SATURDAY, JUNE 5
BELMONT
SPOT PLAYS
Race 6 – Jaipur
#9 Oleksandra
Defending
champion of this race going out at 15-1 odds on the morning line is just too
much of an opportunity to overlook, especially due to the fact that this horse
has always been a horse for the course at Belmont with a 3-for-3 career record.
Mare always fits well vs. the males, and will be running late in a good pace
set-up with plenty of speed entered in this race.
Race 11 – BELMONT STAKES
#3 Rombauer
plus exacta and trifecta box
with #6 Known Agenda
plus exacta and trifecta box w/ #4
Hot Rod Charlie
plus exacta and trifecta box w/
#2 Essential Quality
#3 Rombauer is a 3yo
who has gotten good at the right time, and that’s what you want to see this time
of year in the big races. Exits a blow-away score in the Preakness where he won
off in the stretch as much the best. He does his best running when allowed to
come from off the pace, and that perhaps explains his flop in the Blue Grass
Stakes when he had to stay up close in a race with no pace. Here in the Belmont
Stakes, he will get good pace to chase, just as he did in his two victories
this season. Will be difficult to defeat if he runs anything close to a repeat
of his Preakness effort.
Play in exacta and trifecta box
with #6 Known Agenda, who is the Florida Derby winner trained by Todd
Pletcher who is being overlooked in this race as the fifth betting choice on
the morning line. He is rested and ready since the disappointing effort in the
Kentucky Derby. Plus, he had a big excuse in the Derby, where he drew the
“death rail” and basically got wiped out on the rail in the early stages of the
race from that impossible post position. In the Belmont, the outside half of
the gate is where you want to be, so he’s perfectly-drawn in this race with
Belmont’s leading jockey Irad Ortiz aboard.
Play in exacta and trifecta box
with #4 Hot Rod Charlie, who was last seen finishing third in the Kentucky
Derby. Has turned into a consistent threat since winning the Louisiana Derby,
and if you are looking for a horse capable of staying closer to the pace, which
is often an advantage in the Belmont, this horse will be in a great
pressing/stalking position and is good enough to win or at least get into the
exotics.
Play in exacta and trifecta box
with #2 Essential Quality, who was the beaten favorite in the Kentucky Derby,
which was his first career defeat. Certainly capable of a positive turnaround,
but he will need to come from behind and his form may have already topped out.
Comes in fresh and capable, but you need to take low odds as the likely
favorite in the race.
SATURDAY, JUNE 5
BELMONT
RACE 1
3 Hagler 9-5
4 Wit 8-5
2 Keepcalmcarryon 7-2
RACE 2
10 Mach One 6-1
8 Ranger Fox 9-2
6 Pipeline 3-1
RACE 3 – Woody Stephens
6 Caddo River 4-1
1 Nova Rags 8-1
3 Jackie’s Warrior 7-5
RACE 4 – Brooklyn
9 Lone Rock 9-2
8 Tizamagician 7-2
7 Ajaaweed 5-1
RACE 5 – Acorn
6 Search Results 1-1
2 Obligatory 6-1
3 Miss Brazil 5-1
RACE 6 – Jaipur
9 Oleksandra 15-1
6 Bound For Nowhere 2-1
11 Got Stormy 6-1
RACE 7 – Ogden Phipps
1 Swiss Skydiver 5-2
5 Shedaresthedevil 5-2
3 Letruska 9-5
RACE 8 – Just a Game
8 Althiqa 8-1
10 Tamahere 6-1
11 Blowout 4-1
RACE 9 – Met Mile
6 Knicks Go 6-5
1 Mischevious Alex 5-2
3 Silver State 7-2
RACE 10 – Manhattan
9 Gufo 5-1
4 Domestic Spending 3-1
10 Colonel Liam 5-2
RACE 11 – BELMONT STAKES
3 Rombauer 3-1
6 Known Agenda 6-1
4 Hot Rod Charlie 7-2
2 Essential Quality 2-1
RACE 12
3 Spungie 7-2
9 Pandmom 8-1
6 Kinky Sox 12-1
RACE 13
3 Microsecond 6-1
5 Journeyman 12-1
10 Winning Factor 12-1
9 Opry 8-1
