Tagg barn looks live in two stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. - Two overnight stakes and a pick-six carryover of $48,557 highlight Wednesday's nine-race card at Belmont Park.

The $75,000 Screenland Stakes for New York-bred 3-year-old sprinters going 6 1/2 furlongs offers a competitive group of six and is the second-to-last leg of the pick-six sequence. The $75,000 Sabin Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on the turf for fillies and mares goes as race 3 and is not in the pick six.

Groomedforvictory, trained by Barclay Tagg, enters the Screenland off a 5 1/2-length victory in an open-company maiden race at Gulfstream in which he ran one mile in 1:35.53 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 94. After making his first three starts with blinkers, Groomedforvictory won that race without blinkers.

Robin Smullen, assistant to Tagg, explained that the blinkers were removed because they were having a hard time getting Groomedforvictory to settle in his races.

"When he was younger he just saw everything," Smullen said. "We put them on right from the start. But we wanted him to settle, and Javier [Castellano] seemed to think he didn't need them anymore."

Groomedforvictory will likely have a target to run at in Half Moon Street, who has won his last two races while running fast early fractions.

Equipment changes following a victory are rare, but trainer Gary Contessa feels a need to take the blinkers off Fort Drum despite his win in the Times Square division of the New York Stallion Stakes last out. Fort Drum bore out at the break of the race, but overcame the trouble to win.

After failing to fill several times last week, the $75,000 Sabin Stakes drew a field of six. The Tagg barn is live in this spot as well with Flawless Treasure, who finished fourth, beaten just 2 1/4 lengths by Communique, in the Grade 3 Bewitch Stakes at Keeneland on April 24.

"He didn't intend to run her back so quickly," Smullen said, "but they put it off until Wednesday, she's doing really well - we thought we'd try to get some black type with her."

Lokaloka, a Great Britain-bred, makes her U.S. debut for trainer Christophe Clement, who received the filly in January in Florida. Lokaloka was a Group 3 winner in Italy. Archstone is 1 for 1 at 1 1/4 miles.