SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A 1 3/4-mile dirt race on the first Wednesday in August at Saratoga isn’t the typical prep for a two-mile turf race on the first Tuesday in November in Australia. Seemingly, it was for the connections of Parchment Party.  Parchment Party, who earned a free berth into the Melbourne Cup by virtue of his victory in the Belmont Gold Cup here in June, persevered to a one-length victory in Wednesday’s $150,000 Birdstone Stakes, a 1 3/4-mile dirt marathon at Saratoga.  Afterward, trainer Bill Mott said the owners of Parchment Party, Pin Oak Stud, want to send the horse to the Melbourne Cup on Nov. 4 at Flemington Racecourse.  “He hasn’t run poorly on the turf, but it looks like his wins have come on the dirt,” said trainer Bill Mott, noting that the horse is 0 for 2 on the turf. “But the owners are very interested in going. It’s two miles, he’ll go all day, the way it looks.”  :: Bet Smarter at Saratoga. Unlock DRF data and expert analysis all meet long. Save with a Saratoga Handicapping Package from DRF.  Parchment Party was a main-track-only entrant in the Belmont Gold Cup, which was transferred to the dirt and shortened to 1 3/4 miles. Using an outside sweeping move, John Velazquez guided Parchment Party to an 8 1/2-length victory in the Belmont Gold Cup, run over a sloppy track.  The Birdstone was run over a dry track. After keeping Parchment Party behind horses for more than a mile of the race, Velazquez was poised to make a similar move on the Parchment Party around the far turn. But when he swung Parchment Party from behind a trio of horses, the horse stalled.  Velazquez took Parchment Party back behind horses and then over to the rail, where a large opening presented itself in upper stretch. Parchment Party went through the opening and outfinished the pace-setting Digital Ops to win by one length. It was 1 1/4 lengths back to Game Warden in third.  Lambeth was fourth followed by Strapped and Time for Trouble.  “The first part of the race he was perfect behind horses pulling, pulling,” Velazquez said. “Right at the three-eighths pole, I said let me get him going because he’s one-paced and I tried to pull him out and he didn’t go. So back to being behind horses – he was going better from behind horses – and he actually responded much better that way.”  Parchment Party, a 4-year-old son of Constitution, covered the distance in 3:00.03 and returned $3.80 as the favorite.  Though it would be three months between races, Mott said he is unlikely to run Parchment Party again before the Melbourne Cup. The horse would have to do two weeks of quarantine in England and then four weeks of quarantine after shipping to Australia, according to Jim Bernhard, of Pin Oak Stud. While Parchment Party will likely be headed to Australia, it remains to be seen if Mott himself will go. A few days before, he hopes to be wrapping up a championship campaign with dual-classic winner Sovereignty competing in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar.  “We’ll get the horse there,” Mott said. “We’re not going to worry about the trainer.”  :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.