Robert Bruce Heads Well-Matched Joe Hirsch Field

Say this about the turf male division of 2018: It has certainly been generous about sharing the wealth.

Other than Heart to Heart, who makes his living running in the eight- to nine-furlong range, no male turf performer has won more than one grade 1 test this season. From Hi Happy to Spring Quality to Robert Bruce to Carrick, it's been a case of musical chairs in the top-level tests run over a route of ground.

The law of averages says one of the above has a chance this weekend to stop the parity and take hold of the division in the weeks leading up to the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs. The aforementioned quartet will be among the eight horses entered in the $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes (G1T) at Belmont Park Sept. 29—part of a blockbuster Super Saturday lineup that spans both coasts.

Robert Bruce has only made three starts in the United States since coming over from his native Chile, but the impression he has made has been a strong one. The son of Fast Company was undefeated in six starts in Chile, including multiple top-level victories. Since joining the turf arsenal of two-time Eclipse Award winner Chad Brown, the 4-year-old has collected a pair of graded stakes victories in the Fort Marcy Stakes (G3T) May 5 and his half-length triumph in the Aug. 11 Arlington Million XXXVI Stakes (G1T), where he rallied from next to last.

The lone setback Robert Bruce has had in nine starts came when he finished sixth in a tight finish in the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Stakes (G1T), beaten only a length by race winner and fellow Joe Hirsch entrant Spring Quality. The dark bay/brown colt will be stretching out to 12 furlongs for the first time in the U.S., something Brown views with little concern.

"Robert Bruce will stay further. I'm confident he'll step up at a mile and a half. We'll see," the trainer said. "He's doing real well, and I'm thrilled with the way that horse is moving. He's flourishing down here right now at Belmont."

On the same day Robert Bruce announced himself at Arlington International Racecourse, Donegal Racing's Carrick shook up the joint when he prevailed by a neck over Analyze It to capture the Secretariat Stakes (G1T) at odds of 38-1. Trained by Tom Morley, the chestnut son of Giant's Causeway has the smallest sample size with just four starts to his credit, having not debuted until May.

After winning his first two outings at Belmont Park, Carrick finished third in the July 14 Kent Stakes (G3T) at Delaware Park. Putting him into the Secretariat off that run was audacious, but his pedigree suggests improvement will come with added distance.

"Numbers-wise, on the sheets he's right there with the rest of the field," Morley said. "He certainly has the pedigree to be well-suited to go the mile-and-a-half distance. The way he galloped out in the Secretariat only confirmed my thoughts as he stayed out in front of the field past the wire. So we'll take our shot, especially with the Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' factor. Depending on how it goes, we always have the Hollywood Derby (G1T) as a backup."

After beginning his career on dirt, Augustin Stable's Spring Quality has found his best stride since switching to the grass for his past five starts. The Graham Motion-trained Quality Road  gelding took the Red Smith Handicap (G3T) in November and was freshened until May, when he finished second to Robert Bruce in the Fort Marcy. He got the best of that rival in the Manhattan but had to miss the Arlington Million when he became dehydrated after shipping from Motion's Fair Hill base.

After rerouting to the Aug. 25 Sword Dancer Stakes (G1T) at Saratoga Race Course, Spring Quality ran evenly to finish third to gate-to-wire victor Glorious Empire.

"Saratoga is a tricky turf course. It's tight, it's fast, and I think he's a little more suited to a more galloping type of turf course," Motion said. "We gave him a lot of time to develop and were always very patient with him. You could say we took too long to get him on the grass. This is obviously what he was always calling out to do. He's shown he can compete at the top level on the grass in grade 1 company."

Hi Happy will also look to improve on his Sword Dancer effort after running fourth for trainer Todd Pletcher. The 6-year-old struggled with Saratoga's soft turf running sixth in the Bowling Green Stakes (G2T) July 28 but will now be returning to Belmont, where he has posted triple-digit Beyers in his last two starts, including a win in the May 12 Man o' War Stakes (G1T).

"He just kind of ran an even race (in the Sword Dancer), but he didn't run horribly," Pletcher said. "The first time at Saratoga in the Bowling Green, he didn't handle the course at all that day, so I just never got the sense that he handled Saratoga as well as he's handled Belmont or Gulfstream. Hopefully, getting him back here will help get him back into form."

Entries: Joe Hirsch Turf Classic S. (G1T)

Belmont Park, Saturday, September 29, 2018, Race 8

• Grade IT
• 1 1/2m
• Turf
• $500,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 4:42 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Robert Bruce (CHI)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	126	Chad C. Brown	2/1
2	2Hi Happy (ARG)	Luis Saez	126	Todd A. Pletcher	6/1
3	3Sadler's Joy (KY)	Javier Castellano	126	Thomas Albertrani	5/1
4	4Carrick (KY)	John R. Velazquez	121	Thomas Morley	8/1
5	5Teodoro (IRE)	Ryan L. Moore	126	Thomas Dascombe	15/1
6	6Spring Quality (PA)	Edgar S. Prado	126	H. Graham Motion	4/1
7	7Highland Sky (KY)	Manuel Franco	126	Barclay Tagg	12/1
8	8Channel Maker (ON)	Jose L. Ortiz	126	William I. Mott	9/2