Easy Monday For Belmont Contenders
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Photo by NYRA/Susie Raisher
Two days after his last breeze before the Belmont Stakes, California Chrome returned to the track on Monday.
The colt jogged one lap around the 1 ½-mile Belmont track and is scheduled to resume galloping tomorrow morning. Trainer Art Sherman will be in attendance for California Chrome’s gallop for the first time since his prized colt won the Preakness Stakes on May 17.
Tonalist, who also breezed on Saturday galloped 1 ¼ miles on Monday after exiting his work in fine shape. Trainer Christophe Clement says that he’ll have the horse as prepared as possible and that the rest will be up to jockey Joel Rosario.
"I've got a pretty good idea who's running, but I'm going to leave [race strategy] up to [Joel Rosario]," said Clement. "I train and the jockey rides, and he's very good at what he does. My deal is to bring [Tonalist] there as fit as possible and feeling as good as possible and perfectly sound, and [Rosario] will have to worry about the race."
POTENTIAL BELMONT STARTERS
Horse
Owner
Trainer
California Chrome
Steven Coburn & Perry Martin
Art Sherman
Commanding Curve
West Point Thoroughbreds
Dallas Stewart
Commissioner
WinStar Farm
Todd Pletcher
Kid Cruz
Vina Del Mar TBs & Black Swan Stb.
Linda Rice
Matterhorn
Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners
Todd Pletcher
Matuszak
C R K Stable
Bill Mott
Medal Count
Spendthrift Farm
Dale Romans
Ride On Curlin
Daniel J. Dougherty
Billy Gowan
Samraat
My Meadowview Farm
Richard Violette Jr.
Social Inclusion
Rontos Racing Stable
Manny Azpurua
Tonalist
Robert S. Evans
Christophe Clement
Wicked Strong
Centennial Farm
Jimmy Jerkens
General a Rod
Starlight Racing
Mike Maker
On Monday trainer Todd Pletcher confirmed that Matterhorn will run in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes. Pletcher will also be saddling Commissioner in the race, the trainer won last year’s edition of the Belmont Stakes with Palace Malice.
Wicked Strong, Ride On Curlin, Commanding Curve, and Matuszak stayed in the barn on Monday after putting in Sunday morning breezes. Ride On Curlin’s trainer Billy Gowan is enjoying being part of the Triple Crown, he shares the shedrow with California Chrome and is one of only three trainers to run the same horse in all three legs of the Triple Crown this year.
"It's fun being in it, for sure. Being part of the Triple Crown is great," Gowan said. "This is just another race to me. You pull the girth the same as you do on a $5,000 claimer. It's a fact. You don't do anything different. You bridle them, you put the chamois on, you pull the girth and hope the rider doesn't screw it up."
A decision still hasn’t been made on Social Inclusion’s entry into the Belmont Stakes. A decision was expected this morning but has been postponed after the colt acted up during gate schooling. Owner Ron Sanchez says the colt is “70-30” to run in the Woody Stephens on Saturday instead and said if entries were drawn today for the Belmont, the colt would not be entered.