Resilience Part of Busy Belmont Festival Group for Mott

Trainer Bill Mott was busy mid-morning June 6 outside his Saratoga Race Course barn, escorting horses off the Oklahoma Training Track and attending to matters at his stable.

In the coming days, the Hall of Famer only figures to get busier—running seven horses June 7 at Saratoga, led by Just F Y I  in the Acorn Stakes (G1), then starting as many as a dozen there June 8, including Resilience  in the Belmont Stakes (G1).

Watch: Mott Gives Resilience Another 1 1/4-mile Try in Belmont

While Just F Y I, George Krikorian's reigning 2-year-old filly champion, is the 5-2 second choice in the 1 1/8-mile Acorn, rematched against 8-5 favorite Thorpedo Anna , who beat her in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) last month, Resilience is more of a longshot. The Into Mischief   3-year-old colt, winner of the Wood Memorial Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack in early April, is a 10-1 outsider on the morning line for the 1 1/4-mile Belmont Stakes after fading to sixth in the Kentucky Derby at the same distance five weeks ago.

Eighth going down the backstretch in the Derby at Churchill Downs, he made a bold wide move to advance into second, chasing victorious Mystik Dan  in early stretch, before weakening to finish 7 3/4 lengths behind the winner.

"When he left the quarter pole, it looked like he might have a big chance to win, and then he got to the eighth pole and flattened out a little bit," Mott said. "I can't offer him any big excuse other than it was his first trip going 10 furlongs."

Speaking the day after the Derby, Mott seemed inclined to point the Emily Bushnell and Ric Waldman-owned colt in shorter races, but he indicated Thursday a desire to give a second start at a classic distance another try. This race at 1 1/4 miles will test how they manage the rest of the colt's season.

"We'll know whether or not to go back to the eight- and nine-furlong races or whether, if there's something in his future at 10 furlongs—the Travers is here at Saratoga. If he would run real well, then maybe we'd think about that."

Mott knows what it takes to win the Belmont. He took the 2010 renewal with WinStar Farm's Drosselmeyer .

The Belmont Stakes is the same distance as the Travers this year due to the third leg of the Triple Crown being contested at Saratoga. Its traditional distance at Belmont Park | BloodHorse.com Track Profile">Belmont Park, which is in the midst of reconstruction, is 1 1/2 miles, but that distance is not possible due to different track configurations at the two ovals.

The venue also means some changes for some of Mott's Belmont Festival stakes runners.

Casa Creed , Mott's veteran long-distance turf sprinter and miler, is running in the $350,000, one-mile Poker Stakes (G3T) on Belmont Stakes day, rather than the $500,000 5 1/2-furlong Jaipur Stakes (G1T). He has competed in the latter race the past three years, winning it back-to-back in 2021-22 and running third last year for owners LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable. 

A day earlier on Friday, the trainer's female grass marathoner War Like Goddess  is running shorter than her best distance in the 1 3/16-mile New York Stakes (G1T) in the race before the Acorn. She was sixth in the New York last year when it was 1 1/4 miles at Belmont. The Krikorian-owned War Like Goddess prefers races from 1 3/8 miles to 1 1/2 miles.

"We've probably got to rely on the makeup of the race, how much speed there is, and how much pace there is," Mott said. "There would have to be a lot of pace in the race to allow us to close at that shorter distance."