The preparations are underway for the third jewel of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes (G1). Horses have begun to arrive at Belmont Park for the mile and a half contest which is scheduled to be held on Saturday, June 11.
Several of the contenders from Kentucky including Cherry Wine, Creator and Brody’s Cause, all arrived at Belmont Park this week. Cherry Wine finished second in the Preakness Stakes (G1) behind Exaggerator and both Creator and Brody’s Cause are coming in fresh having skipped the Preakness after unsuccessful outings in the Kentucky Derby (G1). Creator finished thirteenth in the Derby after a troubled trip and Brody’s Cause was seventh.
It has been business as usual for the internationally campaigned Lani. A gray son of Tapit bred in the United States, he was based in Japan before winning the UAE Derby (G1) at Medyan Racecourse. Known for his erratic behavior, he finished ninth in the Run for the Roses and moved up to fifth in the Preakness Stakes (G1). He, along with Exaggerator, will be the only two contenders in the Belmont Stakes to have competed in both prior Triple Crown events.
Suddenbreakingnews, the fifth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby (G1) is scheduled to arrive at Belmont Park on June 6. Trained by Donnie Von Hemel, it was recently discovered that the son of Mineshaft was not actually a gelding as had been previously reported but was actually a ridgling. He has been training in Kentucky since the Derby and will be trying to earn the fourth victory and second graded stakes win of his career.
The field is set for the $1 million Haskell, where Nyquist will be trying to re-stake his claim as the top three-year-old in the country.
On Sunday at Monmouth Park, the featured race is the $300,000 United Nations Stakes. Scheduled to be run at a mile and three-eighths on the turf, the Grade 1 event has drawn a field of ten colts and geldings.
On Sunday at Monmouth Park, the featured race is the $150,000 Pegasus Stakes, a key prep race for the Haskell Invitational (G1). The Grade 3 event will be contested at a mile and a sixteenth and has drawn a field of seven three-year-olds.
With five grade 1 races and a grade 2, the undercard for the June 11 Belmont stakes could be the best single day of racing on the calendar outside of the Breeders’ Cup.
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