Kalik, winner of the Pennine Ridge Stakes at Belmont Park on June 3, is a contender in the July 8 Belmont Derby Invitational.
NYRA/Walter Wlodarczyk
The last big card at Belmont Park this year features Saturday’s Belmont Derby Invitational and Belmont Oaks — two turf races for three-year-old colts and fillies, respectively, that serve as an all-turf Triple Crown for the generation.
As in past years, the Belmont Derby and Oaks fields this year boast turf runners born and/or based in Europe. Five of the nine runners in the Belmont Derby originated in France or Ireland, while four of the 11 Belmont Derby entrants hail from either Ireland or Great Britain.
In the Oaks, Mission of Joy looks like the one to beat, as she comes in off a sterling performance last out in the Regret Stakes at Churchill Downs. She took the lead with ease at the top of the stretch in the nine-furlong race on the Churchill turf, and drew off looking like a horse who wants more distance. Tyler Gaffalione will come in from Kentucky to ride Mission of Joy for trainer Graham Motion.
Another local favorite might be Prerequisite, the hard-fought winner of the Wonder Again Stakes at Belmont last out under Irad Ortiz Jr. for trainer Chad Brown, who always has great turf horses. Prerequisite won from the front, but the filly by Upstart held off the late charging Be Your Best, who’s also in the Belmont Oaks, in the stretch — an indication that Prerequisite might be distance-limited.
As tough as Mission of Joy looks in this one, Aspray might be prime to pull off an upset. Trained by Brown and ridden by Flavien Prat, Aspray closed strongly in winning the Hilltop Stakes at Pimlico last out, and she’s got the speed and pedigree (by Quality Road out of a Galileo colt) to relish both the distance and the turf.
Our picks: Aspray, Mission of Joy, Be Your Best
Regarding the Belmont Derby, two European-based horses look tough to beat: The Foxes comes in off a fifth-place effort in the Epsom…
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