STARS AND STRIPES FESTIVAL CLOSES OUT BELMONT PARK

HENLEY’S JOY

Belmont Park closed out the summer racing calendar with five stakes races on Saturday highlighted by the $1 million Belmont Derby Invitational. A full field of domestic and international horses contested the race with the spoils going to 20-1 longshot HENLEY’S JOY. It was the fourth win in eleven starts for the son of Kitten’s Joy who was winning his first race since December 2018 when he captured an allowance race at Gulfstream Park. Ridden by Jose Lezcano, the winner scrambled home from Social Paranoia in second and the Chad Brown import Rockemperor in third. Brown had four runners in the race, Bill Mott had a couple as did Aidan O’Brien but the unexpected spoils went to the unheralded horse trained by Michael Maker. Lezcano by the way was the sixth jockey to have ridden the horse in his brief career.

CODE OF HONOR

Earlier in the card, the Dwyer Stakes was smartly taken by the even money favorite CODE OF HONOR who won by a wide margin ridden by Jose Velazquez. The classy son of Noble Minister was on the comeback trail after finishing third in the Kentucky Derby, and the win was a tribute to the training job done by Shug Mcgaughey. Next up for the winner will be the Jim Dandy at Saratoga and maybe the Travers, and the two month break has given the horse a big shot at being the horse to beat in the second half of the year.

CONCRETE ROSE

The $750,000 Belmont Oaks went to the 5-2 shot CONCRETE ROSE who was the recipient of a smart inside ride by Julian Leparoux to win going away. The lightly raced winner is a daughter of Twirling Candy and was coming off a win in the Edgewood Stakes at Churchill Downs. Her only previous loss in five starts had come on a soggy turf in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Trainer Rusty Arnold had given her a two month rest since her last start, a move that really paid off for his charge.

PROMISES FULFILLED

The Jan Nerud Stakes at seven furlongs on the dirt went to the odds on favorite PROMISES FULFILLED who was actually winning his first race in 2019 since capturing the Phoenix at Keeneland in October last year. The front running son of Shackleford is trained by Dale Romans, and the win was a welcome return to the winners circle for the horse and  jockey Luis Saez. After consecutive defeats in the Golden Shaheen, Metropolitan Mile and the Churchill Downs, moving forward the connections will focus on shorter distances such as the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

PRESERVATIONIST

The Grade 2 Suburban is worth $700,000, and the winner was PRESERVATIONIST who was bet down from 7-1 odds just prior to the start. Catholic Boy was all the rage in the pre-race hype but the winner was far best and never looked challenged. The six-year-old son of Arch has now only raced eight times with five wins, and trainer Jimmy Jerkens had been working the horse in some long two turn workouts between his races. Junior Alvarado gave the horse a smart ride and is a good fit for the eventual winner.