Candy Man Rocket, who won the Runhappy Stakes at Belmont Park in May, is the favorite in Saturday’s John A. Nerud Stakes.
NYRA/Janet Garaguso
The penultimate Saturday of the Belmont Park spring racing meet features a pair of intriguing stakes races: the John A. Nerud Stakes for older sprinters; and the Dwyer Stakes, a one-mile test for 3-year-olds.
Seven horses are entered in the featured Nerud, led by Candy Man Rocket, the speedy sprinter who ran well in winning the six-furlong Runhappy Stakes at Belmont back in May. He’ll stretch out another furlong from that effort, and his main competition is Weyburn, a horse who seems to find luck in seven-furlong races like the Nerud.
Lifetime, Weyburn — trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Jose Ortiz — has never finished worse than second in five starts at seven furlongs. His most recent win at the distance was at Gulfstream Park in the Sir Shackleton Stakes back in April, but Weyburn was a distant third in the one-mile Westchester Stakes at Belmont Park last out.
The dropback in distance should help Weyburn, as would his natural speed. Weyburn’s third place finish in the Westchester Stakes earned him a 100 Beyer speed figure; meanwhile, Candy Man Rocket’s victory in the Runhappy Stakes was a career-best 97 figure effort.
Still, William Mott, Candy Man Rocket’s trainer, has confidence his sprinter can succeed while stretching out to seven furlongs.
“He’s run some good races and if he gets a good trip, he usually runs pretty well,” Mott said in a New York Racing Association press release. “I think he’s fine on the lead or fine with a target. It just depends how the race sets up.”
Weyburn and Candy Man Rocket are the top two choices on the morning line. If you’re looking for better odds, you might want to consider Twisted Ride, who finished second in the Runhappy but won a seven-furlong stakes race at Parx Racing the start prior; and Little Vic, a disappointing sixth in the Carter Handicap…
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