Visa problems keep German jockey from riding in Belmont Gold Cup

German jockey Rene Piecheluk was unable to obtain a visa permitting him to travel from Germany to New York and thus won’t be able to ride likely favorite Loft in the Grade 2, $400,000 Belmont Gold Cup on Friday.

Loft’s connections quickly found a replacement jockey on Tuesday in the German rider Andrasch Starke.

Piecheluk was set to make his U.S. debut in the Gold Cup, while Starke has compiled a record of 1-3-4 in 21 North American races. His winner came in the 2015 American St. Leger at Arlington Park aboard Lucky Speed.

Piecheluk gained international prominence piloting longshot Torquator Tasso to victory in the 2021 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for trainer Marcel Weiss, who also trains Loft, set to be his first American starter.

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Torquator Tasso in his first start since the Arc finished sixth, beaten 18 lengths, in a Group 2 race at Baden-Baden on May 29. One of the horse’s owners, translating for Weiss on a phone call Tuesday, said Torquator Tasso had come out of that start in good condition while pointing out that Torquator Tasso had never run well fresh. In his 2021 debut, Torquator Tasso finished sixth of seven though he was beaten only 5 1/2 lengths in that race. Torquator Tasso races next month at Hamburg in the Group 2 Hansa-Preis over 1 1/2 miles, a race he won last summer, and a significantly improved performance there would send the horse on to the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes on July 23 at Ascot Racecourse in England.