Litfin: Favorites prove reliable at Belmont

Friday, May 2, review

For the second straight day, all three scheduled turf races were switched to the main track. There were no apparent trends through nine races at seven different distances, with four races won on the front end, two by stalkers within a length or two of the early lead, and three by horses who were at least five lengths off the pace at the first call. The surface played a couple of ticks faster than par.

A Rousing ‘Success’

Marriedtothemusic (Race 3, $3) usually breaks sharply, and the speedy New York-bred sure looked like the one to catch in the $100,000 Affirmed Success Stakes. But as the gates opened, the prohibitive favorite lunged into the air and came out behind the field, and his rider, Cornelio Velasquez, came out of his left iron as a result.

Up front, Night Maneuver scampered to the lead through moderate fractions of 23.23 and 46.18 seconds while Marriedtothemusic had no choice but to take the overland route four wide around the turn. Displaying a totally new dimension, the Disco Rico colt gamely wore down the leaders to prevail in a three-way photo.

“He broke last, and I lost my stirrup,” said Velasquez. “I had no choice but to come from behind horses. It was the first time he broke like this. If he broke good, I think he would have galloped.”

Marriedtothemusic, formerly trained by the late Dominic Galluscio, notched his first stakes victory and is 2 for 2 for Linda Rice. He earned a 92 Beyer Speed Figure.

“It’s very rare for a horse to win after the trouble he had at the start – we’re thrilled with his performance,” said Rice.

Valuable chalk parade in pick five

Sometimes it takes a while for form to settle down early at a race meet, but favorites came close to sweeping the card on Day 2.

After the David Jacobson-trained duo of second choice Coolusive ($7.30) and third choice Haverhill linked for a $25 exacta in the opener, the post-time choice won the next seven races, and it was almost eight straight when Santa Elf got beaten a nose at just under 6-5 in the last race.

The early pick four paid a mere $60 (for $2) for the combination of Painted Poney ($3.20), Marriedtothemusic ($3), Best Play ($3.80), and Barrister Jim ($7.20).

The value was in the pick five, with its 15 percent takeout. Those who started the sequence with the very playable Coolusive got a generous payoff of $456.50 for a deuce, almost four times the $2 win parlay of $119.80.

Horse to watch

Papy
Trainer: Christophe Clement
Last race: May 2, 5th
Finish: 2nd by 5 1/4
Beyer: 79
Going first time on dirt in an off-the-turf allowance route, this 4-year-old by Dyanformer was bumped at the break, raced four wide, and finished willingly behind Barrister Jim, who was winning his fourth straight.