Pletcher has pair lined up for Thursday feature

Trainer Todd Pletcher will take two shots at Thursday’s Belmont headliner when he runs Microsecond and Summer to Remember in the second-level allowance, scheduled for 1 1/4 miles on the inner turf.

Microsecond is charting unknown territory in his first race beyond 1 1/16 miles. The 4-year-old has been idle since his lone winter outing at Gulfstream on Jan. 23, when he set a pressured pace en route to a daylight victory in a first-level allowance. Runner-up Beau Luminarie eventually won an allowance before ending up third in the Grade 3 Ben Ali at Keeneland.

Microsecond, who defeated New York-bred maidens and allowance types last year, has been working over the local training track. Manny Franco will ride the probable pacesetter.

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Summer to Remember started twice at the Gulfstream Championship Meet, including a good third behind his highly regarded stablemate, Colonel Liam, in the Dec. 26 Tropical Park Derby. Following a three-month layoff March 27, he checked-in sixth in a one-mile allowance under leading rider Irad Ortiz Jr., who retains the mount.

Utmost is the most accomplished runner among the 10 entrants. The 7-year-old scored twice in England during his formative years, most notably in the 2018 Winter Derby Trial Stakes. He took the Grade 2 Sky Classic over about 1 3/8 miles at Woodbine in his best of four races on this side of the pond in 2018.

Utmost missed all of 2019-20. He’s resurfaced with a new trainer, Jonathan Thomas, who won at a 19 percent clip with six-month-plus layoff runners making their first start for him over the past five years, realizing a return on investment of $2.08. Utmost competes with an $80,000 tag under Joe Bravo.

Trainer Christophe Clement sends out Mr. Alec, who was beaten a nose the last time he saw action in a nine-furlong, second-level allowance at Aqueduct on Nov. 21. The 5-year-old has lots of positive experience in extended turf routes, including a victory in a 1 3/8-mile allowance last summer at Saratoga and a 1 1/4-mile maiden win here in 2019.

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Dynadrive has been freshened by trainer Mike Maker since a sixth-place finish in the Feb. 27 Canadian Turf at Gulfstream. Two horses have exited that Grade 3 event to prevail in allowance company, but runner-up Olympic Runner disappointed in his next two starts in a pair of stakes.

Off a well-beaten fifth in the Grade 3 Excelsior at Aqueduct, Grumps Little Tots is making his first grass start. His sire, Sky Mesa, has gotten 11 percent winners in turf routes, and his dam produced two turf winners from four starters.

Rounding out the field are Kinenos, Evaluator, Malthael, and Locally Owned, who was entered for the main track only.

The feature goes as the eighth at 4:47 p.m. on a nine-race card that also includes two first-level allowances.