Senior Investment Breezes for Belmont Stakes

Fern Circle Stables' Stonestreet Lexington Stakes (G3) winner Senior Investment posted a half-mile breeze the morning of May 31 in preparation for his expected bid in the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G1). The work was his first tune-up since a third-place finish in the May 20 Preakness Stakes (G1).

Ridden by jockey Dylan Davis and overseen at Belmont by Kenny McPeek's assistant trainer Jeff Odintz, the chestnut colt by Discreetly Mine completed the distance in :49.13 shortly before 6 a.m. EDT on the Belmont Park main track. He ran splits of :12 2/5 and :24, and galloped out to five furlongs in 1:02 2/5.

"Kenny wanted him to go an easy (:48 4/5), :49, and let him do it on his own," Odintz said. "And that's exactly what he did. Dylan did a very good job. He came back fine, like he didn't do anything. The track was nice and quiet. He was relaxed."

In the Preakness, Senior Investment raced in ninth early with regular jockey Channing Hill aboard, 13 lengths behind dueling pacesetters Always Dreaming and Classic Empire, and closed with a rush to finish third, 4 3/4 lengths behind Cloud Computing and Classic Empire.

"I was around the horse when he ran at Oaklawn (Park) and he's just a really nice horse," Odintz said. "(He's) professional, tall, he has a long stride, and he knows what he's doing. He can be tough to saddle in the paddock sometimes, but doing everything else, he's a beautiful horse to be around."

McPeek, who saddled Sarava to an upset victory over Triple Crown hopeful War Emblem in 2002, is expected to be on hand for the colt's final work before the Belmont, tentatively scheduled for June 6.