Protonico starts comeback in Friday allowance

ELMONT, N.Y. – Protonico, a four-time graded stakes winner, will make his 5-year-old debut Friday in a $90,000 allowance race going a mile that goes as the third race on Belmont Park’s opening-day card.

Protonico, who won the Grade 2 Alysheba at Churchill Downs in May 2015, has not run since finishing sixth behind Effinex in the Grade 1 Clark at Churchill Downs last Nov. 27.

“After the Clark, we stopped and gave him plenty of time off with the idea that we’d hopefully have him fresh for the summer and fall,” said Todd Pletcher, who trains Protonico for Sumaya U.S. Stable. “The only thing missing on his résumé is a Grade 1 – those are hard to get. We’ll see how he does. Were he to run well, we could look at the Jockey Club or the Clark.”

The Jockey Club Gold Cup is run at 1 1/4 miles at Belmont on Oct. 8. The Clark, at 1 1/8 miles, is run at Churchill on Nov. 25.

Protonico’s competition on Friday figures to come from Ocean Knight, who won an allowance race going a one-turn mile here last fall, and Juba, who earned a career-best 105 Beyer Speed Figure going seven furlongs here in May.