ELMONT, N.Y. – City Man will try to complete his own New York-bred turf stakes grand slam when he heads a field of nine entered for Monday’s $125,000 Kingston Stakes at Belmont Park.

City Man, already a millionaire and an eight-time stakes winner, won the Mohawk and Ashely T. Cole last fall at Aqueduct. In 2021, he won the West Point at Saratoga. Those three races, pus the Kingston, are the four turf stakes offered annually on this circuit for New York breds.

In his lone try at the Kingston last year, City Man finished seventh with a troubled trip.

The race options for Royal Ship on Monday were the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup at Santa Anita or the $100,000 All American Stakes at Golden Gate Fields.

While the $400,000 Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles carries far more prize money and prestige, Royal Ship will have his synthetic track debut in the All American Stakes at a mile. The distance, and goals for the summer, were two leading factors in the decision.

Finger Lakes kicks off its stakes schedule on Monday with the $50,000 George W. Barker Stakes, with stablemates Lady’s Golden Guy and Winston’s Chance, two-time defending race winner Flying Emperor, and local stakes winner Senbei highlighting the field.

The Barker, for New York-bred 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs, is the first of 14 stakes at this Finger Lakes meet, which opened in late April and runs through November. First post for the eight-race holiday Monday card is 1:15 p.m.

Alleva figures to be a short price when he meets five others in a starter-allowance sprint on Monday at Emerald Downs. The 6 1/2-furlong race is for runners who have started for a claiming price of $10,000 or less during the past year.

A special holiday Monday card at Churchill Downs will showcase a special horse. Eclipse Award champion Echo Zulu, who has never been worse than second around one turn, highlights the field for the Grade 3, $225,000 Winning Colors Stakes for fillies and mares going six furlongs.

Tahiyra lost the 1000 Guineas on May 7 at Newmarket by a half-length in the end, but the filly really lost the race at the start. Favored at 3-2, Tahiyra lunged and lurched out of post 15, giving up several lengths in the process. In the end, she fell short of victorious Nawz while finishing 7 1/2 lengths ahead of the third-place horse. There is no Nawz on Sunday in the Irish 1000 Guineas, where Tahiyra as of Friday was about a 1-2 fixed-odds favorite with British bookmakers.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Todd Pletcher has enjoyed great success in the Belmont Stakes with also-rans from the Kentucky Derby. The stallion Tapit has enjoyed sensational success in the Belmont having produced four of the last nine winners of the third leg of the Triple Crown.

Those two factors alone make the Grade 1 winner Tapit Trice a contender in the Belmont Stakes here on June 10. Add in a good-looking workout Friday morning at Belmont Park and you just may have the favorite for the 155th Test of the Champion.

Trainer Victor Barboza Jr. is hoping Battle Cry gets the right setup on Sunday in the $60,000 Musical Romance Handicap at Gulfstream Park.

“If the pace is very, very fast, my mare has a good chance in the race,” he said.

The Musical Romance is a 6 1/2-furlong overnight handicap for fillies and mares bred in Florida. A field of seven is entered, but Barboza said that Beth’s Dream, his other runner in the race, will be scratched in favor of the Lady’s Secret on June 10 at Monmouth Park.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Curbstone enjoyed a strong winter at Aqueduct, winning three of four starts and finishing second once, all in races around two turns.

Sunday, he’ll have to transfer that success to one turn in a second-level allowance/optional $62,500 claiming event at 1 1/8 miles that serves as the feature on Belmont Park’s nine-race card.

Ceiling Crusher was so dominant in the Evening Jewel Stakes for California-bred 3-year-old fillies at Santa Anita last month that it would not have been a surprise for her to have been sent out of state for a graded stakes.

That may yet happen, but for now Ceiling Crusher remains at Santa Anita where she will be a short-priced favorite to extend her unbeaten streak to four races in Sunday’s $150,000 Melair Stakes for 3-year-old statebred fillies at 1 1/16 miles.