Slim Shadey tries shorter distance in debut for Jacobson

ELMONT, N.Y. – After several days of nice weather in the New York metropolitan area, rain was back in the forecast beginning Thursday, which could affect Friday’s Belmont Park card, which has five races scheduled for turf.

Friday’s third race is a rarely seen fourth-level allowance race scheduled for seven furlongs on turf, featuring several runners who scratched when last week’s Elusive Quality Stakes was rained off the turf. Eleven were entered for Friday’s $90,000 race, six for the turf and five in case the race is moved to the dirt.

Slim Shadey, Bio Pro, and Nine O Wonderful are all back in this spot after being scratched from the Elusive Quality.

Slim Shadey, a multiple Grade 2 winner going long in Southern California, was purchased privately by David Jacobson following the 6-year-old gelding’s seventh-place finish in the Grade 2 San Marcos at Santa Anita.

Jacobson said this seven-furlong race “is a good place to get started” and that he is not concerned whether seven furlongs is too short for the horse.

“Especially at Belmont,” he said. “He’s really doing very well. He had a few issues when I got him that healed up 100 percent. I’m very excited about having a good distance grass horse at the beginning of the summer.”

Junior Alvarado is named to ride Slim Shadey.

Bio Pro also was purchased privately following the San Marcos and has been transferred to Bill Mott. Two starts back, Bio Pro finished second to Regally Ready, who, after disappointing in a couple of stakes, won an allowance race at Churchill last week.

Mott said Bio Pro has not dazzled in the morning, but “he’s not known for being a spectacular workhorse. At least that’s what the other trainer who had him told me.”

John Velazquez is named to ride Bio Pro.

Nine O Wonderful returns to Belmont, where he has recorded two of his three career wins. Last fall, he was beaten a neck in a seven-furlong allowance race and is coming off a wide trip when sixth, beaten three lengths, in an optional claimer at Gulfstream on Feb. 2.

Upgrade won the Jaipur here in 2012 for Michelle Nihei. He has since fallen into the claiming ranks and was taken for $62,500 on Jan. 25 by Chad Brown, who is off to a 5 for 10 start at this meet. He finished a close third for that same price March 5.

The five entered for off the turf include Royal Currier and Salutos Amigos for Jacobson. Both are entered back in other spots over the weekend. Big Screen, disqualified from first in last year’s off-the-turf Jaipur, also is entered for the main track only despite having won a minor stakes on turf last fall.

In the seventh race, a $77,000 first-level allowance scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on turf, trainer Shug McGaughey looks solid regardless of which surface the race is run on.

On turf, he sends out Tokyo Time, who has undergone a myectomy since running sixth in the Voodoo Dancer Stakes on Jan. 1. On dirt, he sends out La Madrina, a 6 1/4-length debut winner at Gulfstream on March 29.