Thursday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Return to turf should suit Doctor Jeff

Belmont | Race 8 | Post Time: 4:57 p.m. (ET)

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This optional-claiming turf sprint seems particularly wide open, so I want to keep an open mind with regard to price on those that I’m considering. My general feeling is that I would take a skeptical view of Big Package (#7), who returns from a lengthy layoff with a claiming tag attached for the first time in his career. It couldn’t have been the plan to miss the last few months of turf season, and he was uncharacteristically dull the last time we saw him in 2022. He’s the most talented horse in this field at his best, but I’m not sure we’re going to see his top performance here.

The alternative who interests me most is Doctor Jeff (#2). I know he looks a little slow on speed figures, but he has a few advantages over this field. He appears to possess the best early speed of anyone in here, so he figures to make the lead from his rail draw, and the pace doesn’t appear to be that competitive. He showed real affinity for turf when he won the Atlantic Beach as a 2-year-old, and he hasn’t been on the surface since then. I like that he got in a prep off the layoff last time on dirt at Laurel. That was a tough spot, and he got an uncomfortable trip, shuffled back early and checked in the stretch. I expect him to take a step forward second off the layoff for capable connections.

I also could use the other speed Fluid Situation (#6), who may take up a stalking role from his wider draw. He ran well to win on turf at Aqueduct last October and basically maintained that form at Tampa through the winter. He should be better suited to this six-furlong distance and may get dismissed at a fair price. I could even be enticed to throw in Seven Scents (#1), who clearly has the ability to beat a field like this on his best day. The problem is that Tom Morley is just 2 for 50 (4 percent, $0.59 ROI) off 120- to 240-day layoffs over the past five years.