NEWS
Belmont contender Stately Victor
breezes at Trackside Louisville
Posted: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 4:54 PM
Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1) winner Stately Victor breezed five furlongs in :59.40 on Tuesday at the Trackside Louisville Training Center for trainer Mike Maker.
Thomas and Jack Conway’s Stately Victor is preparing for a start in the 1 ½-mile Belmont Stakes (G1) on June 5 at Belmont Park. The Ghostzapper colt finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) on May 1 at Churchill Downs.
Stately Victor delivered fractional times of :11.60, :22.80, :34.20, and :46.80 under exercise rider Derrick Smith, and he galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.20.
“Time doesn’t mean anything to us; it doesn’t mean anything in the race,” Maker said. “He’s happy and he did it the way he always works, so we’re pleased.”
Maker said Stately Victor would ship to Belmont on Thursday for his final preparations.
Stately Victor was pushed in by an opponent early in the Kentucky Derby and bumped with Lookin At Lucky. He made a bid to reach contention with about three-sixteenths of a mile remaining but flattened out late.
“He got whacked around, but other than that he came out of it well,” Maker said. “He hasn’t missed a bite of grain and hasn’t lost a pound.
“Hopefully, we’ll draw an outside post, just slap him on cruise control, and grind it out,” Maker said of the Belmont Stakes. “I thought he ran a credible race in the Derby and I think you throw him out at your own risk. Compared to some of the other horses, if he fires his Blue Grass race back, he’s going to be competitive. I think if he runs his Derby race back, he’s going to be competitive.”
Maker is optimistic that the sweeping turns of the 1 1/2-mile Belmont main track and a more sensible early pace than the Derby, which featured an opening half-mile in :46.16, will benefit Stately Victor in the final jewel of the Triple Crown.
“I think the track’s going to favor him just because he’s a great big horse,” Maker said. “Hopefully, the two ‘Dudes’ [Preakness Stakes (G1) runner-up First Dude and graded stakes winner Game On Dude] will duke it out and we’re not too far behind.”
| Horse |
Last Start |
| Drosselmeyer |
2nd, Dwyer S. (G2) |
| First Dude |
2nd, Preakness S. (G1) |
| Fly Down |
1st, Dwyer S. (G2) |
| Game On Dude |
1st, Lone Star Derby (G3) |
| Ice Box |
2nd, Kentucky Derby (G1) |
| Make Music for Me |
4th, Kentucky Derby (G1) |
| Spangled Star |
3rd, Withers S. (G3) |
| Stately Victor |
8th, Kentucky Derby (G1) |
| Stay Put |
1st, optional claiming race |
| Uptowncharlybrown |
3rd, Lexington S. (G2) |
READER COMMENTS
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Posted by: Keeneland observer, Lexington, KY on May 26, 2010 at 12:10 PM
Not much of field when you don't have the Kentucky Derby or Preakness winner. NYRA better start promoting homey Zito to draw interest.
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