Mott going great guns, and he has no shortage of ammunition

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Bill Mott has been on quite a roll lately, winning 11 races – including five stakes – from 43 starters from Aug. 29 through Sept. 16.

Mott, who will send out potential favorite Antoinette in Saturday’s Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational, is hoping his recent run of success at the end of the summer leads to a big fall.

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Moon Over Miami, who won the $750,000 Dueling Grounds Derby on Sept. 10 at Kentucky Downs by a half-length, will point to the Grade 1, $250,000 Belmont Derby here Oct. 3, Mott said. The Belmont Derby is a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Turf on Nov. 7 at Keeneland.

Mott said the 1 5/16-mile distance of the Dueling Grounds Derby and the long stretch at Kentucky Downs “seemed to help.”

Mott also will have Channel Maker to run Oct. 3 in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. Channel Maker won the Grade 1 Sword Dancer on Aug. 29 at Saratoga. Also on Oct. 3, Mott plans to run Endorsed, runner-up in the Alydar Stakes, in the Grade 2, $150,000 Kelso Handicap.

Mott is expected to be well represented in stakes on the undercard of the Preakness on Oct. 3 at Pimlico. Frank’s Rockette, winner of the Grade 2 Prioress on Sept. 5 at Saratoga, is likely to target the Grade 3, $150,000 Miss Preakness, a six-furlong race restricted to 3-year-old fillies.

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Grand Cru Classe, who won the Weber City Miss Stakes on Sept. 6 at Laurel, earned her spot in the Grade 2, $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan on Oct. 3 at Pimlico. Grand Cru Classe is now 3 for 3.

“She showed good speed and held on well,” Mott said of the Weber City Miss effort. “She didn’t run away from them.”

Mott said he is not sure where Ballagh Rocks, winner of the Lure Stakes on Sept. 7 at Saratoga, would make his next start. He would like to keep him in races from a mile to 1 1/16 miles but is not necessarily targeting a Grade 1 race like the Shadwell Turf Mile. Ballagh Rocks could be nominated to the Grade 2, $250,000 Dinner Party Stakes on Oct. 3 at Pimlico.

“He’s kind of an older fella now,” Mott said. “We’ll try to pick our spots and make them count.”

On Oct. 10, Mott plans to run Tacitus, runner-up in the Grade 1 Woodward on Sept. 5, in the Grade 1, $250,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup.