Brilliant Speed, who finished a deceptively close seventh in the Kentucky Derby, remained on course for a start in the June 11 Belmont Stakes with a five-furlong work in 1:03.11 on a humid Wednesday morning at Belmont Park.
BELMONT STAKES: Replays, contenders, and news updates
“He went good,” his trainer, Tom Albertrani, said by telephone. “He broke off a little slow, but he finished up well. We weren’t looking for much.”
Animal Kingdom, the Kentucky Derby winner, will be sent to Belmont Park this weekend to prepare for the June 11 Belmont Stakes and is slated to work a half-mile there on Monday, Barry Irwin, the president of the Team Valor International partnership that owns Animal Kingdom, informed on Tuesday morning.
Also on Tuesday, Belmont Stakes aspirants Monzon and Prime Cut had workouts, and jockey Javier Castellano picked up the mount on Stay Thirsty.
Monzon, who comes off a sixth-place finish in the Peter Pan, remained on course for a start in the June 11 Belmont Stakes with a six-furlong workout at Sagamore Farm in Maryland on Tuesday morning.
BELMONT STAKES: Replays, contenders, and news updates »
According to trainer Nacho Correas, Monzon was timed in 1:16 for one lap over the training track at Sagamore, the legendary farm once owned by Alfred Vanderbilt II and now being revitalized by Kevin Plank.
Prime Cut, who finished third in the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park in his last start, worked five furlongs in 1:03.60 at Churchill Downs on Tuesday morning, but trainer Neil Howard said he was still not sure whether Prime Cut would run in the Belmont Stakes on June 11.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Preakness winner Shackleford arrived at Belmont Park shortly after 10 am Monday following a 15-hour van ride from Churchill Downs.
Shackleford was bedded down in Barn 7 where trainer Dale Romans has 11 other horses stabled. Romans is expected to arrive in New York on Tuesday to oversee Shackleford's training, which will likely include a workout on Saturday that will ultimately determine the colt's status for the race.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On the day that Preakness winner Shackleford arrived in New York, one of his and Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom’s sternest rivals for the upcoming Belmont Stakes put in a stout workout at Churchill Downs.
Nehro, the Kentucky Derby runner-up who figures among the top three betting choices for the June 11 Belmont Stakes, worked six furlongs in 1:12.20 Monday morning over a fast main track at Churchill. Nehro worked in company with the stakes-placed Dominus. Both horses are trained by Steve Asmussen.
Alternation, who won the Peter Pan Stakes on May 14, will skip the Belmont Stakes on June 11 and point for major races later this summer, trainer Donnie Von Hemel said Sunday morning.
"We looked things over and decided to take a breather," said Von Hemel, who trains Alternation for the Pin Oak Stable of Josephine Abercrombie. "The horse is fine. We just decided to point for races like the Jim Dandy and the Travers. He's had four or five races early in the year. We want to give him a little breather now, then make some noise later."
ELMONT, N.Y. - As well as Mucho Macho Man ran in the Louisiana Derby despite losing a left front shoe, it wasn't a trend his connections were hoping to set. So after Mucho Macho Man lost his right front shoe in the Preakness, trainer Kathy Ritvo felt she had to make a change.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Santiva warmed up for a probable start in the 143rd Belmont Stakes by breezing five furlongs Saturday morning at Churchill Downs, finishing in 1:00.60 over a fast track while in the company of stablemate Golden Gulch.
Animal Kingdom, the Kentucky Derby winner, will definitely run in the $1 million Belmont Stakes on June 11, trainer Graham Motion confirmed on Friday.
"We feel like we're definitely going as long as the horse is good," Motion said Friday. "We want to be there. The horse seems to be doing really good. I'm so pleased with how he bounced out of it the last couple of days. All systems go."
