Limousine Liberal gets some class relief in Belmont Sprint

ELMONT, N.Y. – After chasing home the likes of Bee Jersey and Mind Your Biscuits finishing third here last month in the Metropolitan Handicap, Limousine Liberal should find both the distance and competition a lot more to his liking when he takes on just five rivals in Saturday’s $350,000 Belmont Park Sprint Championship.

Limousine Liberal will break from the rail while sharing high weight of 122 pounds under the allowance conditions of the seven-furlong Belmont Sprint. Fellow Kentucky shipper Whitmore and Favorable Outcome also will carry 122 pounds. The New York-bred speedster Eye Luv Lulu and New Jersey invader Shaft of Light should guarantee an honest pace, with Lewisfield completing the lineup.

The Belmont Sprint is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series and will earn the winner a berth into the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.

Limousine Liberal raced within striking distance while just off the rail in the Metropolitan, but could not kick on with the top pair down the stretch, holding on willingly for third, beaten 5 1/4 lengths by Bee Jersey. Limousine Liberal successfully defended his title in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs in his previous start, giving him his fifth straight victory over that track dating back to May of 2017.

“I was over the moon to hit the board stretching him out of his comfort zone in the Met Mile,” said Ben Colebrook, who trains Limousine Liberal for his breeder Katherine Ball. “I just wanted to see if he’d get a mile. We were swinging for the fences a bit, but he ran well. He got beat by two pretty good horses.”

Colebrook believes shortening up to seven furlongs off that race should be to Limousine Liberal’s advantage.

“Earlier in his career, I’d have said six furlongs was his best distance, but as he’s gotten older he’s become easier to train, more professional, and I think he’s strongest at seven-eighths now,” said Colebrook. “And I’ve also been dying to get him up to Belmont to run around those wide turns.”

Colebrook’s main concern is the fact Limousine Liberal drew the rail on Saturday.

“I don’t love the one, but with a small field and a lot of speed in there, at least on paper, he should be able to work his way to the outside and figure out a good trip,” he said.

Whitmore will attempt to avenge his fourth-place finish behind Limousine Liberal in the Churchill Downs Sprint, his first try at seven furlongs. Whitmore had gotten the better of that rival seven months earlier with his victory in the Grade 2, six-furlong Phoenix at Keeneland. In his most recent try, Whitmore fell just a neck short of catching the favored Imperial Hint in the Grade 2 True North here on June 8.

Favorable Outcome, winner of the Grade 2 Swale during the winter of 2017 at Gulfstream Park in just his fourth start, showed signs he’s cycled back to his best form with a second-place finish behind Recruiting Ready in an optional-claiming race here on May 17. Favorable Outcome received a 102 Beyer Speed Figure in defeat, the second-best number of his career.