RACE 11 - The Belmont Stakes
10 TACTICUS 2-1
3 MASTER FENCER 7-1
9 WAR OF WILL 5-2
7 SIR WINSTON 13-1
TACTICUS won three in a row including back to back GR2 stakes races heading into the Derby, where he finished gamely over the sloppy going to lose by only 3 lengths. His sire Tapit has produced the winner of this race three of the last five years and his dam, Close Hatches, was a multiple graded stakes winner around two turns. Tacticus continues to train well, has a very good turn of foot on the turn, which is important in the Belmont stakes...MASTER FENCER is a high stepping long winded horse who can finish strongly, and he gained a ton of ground in the Derby. Japanese bred horse will be coming on late...WAR OF WILL didn't beat a very good field in the Preakness but this field isn't that tough and he really only has one bad race, in the Louisiana Derby...SIR WINSTON was no match for Tacticus in the Wood but finished gamely in the Peter Pan and in his first start over this track.
BELMONT
1. SHADOW RIDER, SEA FOAM, POTOMAC (2-3-6)
2. NO MAN'S LAND, UNCLE ARTIE, BETTER TAPIT (4-9-2)
3. ALWAYSMINING, OUTSHINE, STILL DREAMING (6-4-1)
4. DADDY IS A LEGEND, RUSHING FALL, BEAU RECALL, GOT STORY (1-4-3-7)
5. COME DANCING, MIDNIGHT BISOU, ESCAPE CLAUSE (1-2-4)
6. WORLD OF TROUBLE, DISCO PARTNER, OM (8-6-2)
7. GUARANA, CE CE, QUEEN OF BEAS (7-9-8)
8. HONEST MISCHIEF, MIND CONTROL, COMPLEXITY (1-9-4)
9. MCKINZIE, MITOLE, FIRENZE FIRE (2-3-7)
10. BRICKS AND MORTAR, CHANNEL MAKER, EPICAL (8-10-9)
11. TACTICUS, MASTER FENCER, SIR WINSTON, WAR OF WILL (10-3-7-9)
12. HOLIDAY BONUS, PRIORITIZE, KING CAUSE (9-1-4)
13. MARCONI*, CAMPAIGN, ROCKETRY, YOU'RE TO BLAME, WAR STORY (1-2-6-7)
BEST BET: MARCONI 13th Race
MARCONI (LS) well bred four year old cost a cool $2 million as a yearling but didn't really put it all together until Pletcher stretched him out to longer distances. He now has won back to back stakes races at 1 3/16 and at 1 3/8 miles and beat Rocketry soundly in both of those, and Rocketry is a very good long winded horse in his own right, having won the GR2 Marathon last year. Marconi should relish the mile and a half distance and it looks like he can sit right behind the likely frontrunner, War Story, here, for red hot jockey Jose Lezcano, who's riding better than ever right now.
