Madefromlucky looks tough off romp

ELMONT, N.Y. – Madefromlucky was the easiest kind of winner in the Grade 3 Greenwood Cup last month at Parx Racing and he’ll be heavily favored to repeat that victory against a similar field in Sunday’s $200,000 Temperence Hill Stakes at Belmont Park.

Three of the five horses Madefromlucky meets in the Temperence Hill, run at 1 5/8 miles, are the same ones he trounced in the Greenwood Cup, a 1 1/2-mile race he won by 12 1/4 lengths under a hand ride from Javier Castellano.

That win ended a 12-race losing streak for Madefromlucky since he won the Grade 2 West Virginia Derby in August 2015. Prior to that win, Madefromlucky finished sixth, 17 lengths behind American Pharoah in the Belmont Stakes.

“The only other time we tried a distance that far was in the Belmont. He didn’t fire that particular day,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “We felt like it was worth trying again, and it seemed like he enjoyed it. He won very, very easily. Javier literally galloped him in.”

Pletcher has liked how Madefromlucky has trained since and expects a similar performance from the 5-year-old on Sunday.

“He’s acting like he’s going to perform well,” Pletcher said.

Scuba won both the Greenwood Cup and Temperence Hill last year and then went on to win the Grade 2 Marathon at Santa Anita. He hasn’t won since, losing all five of his starts this year.

Coming off a second-place finish in the Birdstone Stakes at Saratoga in August, Scuba set the pace and finished sixth of seven in the Greenwood Cup last out.

“Went too fast,” said trainer Brendan Walsh, noting that the half-mile fraction was four seconds faster this year than last year in the Greenwood Cup. “It didn’t really make sense.”

Walsh is making a rider change to John Velazquez from Kendrick Carmouche.

“There’s nobody better than Johnny at Belmont,” Walsh said. “We just need to find out whether the horse is the same horse he was. We’ll get a good idea on Sunday.”

Testosterstone and Let Me Go First finished second and third, respectively, in the Greenwood Cup.

Turco Bravo, recently claimed for $32,000, and Archanova, third in the Birdstone, complete the field.

The Temperence Hill goes as race 3 on the nine-race card that begins at 1:30 p.m.

KEY CONTENDERS

Madefromlucky, by Lookin At Lucky Last 3 Beyers: 96-91-92

◗ Won the Greenwood Cup by 12 1/4 lengths in a canter, beating three of the horses he faces here.

◗ Is 1 for 3 at Belmont, with the victory coming in the Grade 2 Peter Pan in 2015.

Scuba, by Tapit Last 3 Beyers: 60-92-89

◗ Can be effective on the front end when able to set slow fractions, something he did in the Birdstone when second to Hard Study.