Busy Morning for Belmont Stakes Horses
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With two days remaining until the Belmont Stakes presented by DraftKings (gr. I), contenders for the third classic had a busy morning at Belmont Park June 4.
Not surprisingly, there was a large media horde accompanying Zayat Stables' American Pharoah, who seeking to capture the Triple Crown in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont. After jogging June 3, the son of Pioneerof the Nile galloped strongly and then later in the morning was among the Belmont hopefuls who visited the paddock for schooling.
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Mubtaahij, the Michael de Kock-trained winner of the UAE Derby (UAE-I), had a "blowout" of three furlongs in :37.61, the 14th fastest among 22 working the distance.
De Kock, who is based in South Africa, said it is routine for him to have a quick work for any of his runners 48 hours before a race. De Kock, who had the Irish-bred son of Dubawi equipped with EquinITy training device which monitors heart rate, stride length, and medication among other capabilities, said the blowout also helps "oxygenate" his horses.
"He's (Mubtaahij) striding very well here, he stretched along nicely this morning, he's doing well and that's something we can measure," de Kock said. "I've been using it (EquinITy) for the past two years. We use it in Dubai extensively and England. It's a good management tool as well. You can find races, and put down your medications, and it can flag a horse that can't run that's been given a medication. To be honest, we're still learning but it's impressive."
All Belmont horses went to the track Thursday, with Frammento, Madefromlucky, and Materiality among those who went to the training track for their exercise.
Shortly after 11 a.m., other horses that were in a very crowded paddock were Frammento, Madefromlucky, Materiality, and Tale of Verve. All handled the schooling experience with no problem.
Another top horse running Saturday who breezed three furlongs and visited the paddock was Tonalist, the striking 2014 Belmont winner, who was timed in :34.76, the second-fastest drill of the day. He is favored in the Metropolitan Handicap (gr. I).