Sweet Bye and Bye back from long break in turf sprint

ELMONT, N.Y. – Last year as a 3-year-old, Sweet Bye and Bye won five races from six starts, winning from 6 1/2 furlongs on dirt to 1 1/16 miles on turf.

“She’s a weapon at any distance, on any surface,” trainer Steve Klesaris said.

Sweet Bye and Bye was neutralized by a knee chip in the Mrs. Penny Stakes, finishing fifth in the off-the-turf stakes restricted to Pennsylvania-breds last Sept. 1 at Parx. Following surgery, a vacation, and a return to the work tab last month, Sweet Bye and Bye returns to the races Friday at Belmont Park in a second-level/optional $62,500 claiming race for fillies and mares at six furlongs on turf.

Klesaris can only hope that Sweet Bye and Bye is as effective over Belmont turf as her older sister Enthusiastic Gal, who is 4 for 4 at Belmont, including an allowance win here May 11.

Last year from May 8 through Aug. 17 Sweet Bye and Bye reeled off five consecutive victories. While four of those wins came in races restricted to Pennsylvania-breds, including two on turf, she beat nine rivals in an open-company first-level allowance at Saratoga going seven furlongs on dirt.

The six furlongs of this race will be a new challenge for Sweet Bye and Bye, who has never run shorter than 6 1/2 furlongs in her career. She has shown the ability to fire fresh, having won a Pennsylvania-bred maiden race last May at Parx off a 10-month layoff.

“She’s training very well coming up to the race. She seems to have matured physically; she looks a little stronger,” Klesaris said. “I was looking for a spot to get her started, and this looked like a nice two-other-than.”

Jose Lezcano, whose 19 wins ranks second at the Belmont meet, has the call from the outside post.

Trainer Neil Drysdale will send out the Australian-bred Oleksandra. The daughter of Animal Kingdom has not run since finishing fifth in this condition Feb. 18 at Santa Anita. That race was run at 6 1/2 furlongs down the hill, a course that had not been used in April, which is why Drysdale sent her east.

Oleksandra looked poised to make an impact in her last race but flattened out over the final furlong.

“She needs to come from off the pace,” Drysdale said. “There are a couple of fillies in there that look like they have speed. Hopefully, they’ll set a nice pace.”

The New York-bred Eloweasel is coming off an allowance win against open company at Aqueduct on April 11. In her last start of 2018, Eloweasel finished second to the repeating winner Mrs. Ramona G in this condition at Aqueduct.

With Eric Cancel serving the last day of a three-day suspension Friday, trainer David Donk has tabbed John Velazquez to ride. Velazquez was aboard for Eloweasel’s second-level New York-bred allowance win last summer at Saratoga.

China Rider, Really Proud, Annie Rocks, Miss Marcela, and Glossy complete the field for turf. Honor Way was entered for the main track only.