Breeders' Cup Plans Hinge on Dwyer for Mendelssohn
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Photo: Skip Dickstein
Mendelssohn before his Kentucky Derby run at Churchill Downs
A Breeders' Cup bid and a crack at Triple Crown winner Justify are on the line for Mendelssohn July 7 in the $300,000 Dwyer Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park.
Trainer Aidan O'Brien returns the Scat Daddy colt—unraced since he finished last in the May 5 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) at Churchill Downs—to the United States with hopes of regaining the form that saw him gallop to an 18 1/2-length win in the March 31 UAE Derby Sponsored By Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Group (G2) at Meydan.
"He's had a bit of rest and he'll be just ready to start back," O'Brien told Racing Post. "The (grade 1) Breeders' Cup Classic (Nov. 3 at Churchill) is what we've been thinking of for Mendelssohn. ... He'll run on the dirt in the Dwyer ... and then we'll look at the (grade 1) Pennsylvania Derby (Sept. 22)."
Owned by Michael Tabor, Susan Magnier, and Derrick Smith, Mendelssohn is a half brother to champion Beholder and grade 1 winner and top sire Into Mischief . He was bumped at the start of the Kentucky Derby and endured a troubled trip while struggling with the sloppy going at Churchill Downs, and his connections expect a more characteristic showing in the one-mile Dwyer, which has drawn a field of seven.
As a 2-year-old, Mendelssohn won the Nov. 3 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) at Del Mar, and he prefaced his UAE Derby romp with an easy win on Polytrack in the 32Red Patton Stakes at Dundalk. He has earnings of $1,961,137 from eight starts.
Ryan Moore, who rode Mendelssohn to victory in both the Breeders' Cup and UAE Derby and was aboard in the Kentucky Derby, will have the call from post 6.
O'Brien also has group 2 winner Seahenge entered in the Dwyer. Another son of Scat Daddy owned by Coolmore connections, the colt was seventh in the May 5 Pat Day Mile (G3) last out at Churchill, and ran fifth in the UAE Derby. He counts back to Sept. 16 for his most recent win, in the Howcroft Industrial Supplies Champagne Stakes (G2) at Doncaster. Locally based Javier Castellano picks up the mount from the rail.
Another entered off disappointing efforts in the Triple Crown series is WinStar Farm and Repole Stable's Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Noble Indy, who ran 17th in the Run for the Roses for Todd Pletcher and was last of 10 in the June 9 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1). John Velazquez, who was aboard for the Louisiana Derby victory, will again be in the irons from post 4.
Wertheimer and Frere's Rugbyman broke his maiden at second asking at the Dwyer distance May 13 at Belmont, then handled a stretch to 1 1/16 miles with aplomb in the June 9 Easy Goer Stakes when he ran second to Prince Lucky by a neck.
"It's not changing too much and I think it makes sense to keep him there and run him back at a similar distance around one turn," trainer Graham Motion said of the Tapit colt, who will leave post 3 under regular rider Jose Ortiz. "I worry about it a little because he's taken on a lot quickly, but we obviously like him a lot."
Firenze Fire started his year off well for trainer Jason Servise with a win in the Jan. 13 Jerome Stakes Aqueduct Racetrack and a second there to Avery Island in the Feb. 3 Withers Stakes (G3). Mr. Amore Stables' son of Poseidon's Warrior looks to capitalize on a two-month break after an 11th in the Kentucky Derby off back-to-back fourth-place efforts in the Gotham Stakes (G3) and Wood Memorial Presented by NYRA Bets (G2).
Rounding out the field are Seven Trumpets, a Dale Romans trainee who returns to graded company off an allowance/optional claiming win May 31 at Churchill, and Fixedincome Larry, making his first stakes appearance in his fifth start for trainer Jeremiah Englehart.
Carded as Race 6 with an approximate post time of 4:36 p.m. EDT, the Dwyer will be shown live on NBC, which will air coverage of Belmont's Stars and Stripes Racing Festival from 4:30-6 p.m.
Belmont Park, Saturday, July 07, 2018, Race 6Entries: Dwyer S. (G3)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Seahenge (KY)
Javier Castellano
115
Aidan P. O'Brien
15/1
2
2Seven Trumpets (KY)
Robby Albarado
117
Dale L. Romans
10/1
3
3Rugbyman (KY)
Jose L. Ortiz
115
H. Graham Motion
2/1
4
4Noble Indy (KY)
John R. Velazquez
123
Todd A. Pletcher
7/2
5
5Fixedincome Larry (PA)
Manuel Franco
115
Jeremiah C. Englehart
20/1
6
6Mendelssohn (KY)
Ryan L. Moore
123
Aidan P. O'Brien
8/5
7
7Firenze Fire (FL)
Irad Ortiz, Jr.
123
Jason Servis
6/1
