Stallwalkin' Dude goes for repeat in Bold Ruler

ELMONT, N.Y. – An ultra-competitive renewal of the Grade 3 Bold Ruler Handicap, led by last year’s winner, Stallwalkin’ Dude, tops a terrific 10-race card on the final Saturday of Belmont Park’s fall meet.

The Bold Ruler, which for the second straight year drew a field of 11, is one of four stakes on the card, which begins at 12:25 p.m. Eastern. The program includes the Grade 3, $200,000 Athenia for fillies and mares on turf; the Grade 3, $200,000 Turnback the Alarm Handicap for fillies and mares on dirt; and the $100,000 Awad Stakes for 2-year-olds on turf.

Stallwalkin’ Dude recorded his first graded stakes victory in last year’s Bold Ruler following a one-length loss to Joking in the Grade 1 Vosburgh Stakes. Stallwalkin’ Dude, a 7-year-old gelding by City Place trained and owned in part by David Jacobson, enters the 2017 Bold Ruler off a third-place finish in the Vosburgh behind Takaful and El Deal. His 104 Beyer Speed Figure for that 1 1/2-length loss is the second-highest number of his 57-race career.

“He got beat in a nice race against tough horses,” Jacobson said. “He’s doing great. Trying to find an excuse to give him a rest, but he doesn’t give me a reason. If I rested him, he might not come back as good.”

Stallwalkin’ Dude has faced the cream of the sprint division this year in Drefong, Mind Your Biscuits, Roy H, and Imperial Hint, who all will be running in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 4 at Del Mar.

In the Bold Ruler, Stallwalkin’ Dude’s competition is headed by Divining Rod, Seymourdini, Awesome Banner, and Mr. Crow.

Divining Rod was beaten a head by Connect in last year’s Grade 1 Cigar Mile and is using the Bold Ruler to get back to that race at Aqueduct on Dec. 2. Divining Rod finished a clear second, four lengths behind Sharp Azteca, in the Grade 2 Kelso going a one-turn mile here Sept. 23.

“Sharp Azteca was probably a touch better that day,” trainer Arnaud Delacour said. “That was [Divining Rod’s] first time at Belmont, and he seemed to like the track. I thought that was very encouraging.”

Seymourdini has been extremely impressive in winning all three of his starts this year by a combined 36 1/4 lengths. That includes the State Dinner Stakes going 1 1/16 miles here on July 3. He has not raced since then, and trainer Linda Rice prefers to run him at longer distances than the Bold Ruler’s seven furlongs.

“I’d rather be going a mile or a mile and a sixteenth,” Rice said. “We’re going to be forced to run seven-eighths. He’s ready to give it a run.”

KEY CONTENDERS

Stallwalkin’ Dude, by City Place
Last 3 Beyers: 104-89-97

◗ Gelding has won 19 races, including last year’s Bold Ruler.

◗ He’s lost three of his last four starts, all when breaking from the rail. Drew post 7 for this.

Seymourdini, by Bernardini
Last 3 Beyers: 113-98-101

◗ Has dominated weaker competition in three starts this year and now steps up into a graded stakes for the first time since last year’s Grade 2 Woody Stephens, where he finished seventh.

◗ Developed pneumonia shortly after the Woody Stephens and needed time off before coming back with a third-place finish in a Parx two-turn allowance last December.

◗ Had a minor issue this summer that forced him to miss a month of training.

Divining Rod, by Tapit
Last 3 Beyers: 104-96-104

◗ Has been working well over the synthetic surface at Fair Hill.

Awesome Banner, by Awesome of Course
Last 3 Beyers: 96-86-94

◗ Winless in eight starts this year but has been facing the likes of Whitmore, El Deal, Imperial Hint, and Sharp Azteca. Beaten a nose by Whitmore in the Grade 2 Phoenix at Keeneland going six furlongs three weeks ago.

Mr. Crow, by Tapizar
Last 3 Beyers: 77-104-109

◗ Ran two spectacular races at Saratoga before throwing in a clunker over a track that had moisture in it in the Vosburgh here Sept. 30.

◗ Gets eight pounds from Stallwalkin’ Dude.