King Kreesa faces familiar rivals in Mohawk
ELMONT, N.Y. – Whose turn is it this time?
King Kreesa, Kharafa, and Lubash have taken turns beating each other all year in the New York-bred series of turf stakes, and that trio will be in the starting gate again Saturday in the $200,000 Mohawk Stakes, the fourth and final leg of the turf series for New York-breds and one of eight stakes on Saturday’s Empire Showcase program at Belmont Park.
King Kreesa will look to defend his Mohawk title while seeking to avenge his neck loss to Lubash in the Ashley T. Cole Stakes last month over this same course. King Kreesa, who defeated Lubash by a head in the West Point at Saratoga, is making just his third start of the year.
King Kreesa’s season was delayed due to foot problems, which prompted trainer David Donk to use a bar shoe on the horse for his first two starts this year. The bar shoe comes off Saturday.
“I’d like to think it makes a little bit of a difference,” Donk said. “That was the first time I ever ran a horse with a bar shoe. It probably could have come off last time, but he won with it the first time. The foot is great.”
The Mohawk, at 1 1/16 miles, is a sixteenth of a mile shorter than the Ashley T. Cole, and that could make a difference as well.
The $200,000 Ticonderoga, the filly-and-mare counterpart to the Mohawk, features the Grade 1 winner Discreet Marq, who wheels back just two weeks after running sixth in the Grade 1 First Lady at Keeneland.
Headlining the competition are Invading Humor, a winner of four straight, including the John Hettinger Stakes, Effie Trinket, and Old Harbor.
MOHAWK STAKES
Key contenders
King Kreesa (Last 3 Beyers: 99-99-100)
◗ He has 4 wins and 3 seconds in 7 turf races against New York-bred competition.
Lubash (Last 3 Beyers 100-99-98)
◗ Lubash has won his last two starts at Belmont Park and has a record of 6-6-2 from 19 starts here overall. A victory here would put him over the $1 million mark in career earnings.
◗ He runs his best races when allowed to sit back and make a run. Needs someone – Kharafa, perhaps – to pressure King Kreesa early.
Kharafa (Last 3 Beyers: 91-92-98)
◗ Kharafa also loves Belmont Park, having recorded five of his seven wins here, including the Kingston on May 31, when he defeated Lubash by one length.
◗ He breaks from the rail. The last time he had the rail at Belmont, he used his speed to record a front-running score in the 2013 Ashley T. Cole Stakes.
TICONDEROGA STAKES
Key contenders
Discreet Marq (Last 3 Beyers: 95-95-96)
◗ She has made seven of her last nine starts in Grade 1 stakes, winning the Del Mar Oaks in 2013 and finishing second or third in four other Grade 1 events.
◗ She comes back just two weeks after running sixth in the First Lady at Keeneland, a race in which trainer Christophe Clement felt she was hampered by soft ground.
“She’s not as good on softer turf; she’s much better on faster ground,” Clement said. “She didn’t run a bad race. The rating of the race is not that bad.”
Invading Humor (Last 3 Beyers: 85-81-84)
◗ She has reeled off four consecutive victories, including a pace-pressing, one-length score in the John Hettinger Stakes here Sept. 14. Before that, she won an open-company allowance race going 1 1/16 miles at Saratoga.
◗ Joel Rosario will be Invading Humor’s fourth consecutive different rider, following Irad Ortiz Jr., Javier Castellano, and Rajiv Maragh.
Chrysolite (Last 3 Beyers: 81-80-66)
◗ She wheels back in 15 days after winning a second-level allowance race with a strong late rally. Trainer David Donk said Chrysolite “came out of it great” and has no reservations running her back in this spot.
Effie Trinket (Last 3 Beyers 82-92-83)
◗ She won this race last year as a 3-year-old.
◗ She is winless in six starts this year but has finished in the money five times, including third-place finishes in a pair of graded stakes.