Rewrite main obstacle to Them There Eyes

ELMONT, N.Y. - It's just about rerun season on television. So, too, at Belmont Park. The Mount Vernon Stakes on May 18 was such a good race that it's being run again on Thursday, this time as the $75,000 Dynamic Lisa Stakes.

Both races are for New York-bred fillies and mares, both are on turf, and both attracted the likes of Jesse's Justice, Rewrite, Tamberino, and Them There Eyes, who scored a 6-1 surprise in the Mount Vernon and in the Dynamic Lisa will be seeking her third straight victory.

The most significant change is the distance. The Mount Vernon was at 1o1/16 miles, but the Dynamic Lisa is at just seven furlongs, which might be a bit abrupt for a late runner like Them There Eyes.

"I'm not happy about that at all, but that's what came up," Kate Feron, who trains Them There Eyes, said Tuesday.

Feron said she would enter Them There Eyes on Wednesday in the Grade 1, $400,000 Just a Game Stakes at a mile on the turf on Saturday, size up that field, then decide whether to run in a far tougher spot at a more suitable distance, or stay in the Dynamic Lisa.

"She ran a beautiful race in the Mount Vernon and she keeps improving," Feron said.

If Them There Eyes remains in the Dynamic Lisa, Rewrite should be the most prominent horse trying to prevent her from posting a hat trick. Rewrite finished third in the Mount Vernon, 5 1/4 lengths behind Them There Eyes, but it was her first start in exactly six months, so she figures to improve off that effort. Rewrite has an excellent record at Belmont Park, with 5 wins in 10 starts, including two stakes.

Jesse's Justice finished fourth of eight in the Mount Vernon, and Tamberino, as she did in her two prior starts, stopped badly and finished last after being on or near the early lead.

Love Cove drew the outside in the field of 10, but she should have an excellent chance if she can work out a trip under jockey Javier Castellano. Love Cove comes off a strong second-place finish against open company in a second-level allowance race. Though she's moving into a stakes race, she is dropping into restricted company. In seven turf starts, Love Cove has finished first or second six times.

There is a decent chance of thunderstorms on Wednesday, according to Weather.com, so if there is enough rain to move the Dynamic Lisa to the main track on Thursday, Ice Cool Kitty will merit respect. Ice Cool Kitty has not raced since November, but she was a stakes winner at Belmont last September in a seven-furlong dirt race for New York-breds.