Commandment, Saudi Crown head Cox’s eight Belmont festival horses
Excerpts from today’s NYRA Belmont Stakes Festival notes, where Kentuckians are prominent (Coady Media/Ashley Phillips photo above of Commandment training at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby):
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox will be represented by eight stakes contenders during the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course, led by Saturday stars Commandment in the Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets and Saudi Crown in the Grade 1, $1 million Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap.
Wathnan Racing’s Commandment arrived in Saratoga on Monday, and visited the Spa main track and starting gate on Wednesday morning. The son of Into Mischief enters the Belmont from a seventh-place finish in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 2 at Churchill Downs, where he was 6 1/4 lengths off the pace in 13th through the half-mile and was bumped by Ocelli while making his bid in the lane before finishing 5 1/4 lengths behind victorious returning rival Golden Tempo.
“He’s settled in great here and we stood him in the gate this morning and he looked fantastic on the main track,” Cox said. “I think a lot of these horses appreciate the little drop in temperature and my horses that are shipping in to run have been getting over the main track very well. On a confidence level, he should get a good trip in there with not as many horses as there were in the Derby.”
Cox said Commandment, who was a determined winner of both the Grade 1 Florida Debry and Grade 2 Fountain of Youth this winter at Gulfstream Park, looks just as well going into the Belmont as he did the Derby.
“There’s plenty of him – he takes his races well and he’s ultra-consistent,” Cox said. “I thought he ran a really good race in the Derby, and I just thought it wasn’t the result we were looking for. He’s on it. He really is doing well.”
Commandment holds a 4-for-6 lifetime record with over $1 million in earnings. He went on a four-race win streak from November to March that began with a 5 1/4-length maiden win at Churchill before a 6 3/4-length trouncing of the Listed Mucho Macho Man in January en route to his graded wins. He was a $500,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the Saratoga Grade 1-winning Orb mare Sippican Harbor.
Hall of Famer John Velazquez will ride Commandment from post 7-of-9 on Saturday with a morning-line assessment of 6-1.
FMQ Stables’ Saudi Crown rides back-to-back wins into the Metropolitan Handicap at one-mile from the Wilson Chute on Saturday. The Met Mile offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in October at Keeneland.
The 6-year-old son of Always Dreaming has earned triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in three of his last five outings, including a 101 for both a nose win in the Lake Ouachita last May at Oaklawn Park and a ratings handicap in March there in his first of two starts this year. He enters from a prominent 2 3/4-length score in the Grade 3 Commonwealth at Keeneland sprinting seven furlongs on April 4.
Saudi Crown put in his final work for the Met Mile on Friday at Churchill, covering five-eighths in 59.40 seconds.
“I saw a big work from him this past week at Churchill, so I’m running him with confidence,” Cox said. “Obviously he can be very good, and he’s going to need to be here. He acts like he’s as good as he’s been in a long, long time.”
The experienced gray announced his presence as a sophomore with nose seconds in the Grade 3 Dwyer at Belmont Park and Grade 2 Jim Dandy here ahead of a breakout score in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing.
As a 4-year-old, he was third, defeated three-quarter-lengths, in the Group 1 Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse, and posted another stakes win before closing out the year with an off-the-board finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar and a win in the Listed Tenacious at Fair Grounds. Saudi Crown looks to build upon a 5-year-old campaign that included a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Oaklawn Mile and his win in the Lake Ouachita.
“He showed [his talent] in the Saudi Cup and the PA Derby and Jim Dandy, so he has some Saratoga history,” Cox said. “He’s a super talented horse that’s obviously got some miles on him, but he’s moving fantastic and looks good. I think he’s set up for a big run. The Wilson Chute is a little tricky and you never know how it will play out, but he’s ready to roll. We’ve never won the Met Mile, and it’s obviously a very prestigious race.”
Irad Ortiz, Jr. will ride Saudi Crown from post 4-of-7 [8-1ML].
On Friday, Cox will have two chances to win his first Grade 1, $500,000 Ogden Phipps presented by Ford as he sends out dual graded stakes-winner Alpine Princess [post 3, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] and multiple Grade 1-placed Bless the Broken [post 6, Florent Geroux] in the nine-furlong route for older fillies and mares. The Ogden Phipps offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff in October at Keeneland.
