Sonny Leon was already riding high when he went postward in his first Kentucky Derby last month aboard longshot Rich Strike. The jockey, who was seeking his first graded stakes victory in the classic, was coming off a career-best season in 2021.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Perhaps if Flightline had not been injured as a 2-year-old he would have started his career sooner. And if not for other minor setbacks following two of his races, perhaps he’d have more starts than just three by now.

But maybe, just maybe, all of this has been for the best. It certainly has led, inexorably, to this, the biggest test of his brief but brilliant career, in the Grade 1, $1 million Metropolitan Handicap on Saturday here at Belmont Park.

ELMONT, N.Y. – A behind-the-scenes player for many noteworthy horses over the last 15 years or so, trainer Rodolphe Brisset has stepped into the spotlight with We the People, the morning-line favorite for Saturday’s 154th Belmont Stakes.

ELMONT, N.Y. – In its 10 years of existence, the racehorse partnership Eclipse Thoroughbreds has had 16 different Grade 1-winning racehorses, captured two Breeders’ Cup races, a Triple Crown race, the Australian Oaks, and a stakes at Royal Ascot. Pretty heady stuff. But this coming week has the potential to be one of the most significant in the organization’s history.

ELMONT, N.Y. - There are a bevy of multiple-race, multiple-day wagers on Friday and Saturday at Belmont Park.

There is a pick-6 with a minimum 20-cent wager that will include races run over two days. The wager consists of Friday’s True North and New York Stakes and Saturday’s Woody Stephens, Jaipur, Manhattan and Belmont Stakes. The takeout is 15 percent and the entire pool must be paid out.

There will be a pick-four with a $2 minimum bet that consists of Friday’s New York and Intercontinental and Saturday’s Manhattan and Belmont. The takeout is 24 percent.

German jockey Rene Piecheluk was unable to obtain a visa permitting him to travel from Germany to New York and thus won’t be able to ride likely favorite Loft in the Grade 2, $400,000 Belmont Gold Cup on Friday.  

Loft’s connections quickly found a replacement jockey on Tuesday in the German rider Andrasch Starke.  

Piecheluk was set to make his U.S. debut in the Gold Cup, while Starke has compiled a record of 1-3-4 in 21 North American races. His winner came in the 2015 American St. Leger at Arlington Park aboard Lucky Speed. 

Rebel Stakes winner Un Ojo has been transferred to trainer Robertino Diodoro and remains based at Churchill Downs, said Ricky Courville, who has trained the horse this spring.

Both Courville and Diodoro train for Cypress Creek Equine, the co-owner of Un Ojo. Courville is based at Copper Crowne, a training center in Opelousas, La., while Diodoro has a division at Churchill and also will have about 12 horses this summer at Saratoga. Un Ojo was bred in New York.

Julien Leparoux became just the fifth jockey to win 1,000 races at Churchill Downs when he guided Walkathon to victory Saturday in the Grade 3 Regret. Leparoux said afterward “there are just too many” special moments he has enjoyed at Churchill to single out one in particular.

The top four on the Churchill wins list are Pat Day (2,482), Calvin Borel (1,232), Robby Albarado (1,192), and Corey Lanerie (1,169).

Nafzger still in the game

War Like Goddess, who made a successful 5-year-old debut in the Grade 3 Bewitch Stakes at Keeneland on April 29, was kept out of Friday’s Grade 1, $750,000 New York Stakes at Belmont due to a minor physical issue, trainer Bill Mott said.

She returned to the work tab on Monday at Saratoga, going three furlongs in 36.85 seconds over the Oklahoma training track, the fastest of 28 breezes at the distance. It was her first work since the Bewitch.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Zandon, the third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, returned to the work tab Sunday at Belmont Park, breezing a half-mile in 49.98 seconds over the main track as he begins preparations for a summer campaign.

Trainer Chad Brown said Zandon “went outstanding” and is being pointed to the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga on July 30.