Mike Lee Stakes a good fit for Captain Bombastic

ELMONT, N.Y. – A return to statebred competition and Belmont Park as well as a cutback in distance should make Captain Bombastic a strong player in Sunday’s $100,000 Mike Lee Stakes for New York-bred 3-year-olds going seven furlongs at Belmont Park.

A son of Forty Tales trained by Jeremiah Englehart, Captain Bombastic won a 6 1/2-furlong maiden race and the one-mile Sleepy Hollow Stakes, both at Belmont Park, to begin his career last fall. He ended his 2-year-old campaign with a third-place finish in a division of the New York Stallion Stakes, a race run in the slop at Aqueduct.

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Captain Bombastic spent the winter at Oaklawn Park where he twice finished second in open allowance races around two turns. The second of those races he lost to Pneumatic, who came back to run a competitive third in the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Captain Bombastic returned to New York in mid-May and has worked twice over Belmont Park’s main track.

“Hopefully, he’ll run to how he’s training,” said Englehart, who trains Captain Bombastic for Jay Hanley’s Team Hanley stable. “This distance will be a little bit more up his alley, too.”

Luis Saez, who has not ridden since May 17 owing to a pair of suspensions, rides Captain Bombastic on Sunday.

When last seen in New York, Dream Bigger romped to a 7 3/4-length victory in the Damon Runyon Stakes at Aqueduct, his third stakes victory. Four days later, New York racing shutdown and Dream Bigger eventually went to Florida to train. He recently returned to New York and his regular trainer Rudy Rodriguez.

“Before I sent him to Florida, the horse was training very good,” Rodriguez said. “He looks very fit, looks very healthy, and he likes the seven-eighths.”

Jose Ortiz will ride Dream Bigger from post 4.

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Three Jokers makes his 3-year-old debut in the Mike Lee for John Terranova. Three Jokers won his debut as the favorite last August at Saratoga, then was beaten a head by Cleon Jones in the Bertram F. Bongard here last September. He finished fifth to Captain Bombastic in the Sleepy Hollow Stakes and came out of the race with a respiratory infection, Terranova said.

Terranova said Three Jokers “is a lot more mature and has gotten bigger and stronger,” from 2 to 3. Three Jokers is a half-brother to Funny Guy, who was to run in Friday’s Commentator Stakes.

“We’re hoping for a good performance on the comeback and build off that,” Terranova said of Three Jokers.

Javier Castellano rides from post 8.

Gandy Dancing won a maiden race March 15, and it proved to be the last race run on this circuit before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown racing for 80 days. He is trained by Chad Brown, as is Mission Wrapitup, who went 2 for 10 last year in the barn of Bruce Brown.

Bourbon Bay, City Man, and Listentoyourheart complete the Mike Lee field.