Rice caps big week with five-win weekend

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Linda Rice won five races over the weekend at Belmont Park – including three on Sunday – putting the finishing touches on an incredible 10-day run in which she won 9 of 16 races.

From June 6 through Sunday, Rice had nine winners and three seconds from the 20 horses whom she started in 16 races. The streak included wins in the Grade 2 True North with Palace and the $150,000 Easy Goer with Kid Cruz.

On Sunday, Rice won races with Bambisfrostyracer, Your Move, and Double the Energy. She missed winning a fourth when White Crane was nosed out by Image of Noon.

“We’re trying to make up for the previous six weeks, when all we did was finish second,” said Rice, who had run second with six of the first 15 horses she ran at the meet. “It certainly feels good to have them turn up in the winner’s circle.”

The streak moved Rice into third in the Belmont trainers’ standings with 14 wins, trailing Todd Pletcher (20) and Chad Brown (17).

Things slow down for Rice a little this week, as she has no starters Wednesday, one on Thursday, and two on Friday. Rice said she is “on the fence” whether to run La Verdad in Saturday’s Grade 3 Bed o’ Roses or wait for the $200,000 Honorable Miss at Saratoga on July 28.

Rice lost two of the horses she won with over the weekend at the claiming box – Pretension and Your Move – but claimed two horses who won impressively last week, Arch Avenger from Todd Pletcher and Grand Arrival from Nick Zito.