-old headed for next Saturday’s Easy Goer Stakes on the Belmont Stakes undercard.
Born for a Storm ticks many boxes with a quality trainer, a solid pedigree, and some good-looking workouts. I’ll play him to win at 6-1 odds or greater and will use him in multiple-race wagers with the newly blinkered Investigator (3), the speedy Jet Black (14), and Massena (8).
Race 8 – Pennine Ridge Stakes
1 – HAMMERS VISION (8-1 ML, 8-1 VL)
Hammers Vision showed strong potential on both turf and dirt last year at 2. He ran hard every step in his seasonal debut, a runner-up effort in an entry-level allowance race over yielding ground last month. He ran against older rivals in that spot, battled with several other horses on the front end, and yielded grudgingly to Changewilldoyougood, a 5-year-old who returned to finish second (90 Beyer Speed Figure) in an “n2x” on Thursday.
Hammers Vision drops back in with 3-year-olds in the Pennine Ridge and has enough speed to work out a good trip on or near a moderate-to-slow pace. There are questions regarding his ability at nine furlongs, so I won’t play a dime on him to win at less than his morning line of 8-1. He’s worth a gamble at those odds or greater, however, and I will use him in the late pick four with Camelot Kitten (2), Highland Sky (5), and Noble Quality (10).
Some shorter-priced runners look good in several of the earlier races. Eloweasel (3, race 2) showed promise last year on turf and returns to that surface for her first start of 2016. Spearhead (1, race 6) just missed last time out and should be a strong pace presence. Saratoga Heater (8) must also be respected going second off the layoff for Lisa Lewis. Ground Control (3, ninth race) and Storm Pursuit (1a) enter in sharp form and should be used in multiple-race wagers along with longshot Dighton (5).
Good luck!