Full of Run Racing and Madaket Stables’ Alpine Princess ground out a neck win last out in the Grade 2 Doubledogdare on April 17 at Keeneland, pouncing from off the pace under Irad Ortiz, Jr. and getting her neck down after dueling with Eunomia in the lane. The effort garnered a career-best 97 Beyer, and was her second graded victory after taking the Grade 3 Falls City in November at Churchill. She has placed in five other graded events.
Cox said he envisions a more prominent trip for Alpine Princess, who graduated at second asking in September 2023 here.
“She’s kind of had to gradually bang out the wins that she has, and the win in the Falls City was big for her,” Cox said. “I think we’ll look to be aggressive with her away from there – I don’t see a lot of pace in there on paper, and I think it will be to her benefit to go forward. She’s honest, she broke her maiden here as a 2-year-old, so I think that’s worth something. She’s as good as she’s ever been.”
Alpine Princess has worked five times at Churchill since her last effort, including a five-eighths breeze in 59.40 on Friday.
“I really like how she’s trained,” Cox said. “Her last three or four works have been phenomenal there at Churchill, so she’s another one we’re running with a lot of confidence.”
Qatar Racing, Mountmellick Farm and Fergus Galvin’s Bless the Broken makes her fourth outing for the Cox barn, entering from a stalking third in the Grade 1 La Troienne on May 1 at Churchill. The 4-year-old Laoban dark bay was third in the Kentucky Oaks last year for trainer Will Walden, and moved to Cox for her current campaign after a $950,000 purchase, which also includes an optional-claiming win in January at Fair Grounds Race Course and a runner-up effort to Splendora in the Grade 1 Beholder Mile in March at Santa Anita Park.
“She doesn’t have quite as much early speed as ‘Alpine,’ but she was able to put herself in a good spot last time and ran a really respectable race,” he said of the La Troienne. “Her three runs with us have all been very good, knocking on the door in the Grade 1s. I feel like running her back in five weeks with who is here and a Grade 1 on the line, it made a lot of sense to give her another swing.”
In the sophomore filly division, Cox sends out Gary and Mary West’s Kentucky homebred Prom Queen [post 1, Flavien Prat] as part of a field of five in Friday’s Grade 1, $500,000 DraftKings Acorn traveling nine-furlongs around the Spa main track.
The daughter of Quality Road enters from a fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks on May 1, where she was seven lengths back in 12th through the first half-mile and swung five-wide for a belated bid in the stretch to be defeated 4 3/4-lengths. The talented filly graduated at second asking going 1 1/16-miles in February at Gulfstream Park, and passed her first graded test with flying colors there, annexing the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks in March.
“We weren’t quite where we thought we would be early [in the Oaks], and she did run on and galloped out well,” Cox said. “The effort was there, and we won’t be as far back on Friday because there’s not as many in there to be behind. We’ll hopefully get a good trip, and she’s doing well. We’ll see how it goes.”
Cox’s other stakes contenders at the festival include Wynstock in the state-bred $200,000 Commentator on Wednesday and Ready to Jam in the Grade 2, $250,000 Intercontinental on Friday. Stonestreet Stables’ Cadenza is expected to run in the Grade 3, $200,000 Soaring Softly, a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for sophomore fillies, on Closing Day Sunday.
Litigation a top contender in G1 Jaipur
Stone Farm’s Kentucky homebred Litigation is a leading contender among 10 horses in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Jaipur, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for 3-year-olds and up, during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course.
The Jaipur – a “Win and You’re In” for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint in October at Keeneland – is headlined by a title defense attempt from the mare Ag Bullet, who is tabbed as the morning line favorite at odds of 3-1. Litigation, in top form for trainer Brian Lynch, is the 7-2 second choice on a 2-for-4 campaign including a pair of 100-plus Beyer Speed Figures.
Litigation, after winning the Listed Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint in January and the Listed Silks Run in March there, has since finished fourth and third, respectively, in the Grade 2 Shakertown in April at Keeneland and the Grade 2 Twin Spires Turf Sprint last out on Kentucky Derby Day May 2 at Churchill Downs.
