Untapable draws post 2 as Mother Goose favorite

ELMONT, N.Y. - How low will they go?

The odds on Untapable in Saturday's Grade 1, $300,000 Mother Goose at Belmont Park won't appeal to many bettors, but they probably are an accurate reflection of her chances of winning. Even-money when she dusted 11 rivals in the Kentucky Oaks eight weeks ago, Untapable should be less than half that in the Mother Goose.

Despite there being six entrants, show wagering will not be offered. A late scratch or two is not out of the question. The Mother Goose has been carded as the fourth race of the day.

Untapable left no doubt who the leader of the 3-year-old filly division was when she left her nearest Oaks rival 4 1/2 lengths behind under Rosie Napravnik. John Velazquez will take over the reins Saturday with Napravnik sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Untapable earned a 107 Beyer Speed Figure in the Oaks, by far the highest by a 3-year-old filly this year (she also has the second-highest, a 106 from her Fair Grounds Oaks romp). Among all 3-year-olds, her 107 trails only Social Inclusion's 110, earned in his freaky Gulfstream Park allowance win, and California Chrome's San Felipe Stakes 108. It is equal to the figure California Chrome earned in the Santa Anita Derby and greater than his Kentucky Derby and Preakness figures.

The Kentucky Oaks was Untapable's sixth race in eight months, dating back to September, and trainer Steve Asmussen has shown remarkable patience by not only avoiding the temptation to run her in the Preakness but also by skipping the $750,000 Acorn on June 7.

Untapable was flown from Louisville, Ky., to New York on Tuesday and trained under the supervision of Asmussen’s assistant, Toby Sheets, on Wednesday.

Untapable's second season, and championship run, begins Saturday, when she breaks from post 2 in the 1 1/16-mile Mother Goose.

Her chief rival appears to be Stopchargingmaria, who got back on track with a come-from-behind win in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes over a good racing surface. Last year at 2, Stopchargingmaria won the Grade 2 Demoiselle and the Grade 3 Tempted.

The other four entrants – House Rules, Princess Violet, America, and Aqua Regia – have yet to win a stakes.

Saturday's co-featured Grade 2 New York Stakes, for fillies and mares at 1 1/4 miles on the inner turf, also drew a field of six and looks like a showdown between the Bill Mott-trained Riposte and trainer Alan Goldberg's Tannery. The day's third stakes is the $100,000 Manila for 3-year-olds at a mile on turf.