Super Saturday I ~ Turf Classic Day @ Belmont Park

The first of two "Super Saturdays" are being run today at Belmont Park. The road to this year's Breeder's Cup at Keeneland continues this week with Turf Classic Day that includes five stakes races. Of those five, only two are on turf with two other for the sprinters and one for the distaff fillies. All these fields are wide open with no clear cut favorites and many classy graded stakes winners. It will be Super-Box superfectas for my plays in each race, because of the evenly matched fields. The stakes wagering begins in the 5th (3:06) with the Beldame Stakes and then, four straight graded stakes that make up the $500,000 guaranteed all stakes late pick 4.

Six are entered in the mile & sixteenth - Beldame Stakes for older filly & mares. My top selection, is the ultra-consistent 6/5 morning line favorite; Wedding Toast (#2) who has only been out of the money once in 11 career starts. The superfecta box here is : 2 with 1/3/6.

The 7th race (4:16) begins the consecutive stakes action with the Gallant Bloom Handicap for older filly and mares sprinting six & half furlongs. Dame Dorothy (#1) was a huge disappointment as the favorite in the Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga in her last start going a bit longer. She makes amends today and may not be the favorite. The superfecta box here is : 1 with 2/3/5.

The most competitive race of the day is in the 8th (4:51) the Pilgrim Stakes for two year old males going a mile & sixteenth on the weeds. Wide open as they come, any of the ten entered have a shot with the short form they have as baby runners. I go from the rail with my selection; Ray's The Bar (#1) who only career start in England was a winning one sprinting at 20-1. Today this foreign bred goes first time for Chad Brown and gets lasix. Along with this 6-1 morning line, my superfecta box goes : 1 with 2/7/9.

Back to the dirt and sprinting for the 9th (5:26) the Vosburgh Stakes going six furlongs. My top choice is on the far outside, Rock Fall (#7) who has won six in row, ever since his second career start. This Todd Pletcher trainee has been rock solid and carefully placed in his starts. The superfecta box here is : 7 with 1/5/6.

The featured race on Turf Classic day is the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at a mile & a half on the Belmont Widener turf course. It's the usual suspects with no European flavor, which points out for runners who have done well at this marathon distance and course. Big Blue Kitten (#3) fits the mold here with five first or second placing in six starts over the Belmont turf course. His neck second place finish in the Arlington Million last start helps too! The superfecta box play in the feature race is : 3 with 1/4/5.

As an added bonus, here's my late pick 4 play also; 1/2 (7th) with 1/7 (8th) with 7 (9th) with 3 (10th). Next week, Belmont will have another Super Saturday Stakes day with six graded races. Two on turf, two for the young two year old runners and the Jockey Club Gold Cup, which is the final N.Y. prep for the Breeder's Cup Classic.