Pick six heavy on grass races
ELMONT, N.Y. – There is a pick six carryover of $93,647 on Wednesday at Belmont Park, and the sequence includes four races scheduled for the turf.
Three of the turf races are restricted to New York-breds, including the featured eighth, a 1 1/16-mile first-level allowance race that also carries an optional-claiming clause. Four of the eight entrants for the turf are available to be claimed for $40,000.
That includes probable favorite Barrel of Love, who has a nasty habit of finishing second more than he wins. He is coming off a tough-luck nose loss to Blacktype when offered for the optional-claiming tag of $62,500 at Aqueduct in April.
Barrel of Love last won at Tampa in March 2014 and has finished second in five of nine starts since.
Javier Castellano rides for trainer Chad Brown.
Analysis and Goodtolook appear to be the main threats to Barrel of Love.
KEY CONTENDERS
Barrel of Love (Last 3 Beyers: 92-92-82)
◗ Back in with New York-bred claiming types after facing open company in his last four starts.
◗ Though he has lost his four starts against New York-breds, those races were against stakes winners King Kreesa, Notacatbutallama, Lubash, and Compliance Officer.
◗ He has a 3-5-3 record in 18 starts over Belmont’s turf.
Analysis (Last 3 Beyers: 73-79-80)
◗ He came off an 11-month layoff last year to win a New York-bred maiden special race over this turf course and at the same 1 1/16-mile distance.
◗ He has not been out since running fifth last October to Street Game at this same condition over yielding ground.
◗ He can be effective from on or off the pace.
“You have to go your half-mile, which is about 49 seconds, whether it’s on the lead or all the way back,” said Blair Golen, assistant to trainer George Weaver.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 6 Analysis. Trainer George Weaver is 15-4-4-0 with a $4.70 ROI over the past five years in turf routes at Belmont following a layoff of 180 days or more. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Goodtolook (Last 3 Beyers: 84-84-42)
◗ He has won three of his last four starts, all on dirt.
◗ He was claimed back last out by Danny Gargan for $32,000 after Gargan lost him for $20,000 in March to Bruce Brown.
◗ He has a win and a second in four turf starts, including a front-running score at Aqueduct in April 2014.
Blue Pigeon (Last 3 Beyers: 70-68-82)
◗ He is a bit of a money burner, but has a win, two seconds, and a third in his last four starts over this turf course.
◗ He was beaten seven lengths as the favorite at this condition on April 25 at Aqueduct.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 Blue Pigeon. Has been out of the money in four of six lifetime races on firm turf (6-1-0-1) and never off the board in five races on wet turf (5-1-3-1). Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Elroi. Trainer Peter Pugh is 10-3-0-2 with a $2.44 ROI over the past five years in turf routes in the second start following a layoff. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan