Kept True, Madeleine Must each try something new in turf sprint

ELMONT, N.Y. – Kept True is experimenting with surface. Madeleine Must is experimenting with distance. Either one could prove a viable alternative to probable favorite Olendon in Sunday’s second-level allowance/optional-claiming feature at Belmont Park.

A field of 10 was entered for the six-furlong turf race, though two would only run if the race was transferred to the main track. The forecast calls for dry conditions, so this race should be run over firm turf.

Kept True, who won a New York-bred stakes on dirt in the winter, is trying turf for the first time in what is her 14th career start. Trainer Leah Gyarmati worked Kept True over the Belmont turf in June, and while she felt Kept True got over the surface well, the move “was not enough to feel gung-ho” about running on the turf, Gyarmati said.

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But in two starts in this condition sprinting on dirt at Saratoga, Kept True finished fourth both times. Gyarmati is hoping the surface switch and the fact Kept True looms the primary speed in this field could make a difference.

“She’s been showing a little too much speed, at least for the last two races she’s been in,” Gyarmati said. “Maybe it will serve her well in here. We’ll see.”

Kendrick Carmouche rides Kept True.

Madeleine Must ran twice here in the summer meet, finishing sixth going seven furlongs and fourth, beaten just one length, going a mile. She did not race at Saratoga.

Christophe Lorieul, assistant to trainer Christophe Clement, said Madeleine Must’s coat turned dull and “she was not doing well in the hot weather, so we just slowed down.”

Lorieul said that with the turnback in distance, perhaps Madeleine Must might prefer being a come-from-behind sprinter.

Joel Rosario rides Madeleine Must from post 2.

Olendon, trained by Chad Brown, has finished second in all three of her starts this year, twice as an odds-on choice. At Saratoga, she was second to Xanthique, while finishing a half-length in front of Originator, who came back to win this same condition on Sept. 9 at Kentucky Downs.

Olendon is 0 for 6 in the United States and has not won since taking a listed race at Longchamp going 1 1/8 miles in April 2019.

Tiple brings a two-race winning streak into this spot for trainer Phil Serpe. On July 3 at Belmont, Tiple upset Keota, an odds-on choice trained by Brown, to win a starter allowance at odds of 14-1. Tiple was one of three next out-winners from that race, including Keota, when she won a first-level allowance at Saratoga, earning a career-best 84 Beyer Speed Figure.

Serpe also is the trainer of Sister Sophia, an 8-year-old mare who returns from a 23-month layoff in this spot. Previously trained by Jorge Abreu, Sister Sophia has won three statebred races over the Belmont turf.

John Velazquez is named to ride from the rail.

Kreesie, Lead Guitar, and Catsoutofthebag complete the field on turf.