Belmont hopeful Stately Victor
arrived at Belmont
Park a few hours behind
schedule Thursday, but no worse for the trip.
“Everything went smoothly, but the plane was a little late,”
trainer Mike Maker said at his Belmont
barn Friday morning. “I think they had some mechanical issues. We got here at
about 7:45 last night.”
Maker said that the son of Ghostzapper, owned by Thomas and
Jack Conway, galloped an easy 1 ¼-miles Thursday morning before preparing to
ship.
“He’ll gallop Saturday morning at 5:30 a.m. and breeze
Monday or Tuesday after the break,” Maker said. “Usually I prefer just to ship
right on top of a race, but I thought that coming here, I would prefer to have
a work over this track. Another positive on our side is that Alan Garcia
(jockey) has won a Belmont,
but more importantly, he fits the horse well.”
Garcia piloted Stately Victor to his improbable 40-1 win in
the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 10, as well as an
eighth-place finish in the May 1 Kentucky Derby. In 2008, he rode longshot Da’
Tara to victory in the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes.
Also stabled in Maker’s barn is Donald R. Dizney’s expected Belmont starter First
Dude, who walked the shed row after training Friday, pausing briefly before
Stately Victor’s stall during one of his circuits.
“Look, he’s scared of Stately Victor,” Maker joked.
“Everything is fine. Our horse is happy and healthy, so here we are.”
Arriving Thursday night on the same flight as Stately Victor
was Stay Put, who also appears to be acclimating to his new
surroundings, trainer Steve Margolis said by phone from Kentucky Friday morning.
“He shipped well and he’s getting settled,” said Margolis,
who trains Stay Put for Richard, Bertram, and Elaine Klein. “He came up with my
longtime assistant Loren Diego, who rides him in the mornings. He’ll gallop
tomorrow after the break, then work a half-mile and gallop out five-eighths
first thing after the break on Sunday.”
Stay Put enters the Belmont
off an allowance victory on the Kentucky Derby undercard at Churchill Downs.
All three of the Broken Vow colt’s wins have come around two turns.
Margolis said he would join the horse on Tuesday morning,
arriving in time for training hours.
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In addition to Stay Put, a number of other Belmont Stakes
hopefuls are scheduled to have their final serious works for the race over the
holiday weekend.
Preakness runner-up First Dude will go out Saturday
morning on the main track following the renovation break, with trainer Dale
Romans in attendance. Uptowncharlybrown, third in the Lexington in his most recent start, is also
slated to go on the main track after the break, said trainer Kiaran McLaughlin.
Grade 2 Dwyer runner-up Drosselmeyer will likely work
Sunday, said Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, and Make Music for Me,
fourth in the Kentucky Derby, will have his final tune-up Sunday morning for
trainer Alexis Barba.
In Saratoga, Dwyer winner Fly
Down will breeze Monday or Tuesday before shipping down with stablemate and
likely Belmont
favorite Ice Box on Wednesday