ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Christophe Clement has won the first three runnings of the Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational, the last two with Disco Partner.

Clement and Disco Partner will look to keep their streaks intact in Saturday’s $150,000 Belmont Turf Sprint, which can be used as a stepping-stone to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita.

Disco Partner, a 7-year-old New York-bred gelding, is winless in six starts since last year’s Belmont Turf Sprint. He is coming off a third to Shekky Shebaz in the Lucky Coin Stakes at Saratoga.

ELMONT, N.Y. – A Thread of Blue has had mixed success stretching out in distance. Saturday, he will cut back to 1 1/8 miles in the Grade 2, $400,000 Hill Prince Stakes at Belmont Park.

A Thread of Blue won the $1 million Saratoga Derby at 1 3/16 miles in gate-to-wire fashion before fading to fourth trying 1 1/2 miles in the $1 million Jockey Club Derby here on Sept. 7.

Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said a combination of the distance and soft turf conspired against A Thread of Blue in the Jockey Club Derby.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Last year, Channel Maker won the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Classic breaking from the outside post in a field of seven.

Channel Maker will again break from the outside post in a seven-horse field in Saturday’s $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. The only difference is last year, the Joe Hirsch was a Win and You’re In for the BC Turf. This year, it isn’t.

Channel Maker won the Grade 1 Man o’ War here in May but is coming into the Hirsch off a trio of fourth-place finishes in the Manhattan, Bowling Green, and Sword Dancer.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Tiz the Law, who was most impressive winning a New York-bred maiden race on Aug. 8 at Saratoga, joined the field for Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne Stakes here after working an easy half-mile Wednesday morning at Belmont Park.

Tiz the Law, trained by Barclay Tagg for Sackatoga Stable – the connections of 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide – drew the outside post in a field of seven entered for the Champagne, one of five stakes on Saturday’s 11-race card.

Does the name Catholic Boy ring a bell?

Catholic Boy came into the summer of 2019 as one of the most exciting horses in North America but came out of it with only one start.

After a sharp win in the Dixie Stakes on the Preakness undercard in May, Catholic Boy finished second to Preservationist in the July 6 Suburban and hasn’t started since.

Vasilika will have to take the circuitous path to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

A winner of 11 of 12 starts at Santa Anita, Vasilika has to go to Keeneland for Saturday’s Grade 1, $400,000 First Lady Stakes to try and get a race in before the Breeders’ Cup. Vasilika is trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, who last June was banned by The Stronach Group from stabling and racing at tracks they own, which includes Santa Anita, site of this year’s Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 1-2.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Zellda, a 2-year-old filly out of famous 2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta, arrived at trainer John Shirreffs’s stable at Santa Anita in late September and is in early training.

Zellda, owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, has been jogging in recent days.

“She’s just getting used to it,” Shirreffs said of the filly’s new surroundings. “She’s learning her way around here.

“It’s fun to have her in the barn.”

ARCADIA, Calif. – Bolo had a spring to remember and a summer to forget.

After missing all of 2018 because of injury, Bolo won the most prestigious race of his career in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile on May 27 at Santa Anita, but had only one start at Del Mar, finishing eighth of 10 in the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on Aug. 18.

While the field for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile will pick up a few starters this weekend, the race did lose a significant player when the connections of Hopeful winner Basin revealed their horse will miss the race and the remainder of the year.

Basin has an issue with his right hind ankle, according to Ryne Poncik, the son-in-law of Terry Green, whose Jackpot Farm owns Basin. Poncik said Basin will be getting 60 days off and be pointed to the series of 3-year preps at Oaklawn Park next year.

“It’s just bad timing,” Poncik said.

In 2001, the 2-year-old filly Tempera won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Belmont Park at 11-1 after a nine-week gap from her third in the Del Mar Debutante.

This year, Eoin Harty, who trained Tempera, is hoping to follow a similar plan with Fair Maiden in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 1. Fair Maiden was third in the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes at Woodbine on Sept. 15. She will not race again until the Breeders’ Cup.

“With fillies on the turf, you can get away with a lot,” Harty said.