Belmont Selections 9.6.19
Race 1: 2
I love Jaxson dominated last time out at Saratoga going 1-1/8th after sitting off a mild pace. He was claimed by Linda Rice who is excellent with 1st off the claim and is cutting back a bit in distance which I think is better suited for his pedigree. He gets Lezcano in the irons as well who this year when teaming with Linda Rice is 27% with a $2.19 ROI.
Race 2: 10 *Off Turf – 3
My Sassy Sarah broke from the outside post in her debut and just missed but held gamely for third. With a race under her belt I am expecting an improvement today. I also like that she drew the outside again. Her last work is nothing to write home about but her work on August 23rd tells me that she is ready here.
If this race comes off the turf there is no way we will get 12-1 on All Over the Map. Was eliminated at the start in his debut but still finished in front of 2 others. Is coming in off a bullet work and has a pedigree to handle the wet track.
Race 3: 1
Passporttovictory is dropping in class today for Jeremiah Englehart who excels at these claiming level races and with horses coming off a 61-180 layoff. This one is going to be the favorite but a deserving one. On class alone she is going to be very tough to beat here.
Race 4: 8 *Off Turf – 8
Imperial Moment is a Juddmonte Farms homebred sired by American Pharoah debuting on the turf. These American Pharoah horses have been fantastic so far on the turf and based on the works I don’t see why this one should be any different. I doubt we see the morning line 9-2 on this one, I am expecting around 2-1. On or off the turf I am going with Imperial Moment.
Race 5: 6 *Off Turf -4
High Jingo was my top pick at Saratoga last time out for Jason Servis where he was impressive beating similar. Today he gets Lezcano who is more aggressive early than Irad so I expect him to be right on the pace today which I like for this distance.
If this race comes off the turf I am taking a shot with Sunshine Gal who has run some sneaky off the turf races and in my opinion prefers the main track to the turf.
Race 6: 4
Trial and Error ran 2nd at this distance last time out and today gets Jockey upgrade to Javier Castellano. She has been working well since her last race on July 6th so I am expecting her to be ready here for Chad Brown who is coming off yet another trainer title at Saratoga.
Race 7: 1 *Off Turf – 1,4,2
Peaceful should love the added distance today and with being on the rail should save ground early. She has proven in both career starts that she has a solid turn of foot late and should get a pace that is on the faster side to close in on today. I doubt this one comes off the turf with the forecast for tomorrow only calling for rain in the early afternoon, but if it does I will stick with Peaceful.
Race 8: 9 *Off Turf – 1
Astoria Kitten was bet hard in her debut but had issues at the start and faded badly late. With a race under her belt I am expecting a better start with a much different outcome here. She gets a rider change to Lezcano who I prefer over Kendrick and is adding blinkers today which should help her out of the gate.
If this race comes off the turf I love the pedigree for Ice Princess to handle a wet main track. She has been working well at Saratoga and with being sired by Palace Malice she should love a wet track.