The Belmont Stakes
- Tap It To Win- Velazquez/ Casse
- Tap It to Win is coming into this race in amazing form off of the layoff. Velazquez gave this horse arguably his best race to date and keeps the mount. He has a prep over the Belmont surface that was dominant earlier in the month. I can see him going to the lead from the rail and he could possibly go gate to wire. He is a must use given the connections and the early pace. The class is a big jump but the field isn’t that deep.
- Sole Volante- Panici/ Biancone
- Sole Volante is another interesting 3yo here. He was shelved during the height of the pandemic and came back off of a 4 month layoff and won pretty confidently in an OC 100k. First time over the Belmont surface and back into graded company are both things that are against him. He will be the strongest closer in my opinion so with the pace lined up today being strong, I expect him to be flying late with Luca Panici. Will he have enough, I am not sure, but will he be coming late, of course.
- Max Player- Rosario/Rice
- Linda Rice has been ice cold since the FBI Raids. This horse won the Withers early this year but has been on the shelf since. This is his 2nd start as a 3yo and is lightly raced compared to the rest of the field. He will be coming from mid pack and Rosario is a huge upgrade from Angel Rodriguez at Parx and Dylan Davis at Aqueduct. I think this horse will have a shot late if Linda Rice fires which has been very rare lately.
- Modernist- Alvarado/Mott
- Modernist is a horse I am against today. The lack of recency in his most recent start is a knock against him. He didn’t really take the Belmont surface in his debut either but then again it was only his debut. I just don’t know if he has speed figures that compete here and he hasn’t really approved in any of his starts. Will look elsewhere.
- Farmington Road- Castellano/ Pletcher
- Farmington Road is a one run closer. He has closed from the clouds in every start except his maiden victory. Maybe he will run better sitting closer. Yet, I think he is just outclassed and doesn’t have the figures to seem logical here.
- Fore Left- Ortiz/ O’Niell
- Fore Left entered here late and is probably the most interesting horse in the field. He should be less than 30/1 ML to me but I can see why he is. He seems to like shorter distances but I think he is sneaky in this spot. He will be sent early by Jose and Jose doesn’t mess around in these types of races. Although, he could just push the pace early to set up for his brother on the #9 Dr. Post. He broke his maiden as a 2yo at Belmont which is a huge plus. I will be using this horse on verticals and deep horizontals.
- Jungle Runner- Gutierrez/ Asmussen
- I really hope Jungle Runner pulls the upset today. I want to see the young guns like Reylu Gutierrez win races like this and make headlines. However, when it comes to the quality of this colt, it doesn’t look bright. His best races came in cheap Remington Park races going shorter.
- Tiz the Law- Franco/ Tagg
- Tiz the Law is the heavy favorite on the Morning line and rightfully so. This race sets up for him and he has been one of the best 3yos in the country all year. Franco has been a little cold coming into this, but I don’t think that will affect this entrant much. I think he can be dominant here. Must use on all tickets and could be a single on small ones.
- Dr Post- Oritz Jr/ Pletcher
- Dr Post is one of my top picks in this race. I think Irad will get this horse home today. Pletcher has had this horse fit in both starts as a 3yo this year. He was much the best in his most recent win. He got in so much trouble in that race and still won going away. I think this race sets up for him but he will have to get the first jump on Tiz the Law.
- Pneumatic- Santana Jr./ Asmussen
- Pneumatic will be close early on. Santana and Asmussen won a race up here last weekend so it wouldn’t surprise me if they do again today. The Matt Win was a tough field and it was his first time against graded stakes company and he managed to hold for 3rd. I think he wants a lot shorter than todays distance and that will be his biggest downfall.
TOP PICKS
# 1 Tap It to Win
#8 Tiz the Law
#9 Dr Post