NEWS
Charitable Man, Dunkirk prepare for Belmont
Posted: Sunday, May 31, 2009 2:24 PM
PETER PAN (G2) STAKES WINNER CHARITABLE MAN
Adam Coglianese/NYRA photo
by Mike Curry
On Sunday, two of the leading contenders for the $1-million Belmont Stakes (G1) completed their final serious workouts in preparation for the 1 1/2-mile final jewel of the Triple Crown.
Peter Pan Stakes (G2) winner Charitable Man and Florida Derby Presented by BlackBerry (G1) runner-up Dunkirk both breezed a half-mile on the main track at Belmont Park.
Charitable Man covered four furlongs in :49 under exercise rider Renzo Morales. The drill ranked 39th of 91 timed workouts at the distance.
Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, who won the 2006 Belmont Stakes with Jazil, was pleased with the move and confident that Charitable Man is clicking on all cylinders entering the race.
"Last week he went off a little fast for our liking, so in coaching him, he went off better today and therefore, a little slower, but we were very happy with it," McLaughlin said, referring to a four-furlong breeze in :47.88 on May 23 at Belmont. "We believe he's a fit horse, happy and healthy, and he doesn't need those :46 works. We're ready to go."
Both of the Lemon Drop Kid colt’s stakes wins have come at Belmont Park—the Peter Pan (video) and the 2008 Futurity Stakes (G2).
"We feel we've got the horse to beat," McLaughlin said. "Mine That Bird we have a lot of respect for, Dunkirk, and other horses, but I wouldn't trade places with anyone. We've got a fresh horse, he's two-for-two on this racetrack, just won impressively here four weeks ago, and he couldn't be training any better. We're very confident."
Dunkirk breezed a half-mile in company with Grade 1 winner Monba in :49.57 under jockey John Velazquez, who is slated to ride the Unbridled’s Song colt in a race for the first time in the Belmont.
Todd Pletcher trains Dunkirk for Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith. The colt will try to rebound in the Belmont from an 11th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) on May 2. Prior to that, Dunkirk won his first two career starts in impressive fashion at Gulfstream Park before finishing a strong second to Quality Road in the Florida Derby (video).
"He did it very easily," Pletcher said of the breeze. "He's got terrific action, a smooth, fluid stride. I feel he's a top-quality horse and has run well in three of his four races. The Derby, to me, I have to put a line through that race. I felt he didn't handle the surface at all in that race."
Kentucky Derby winner and BlackBerry Preakness Stakes (G1) runner-up Mine That Bird galloped 1 1/2 miles on the main track at Churchill Downs on Sunday. He was visited by co-owners Mark Allen and Leonard Blach, D.V.M.
"We're leaving later today for New York so we can get settled in and ready for everything," Allen said. "It looks like he has put on a little weight. For as hard as he has run and the shipping, I am real happy with the way he looks."
The Birdstone gelding is slated to breeze a half-mile on Monday in his final tune-up for the Belmont Stakes.
"He was a little more into the bit today," trainer Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr. said. "That should set him up for his breeze tomorrow. He'll work a half-mile and gallop an eighth past the wire with Calvin [Borel] on him right after the break.”
Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor
Possible Belmont Stakes starters
| Horse |
Previous Race |
Finish |
| Brave Victory |
Peter Pan S. (G2) |
3rd |
| Charitable Man |
Peter Pan S. |
1st |
| Chocolate Candy |
Kentucky Derby (G1) |
5th |
| Dunkirk |
Kentucky Derby |
11th |
| Flying Private |
Preakness S. (G1) |
4th |
| Luv Gov |
Preakness S. |
8th |
| Miner's Escape |
Federico Tesio S. |
1st |
| Mine That Bird |
Preakness S. |
2nd |
| Mr. Hot Stuff |
Kentucky Derby |
15th |
| Nowhere to Hide |
Kentucky Derby |
17th |
| Summer Bird |
Kentucky Derby |
6th |
