McGaughey, Pletcher have top runners in Wednesday feature

ELMONT, N.Y. – The stakes won’t be quite as high as they were in last Saturday’s Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, but trainers Shug McGaughey and Todd Pletcher appear to have the protagonists in Wednesday’s $55,000 starter-allowance feature at Belmont Park.

McGaughey sends out Sentry while Pletcher wheels back Lemonist on short rest in the 1 1/16-mile turf race for horses who have started for a claiming price of $40,000 or less in 2018-19.

Sentry’s last two starts were solid. On Aug. 11 at Saratoga, he finished second to repeat winner Dontblamerocket in a race similar to this. Sentry came back 19 days later to win a second-level allowance at Colonial Downs going a mile.

“He wants to run farther than a mile, but I thought that long stretch there would help him,” McGaughey said. “He wants to run farther than a mile and a sixteenth but he’s doing good.”

Sentry’s maiden win, in April 2018, came going 1 1/16 miles at Aqueduct.

Joel Rosario rides Sentry from post 2.

Lemonist is coming back just 12 days after he finished third to stablemate Noble Indy in an optional $100,000 claiming race going 1 1/8 miles. Pletcher said he is running back Lemonist on short rest to take advantage of this condition.

“But actually I thought he ran very well last time,” Pletcher said. “Noble Indy had a pace advantage but he continued closing. My only concern is the quick turnaround.”

John Velazquez, who has won 1,783 races for Pletcher over the last two decades, rides Lemonist from post 5. Velazquez was on Code of Honor, who got placed first by the stewards in the Jockey Club Gold Cup after Velazquez claimed foul on Irad Ortiz Jr. and the Pletcher-trained Vino Rosso.

Neither Sentry (0 for 6) nor Lemonist (0 for 3) has won over the Belmont turf, though Lemonist has two seconds and a third.

Scholar Athlete won his only start at Belmont, that coming in an allowance race and in front-running fashion in May 2016. He is coming off a fourth-place finish against a field tougher than this at Colonial Downs on Sept 5.

Manny Franco, who is the leading rider at the meet with 23 wins from 122 mounts, has the call on Scholar Athlete from the outside post.

Siding Spring, who was taken by Mike Maker out of a win in a $25,000 claimer, will have Jose Ortiz in the irons from the rail. Completing the field are Bon Raison, winless in four turf tries in a 31-race career, Maryland-based veteran John Jones, and Dalarna.

The race goes as the seventh on an eight-race card that begins at 1:15 p.m. Eastern. It is also the penultimate leg of the Empire 6, which begins with a $560,793 carryover.