SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Zulu Kingdom and Salamis are Grade 1 winners pointing to similar such races later in the year. For now, however, Sunday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Poker Stakes at Saratoga serves as a nice bridge toward those more prestigious spots later this summer. Zulu Kingdom and Salamis, both trained by Chad Brown, head what figures to be a five-horse field on turf. Trainer David Jacobson indicated by text Friday that he won’t run either Tarantino or Multitask in the one-mile Poker. The threat of rain, which has seemingly diminished over the week, also prompted five main-track-only entrants. The Poker, which goes as race 4, is the co-feature along with the Grade 3, $200,000 Soaring Softly (race 8) on an 11-race card that brings to a close the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. Zulu Kingdom, a 4-year-old Irish-bred, is nearly flawless in a nine-race career. He’s won seven and crossed the wire first in one of his two losses with the stewards disqualifying him from first to fourth in the Grade 2 Hall of Fame Stakes here last August. He has won his other two starts over Saratoga’s turf, both stakes. In April, Zulu Kingdom came off an eight-month layoff to win the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland, doing so in front-running fashion under Flavien Prat in a race where the pace was slow to develop. The same scenario could present itself in Sunday’s compact field. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports “Off the layoff, he ran super,” Brown said. “Prat gave him a great ride.” In early May, Zulu Kingdom was questionable to make the Poker, having developed a quarter crack after his first workout back following the Maker’s Mark. “I worked him twice, he worked really good, he’s doing everything you want him to do and training super,” Brown said. Course condition shouldn’t matter to Zulu Kingdom, who has won on yielding, good, and firm ground. Salamis would prefer firm turf. He is making his first start since he won the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby on Nov. 29 at Del Mar, his third victory from seven starts. Salamis won his maiden over Saratoga’s turf last August. Following the Hollywood Derby, “we let him have a well-deserved rest, and he took a little longer to get the rust off and get race ready,” Brown said. “The last 30 days have been fabulous, and he looks really good.” Prat rides Zulu Kingdom from post 2, while Manny Franco is aboard Salamis from the outside post. Ridari, a multiple Group 2 winner at one mile in France, finished third, 5 1/2 lengths behind Deterministic in the Grade 3 Fort Marcy at Aqueduct in May – his first start in six months, first in this country, and first for trainer Miguel Clement. In addition to cutting him back to a mile from 1 1/8 miles, Clement is adding a set of small blinkers, commonly called cheaters, to Ridari’s equipment for the Poker. “At times in the morning, he’s a touch unfocused in his works, and I just thought maybe the addition of blinkers in this country gong a mile might be the right approach,” Clement said. Jaime Rodriguez rides. Trainer Bill Mott entered Capitol Hill and Pass the Hat, who are both coming off wins in the second-level allowance condition at Keeneland and Aqueduct, respectively. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Capitol Hill, a 4-year-old son of Into Mischief, finished second to Zulu Kingdom in the Grade 3 Manila here last July and was second to Salamis in the Gio Ponti at Aqueduct last September. Pass the Hat, a 5-year-old son of Collected, makes his stakes debut. Ilkay Kantarmaci entered three horses for the main track, led by Castle Chaos, who won an off-the-turf $40,000 claimer May 25 at Aqueduct. Rick Dutrow entered two, Ignite the Light, who won an allowance in the mud April 26, and Over and Ollie, who finished second in an allowance/optional claimer on May 22 at Aqueduct. Following Sunday’s card, racing returns to Aqueduct on Thursday for that track’s final three weeks of racing before it closes permanently for racing. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.