Watchmaker: How I'd play Belmont for Sunday, Oct. 5
The good news with Sunday’s 11-race card at Belmont is there are no hidden 2-year-old maiden races loaded with firsters spoiling any pick three, pick four, or pick six sequences throughout the day.
The bad news is, Saturday’s heavy rain has left, even in perfect drying conditions, a main track labeled good, and caused three of Sunday’s scheduled turf races to be moved to the main track. Those off-the-turf races are 2, 5, and 6.
One thing worth keeping an eye on early is the inside on the main track. The inside seemed best avoided on Saturday, but there was lots of standing water on the track, especially early, and conditions are different today. Still, this is something to consider.
The early part of today’s card could break chalky. Classic Sense looks like he will be hard to stop in the second race at odds-on, and Blofeld, whose debut at Saratoga was most impressive, will be a handful at a short price in the fourth race, the Futurity Stakes. And I’m still trying to figure out the trip Snowbell in the fifth race was given in her last start. If Snowbell doesn’t win, then Madaket Millie will, but neither will be much of a price.
The latter part of the card is more appealing. In the seventh race, a race that remains on turf labeled yielding, Belle de Lawers is making her U. S. debut for trainer Christophe Clement in an entry-level allowance race with Lasix.. We’ve seen this movie before, many times, and horses with this profile tend to run very well.
The ninth also remains on turf, and I intend to do something with My Jopia, who was second last time out while racing on the worst part of the track and who will like getting back on turf, and Jitney, who takes a meaningful class drop.
Finally, while I don’t feel as strongly about the 10th race, the Matron, I am interested in the maiden Skipalute. Skipalute just failed to hold off Paulassilverlining, who is also in this race, last time out in what I thought was a decent maiden heat, and the positive rider switch she gets today to Javier Castellano caught my eye.