Mott Enters Number of Top Runners for Belmont Weekend

While Bill Mott will not send out a horse in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) June 11 at Belmont Park, the Racing Hall of Fame trainer has entered top runners in many of the graded stakes scheduled June 10-11 at the track.

On Friday Mott has entered Obligatory  in the $300,000 Bed o' Roses Stakes (G2), where the 4-year-old daughter of Curlin   will face last year's Longines Test Stakes (G1) winner Bella Sofia  and two others. Obligatory enters Friday's seven-furlong test for older fillies and mares off three straight graded stakes wins, including the first grade 1 score of her career last-out in the Derby City Distaff Stakes Presented by Kendall-Jackson Winery May 7 at Churchill Downs.

The short field is a concern for Mott in terms of early pace as Juddmonte-homebred Obligatory has rallied from fifth, sixth, and seventh in her three-race win streak.

"Her advantage is if there's a fast pace," Mott told NYRA publicity. "There's a couple horses in there that could go; but it's not :44 speed."

Mott's other runner entered in Friday's stakes is grade 1-placed Baby Yoda , who will try to upset Jackie's Warrior  in the $300,000 True North Stakes (G2). Pantofel Stable, Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, and Jerold Zaro's Baby Yoda, who finished a well-beaten second to Flightline  in the Runhappy Malibu Stakes (G1) in late December, prepped for the 6 1/2-furlong True North with a clear victories in back-to-back six-furlong starter-allowance races at Keeneland and Churchill.

On Belmont day Mott has entered a standout in the Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1) in Speaker's Corner , who, like Obligatory, enters on a three-race win streak. A Godolphin homebred, Speaker's Corner opened his 4-year-old season with a win in the Fred W. Hooper Stakes Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa (G3) at Gulfstream Park and returned there in March to win the WinStar Gulfstream Park Mile Stakes (G2). The son of Street Sense   then nailed down the first grade 1 win of his career when he rolled to a 4 1/2-length score in the seven-furlong Carter Handicap April 9 at Aqueduct.

The five-horse Met Mile field features undefeated standout Flightline as well as last year's Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner Aloha West .

"As far as I'm concerned, the Met Mile is a heavyweight championship-type bout," Mott said. "It should be a good race. If our horse shows up and the other horse shows up, it should be interesting."

Saturday Mott also will send out Casa Creed , who will try to repeat in the Jaipur Stakes (G1T). The 6-year-old son of Jimmy Creed   opened the year with a pair of starts in the Middle East, finishing third in the stc 1351 Turf Sprint Cup (G3) in Saudi Arabia and fifth in the Al Quoz Sprint Sponsored by Azizi Developments (G1) March 26 in Dubai.

LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable's Casa Creed has put together a half-dozen works since April 27, including a half-mile breeze in :47.88 June 5 on the training track at Belmont. That work was the third-fastest of 117 at the distance. 

"He worked good," said Mott, who also won the Jaipur with Harp Islet (1989), Elusive Quality (1998), and Around the Cape  (2006). "He went with Obligatory and they worked well. They went right together."

Mott is looking forward to seeing Channel Maker , who opened his 8-year-old season with a victory in the Elkhorn Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland—the eighth stakes win for the 2020 champion turf male—start in the Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes (G1T) at 1 1/4 miles on the turf.

"I've had some nice older horses before, but he's been a real warrior," Mott said of the runner campaigned by Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, R. A. Hill Stable, and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing. "He's made $3.5 million. He's a good old gelding and he's run in a lot of stakes—it's amazing."  

Also entered Saturday is Team Valor International and Gary Barber's Wakanaka , who has earned graded stakes-placings in her past two starts and now will try the Longines Just a Game Stakes (G1T). 

In graded stakes this year, Mott runners have won 13 of 40 starts (33%) and have earned $3,047,158.