Kentucky Derby runner-up Sierra Leone drew post 9 in the field
of 10 and was made the 9-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes,
scheduled to be run Saturday at 6:41 p.m. EDT at Saratoga.
Trainer Chad Brown entered the winner
of the Grade 1 Blue Grass and called on Flavien Prat to replace Tyler
Gaffalione for the ride this weekend.
First Look: See the fields for all the weekend graded stakes.
A Todd Pletcher entrant is the only one in the field who has
not run in a graded stakes. Mindframe, who drew post 10, was made the 7-2 second choice thanks in large measure to his 2-for-2 record with an average winning margin of more than 10 lengths.
“He’s a very talented colt,” Pletcher said. “His two races have been very impressive. He trained very impressively before his debut. Of course, we’re giving up a lot of seasoning, a lot of experience to some very good horses, so that’s the main concern.”
The $600,000 Constitution colt owned by Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola won his debut at Gulfstream Park in
March and then led from gate to wire in an optional-claiming allowance on the
Kentucky Derby undercard. Irad Ortiz Jr. was aboard for both starts, and he
will ride again Saturday.
Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan, with Brian Hernandez Jr.
in the saddle again for trainer Kenny McPeek, got post 3. The Goldencents colt who
was second by 2 1/4 lengths in the Preakness will be ridden again by Brian Hernandez Jr. and was installed with odds of 5-1.
“(Lead owner) Lance Gasaway sent me a message this morning. ‘Go there and get post 3,’ ” Mystik Dan’s trainer Kenny McPeek said. “It’s his lucky number, I guess. But no, we’re thrilled with that. I think that was great. It’s out of our control now. It’s up to Brian.”
Preakness winner Seize the Grey drew the rail post with Jaime
Torres riding for trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Also the winner of the Pat Day Mile
(G2), the Arrogate colt has program odds of 8-1.
Others from the Kentucky Derby who will run in the Belmont
are Resilience, who was sixth at Churchill Downs and has post 2; Honor Marie,
who was eighth and has post 8; and Dornoch, 10th in the Derby and drawn into
post 6 on Saturday.
The top three finishers in the Peter Pan (G3) also are in
the field. Winner Antiquarian is 1 of 3 entries for Pletcher and will be ridden
by John Velázquez, who also rode him in the May 11 Peter Pan. Antiquarian was
assigned post 5.
| Post | Silks | Horse / Sire | Rating | Trainer / Jockey | Last Start / Next Start | ML |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Seize The Grey Arrogate |
7.87 | 8-1 | ||
|
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| 2 |
|
Resilience Into Mischief |
7.46 | 10-1 | ||
|
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| 3 |
|
Mystik Dan Goldencents |
7.98 | 5-1 | ||
|
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| 4 |
|
The Wine Steward Vino Rosso |
6.35 | 15-1 | ||
|
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| 5 |
|
Antiquarian Preservationist |
6.45 | 12-1 | ||
|
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| 6 |
|
Dornoch Good Magic |
7.17 | 15-1 | ||
|
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| 7 |
|
Protective Medaglia d’Oro |
0.00 | 20-1 | ||
|
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| 8 |
|
Honor Marie Honor Code |
6.80 | 10-1 | ||
|
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| 9 |
|
Sierra Leone Gun Runner |
7.90 | 9-5 | ||
|
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| 10 |
|
Mindframe Constitution |
6.87 | 7-2 | ||
|
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