Free Picks For Belmont Park - 7/9/20
Race 1 - Maiden Special Weight (Purse -$64,000)
Seven fillies will go seven furlongs on the turf. #2 Alda, the morning line favorite, is just one of three horses that has a race under its belt. The daughter of multiple graded stakes winner Munnings closed extremely well in debut to grab third place in a five-furlong race on the turf on June 12. Jockey John Velazquez has been fantastic with 2-year-old females with a 21% win rate and a 47% WPS percentage in his career. #7 Steal My Sunshine is a first-timer and has been putting solid workout numbers over the last 60 days. #4 Illegal Smile will look for an improved effort following a fifth-place finish as she weakened battling down with several horses in the stretch in a five-and-one-half furlong race at Churchill Downs on June 4. Dylan Davis gets the mount for trainer Wesley Ward, whose 2-year-old’s horses have won 24% of their races and finished in the top 3 64% of the time this year. The daughter of Distorted Humor is another Wesley Ward horse. #6 Frankel At Ascot is another first-time starter and he has been putting up some good workout figures at Belmont recently. First-time starters have registered an 18% winning percentage and a 42% WPS percentage under trainer Mark Casse.
Picks: I will go with a win bet on the #2 as well as a show bet on the #7 and #6. I will also take a trifecta box bet of #2, #7, #4, #6.
Race 6: Maiden Special Weight (Purse -$64,000)
10 3-year-old fillies will go seven furlongs on the main track. There are just two first-time runners in this one. #6 Back Channel is slotted in a very good position to improve following a splendid debut where she showed some early speed and was clearly second best going six and one-half furlongs at this level on June 13. Jose Lezcano, who has a 17% winning percentage and has cashed in 52% of his starts this year, will once again. #3 Buyer’s Remorse had a decent 2020 debut, after previously participating in back-to-back stakes races, where she stalked the pace in the early going before weakening in the stretch during a five-and-one-half furlong event at this level on May 25. The daughter of multiple graded stakes champion Liam’s Map has been training very well over the past month, which includes twice going four-furlongs in less than 49 seconds and five furlongs in less than a minute. #1 Sky Queen has shown improvement in each of her last two starts after finishing fifth in her debut. Sky Queen followed up a second-place showing while going a mile with a third-place finish in one mile and one-sixteenth mile trek on May 25 in her first outing in over three months on June 18.
Picks: I like an exacta box of #6, #3. I also like a show bet on the #1.
Race 7: Allowance Optional Claiming $80,000 (Purse - $66,000)
Eight 3-year-old male runners will go one and one-eighth miles on the turf in what should be an outstanding race. Two horses really standout here, #5 No Word and #4 Shamrocket. Both have been really good in their careers thus far, however, I have some concern as both have shown some very early speed and No Word is slotted between Shamrocket as well as #6 Buy Me Candy, who also gets out of the gate. The concern here is that No Word is handcuffed out of the gate with both Shamrocket and #6 Buy Me Candy going for the lead in the early going or that he has to use a lot of energy to get back among the leaders. No Word, who has an outstanding early pace rate of 96, is coming off a third-place finish despite a bobbled start in an allowance race. Jockey Jose Ortiz will try to direct No Word to his fourth straight top 3 finish in all non-stakes races. Shamrocket has been racing pretty consistently over the last four races and finally broke his maiden, as a result of a strong close, where he gained four places over the last quarter of his initial Belmont race -- going from fifth place at the mile mark to winning the meet by two-and-one-half lengths. #1 Our Country, the lone $100,000 earner, has been involved in a lot of classy stakes races and gets the rail position. The Grade 3 Pilgrim Stakes third-place finisher was in the mix for half of the one and one-eighth mile race against $75,000 optional claimers on May 30. Buy Me Candy and #8 Arithmetic, who was claimed for $40,000 by trainer Luis Miranda.
Picks: I will take a show bet on the #1. I also will go with an exacta box of #4,#5, #1, #6.
Race 8 - Allowance (Purse -$66,000)
This one-mile meet should be outstanding as it features seven strong fillies and mares.It has been all or nothing in 2020 for #3 The Great Johanna. The 5-year-old New York mare is coming off a fourth-place finish in the $125,000 Critical Eye Stakes proving to be no match after going four-wide in the lane. The Great Johanna thrives in mile races and at Belmont, where she has cashed in five of her six career outings. #2 Grand Cru Classe showed excellent early speed in her debut while winning her debut at the maiden special weight level on the dirt on May 24 at Gulfstream. Grand Cru Classe, who starts on the rail, is not only making her debut at the track but also on the turf. She has recorded a couple of strong recent workouts at Belmont. #1A Excess Capacity will start in the middle of the track which should give her the edge, if she can get out of the gate quickly. Excess Capacity is making just her second start on the turf but has a 50% success rate on the turf.
Picks: I like a win bet on the #3. I also like a show bet on the #2.