“He’s coming into this race really well,” said Lynch. “He is coming out of a strong race here at Churchill. I think if you ran that race five times, there could’ve been five different winners. This race is going to be a very tactical race. He’s drawn inside in post 3, he’s got to get a good trip. I think he can be very effective, if everything goes well, and with a little bit of racing luck.”
The 4-year-old Twirling Candy dark bay makes his top-level debut.
“He lays it down for you every time you lead him over. You just hope that one day he’s going to have a real breakthrough race, and you would hope that would be in the Jaipur,” Lynch said. “It is a Grade 1. It is a race that could make a stallion, so we just hope that a little luck goes his way.”
Litigation boasts a lifetime record of 12-6-1-1 with $499,151 in earnings, and Lynch has already secured four graded stakes wins on the year, including the Grade 1 La Troienne with Shred the Gnar.
Beaten Preakness favorite Taj Mahal cuts back for G1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun
From the distance to the racetrack to the rider, there will be a lot of new variables when Taj Mahal returns to action Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. One thing that won’t be new is the depth of competition.
Three weeks after finishing 10th as the favorite in the Grade 1, $2 million Preakness Stakes, second jewel of the Triple Crown, Taj Mahal cuts back from 1 3/16 miles to seven furlongs for the Grade 1, $500,000 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun.
Trained by Brittany Russell for the partnership of Lexington-based SF Racing (Tom Ryan), Louisville-based Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Bashor Racing, Determined Stables, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan, Taj Mahal will be sprinting for the first time since rallying from a slow start to capture his career debut by 4 1/4 lengths February 6 in a six-furlong maiden special weight dash.
“We like the idea of the cutback. I think we have uncertainties about him going a route of ground against the better types of horses,” Russell said. “I would have liked to have found a softer spot to try it in but, also, he’s doing really good.”
Taj Mahal was undefeated going into the Preakness including back-to-back stakes wins in the one-mile Miracle Wood and 1 1/8-mile Federico Tesio, the latter earning him an automatic berth for what was Russell’s Triple Crown race debut. He drew the rail in a full field of 14 and led through six furlongs, serving as the perfect target for eventual winner Napoleon Solo.
“He deserved that chance, especially being at home and all the things. He did everything right that week going into it and unfortunately it just wasn’t his day,” Russell said. “We need to move forward and we need to see. If he can run with these horses a little bit I think we’ll learn an awful lot about him.”
Russell’s husband, jockey Sheldon Russell, has been aboard Taj Mahal for all four of his races, each of which have come at his home track of Laurel Park. His first road trip will come with Manny Franco up from outermost post 9.
“I was really unsure as we entered him. I’m going through the whole thing and I had a bunch of people text me, ‘Well, you have a better post,’” Russell said. “I’m like, great, unfortunately the bears that we thought we were going in are going. It’s the best race of the weekend. It’s a great race, unfortunately for Taj.
“He’s trained great and he’s been great. He had a nice breeze over the weekend,” she added. “I did have thoughts of maybe running him the next week at Delaware [Park] but the seven-eighths was more appealing, even though it’s such a tough ask.”
Taj Mahal is rated at 15-1 on the morning line for the Woody Stephens, which is led by undefeated Crude Velocity and Englishman, the 1-2 finishers from the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile May 2 at Churchill Downs; multiple stakes winner Solitude Dude; Obliteration, dominant winner of the six-furlong Listed Chick Lang on the Preakness undercard; and Six Speed, a Group 3 winner in Dubai that, like Taj Mahal, exits a Triple Crown race having run 13th in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby.
“It’s a war,” Russell said. “There’s loads of speed in there so obviously he’s not going to show speed on the cutback. I expect he’s outrun early. I hope he is. It’s one of those things where we’re taking a swing here.”
Taj Mahal is scheduled to van from Laurel to Saratoga Wednesday night with assistant trainer/exercise rider Emma Wolfe.
“He’s a cool horse,” Russell said. “He obviously handled everything really well at home. I think he likes the attention and all that stuff, so I’m sure getting on a van and doing something different won’t be any problem for him.”
