Prime
Cut galloped 1 5/8 miles this morning at 6:30 a.m. and assistant trainer
Rick Giannini was happy with what he saw in the flashy bay colt, a $475,000
purchase at the Keeneland September yearling sales in 2009.
“He
did it wonderfully,” said Giannini, who is overseeing Prime Cut’s preparations
until trainer Neil Howard’s arrival on Saturday morning. “He covered the ground
well, came back good, cooled off great, and, as hot as it was, he didn’t
actually drink a lot of water. He’s fit, he’s ready for the race, and we’re happy
with that.”
Prime
Cut, whose home track is Churchill Downs, has had some experience over the Belmont
Park oval with a
third-place finish in the Peter Pan on May 14.
“In
the Peter Pan he got beat 4 ½ lengths and he was maybe getting a little tired in
that race – a deep sandy track can do that,” said Giannini. “But between
training over this track before the Peter Pan, running in the Peter Pan, and
training here a couple of days before the Belmont, we couldn’t be happier with
his acclimation to the track.”