Top last-race Beyer isn't enough

ELMONT, N.Y. - The final week of Belmont's spring/summer meet gets under way Wednesday, when the featured race will be a second-level allowance for 3-year-olds and up.

The seven-furlong sprint drew a contentious field, six of the seven entrants having run a Beyer Speed Figure of 90 or better in one of their last two starts. Among them is Bay Head King, who returned from a layoff on June 23 to win his entry-level condition by nearly seven lengths with a 98 Beyer, which is the top last- out Beyer in the race.

If Bay Head King can't reproduce that 98, many analysts will reason he bounced, but perhaps the true underlying cause may have more to do with pace. Bay Head King was on the lead through a leisurely 46.25-second half-mile in his comeback victory, but will probably have to run faster in the early going of this match-up because of the presence of Re Book.

Re Book won four of his first five starts this year, capped by a five-length score here opening day, which prompted a $100,000 claim by trainer Scott Lake on behalf of high-volume owner Richard Englander. Re Book has been freshened up since finishing second at 3-5 in a high-priced claimer on May 28, and drilled a sharp half-mile last Saturday for his return.

A duel between Bay Head King and Re Book would benefit I Love Silver and Master Planner.

I Love Silver ran second in the San Felipe, and third in the Santa Anita Derby behind Point Given in the spring, and was a clear second at this level going long on June 24. I Love Silver makes his second start for trainer John Kimmel, who has been profitable with the route-to-sprint move during the past 18 months.

Master Planner returns for Alan Goldberg, a trainer who is profitable with virtually every move he makes these days. Unraced for six months since finishing fourth as the favorite in the Holy Bull at Gulfstream, Master Planner won as a first-time starter at Belmont as a 2-year-old last June, and also won fresh at Laurel in December, taking an optional claimer by a pole. Master Planner gets first-time Lasix on Wednesday for Goldberg, who excels with returnees.

Completing the field are: Binthebest, who zipped five furlongs in a bullet 59 seconds Friday in preparation for his 2001 bow; Foreign Secretary, who has yet to catch a fast dirt track since coming over from the United States from Great Britain; and High Note, a recent claim by Leah Gyarmati.