Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Common ownership clouds Audible’s status for Belmont
ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Todd Pletcher has won two of the last five Belmont Stakes and he is a head and a nose shy of having won four of the last five.
On June 9, when the unbeaten Justify attempts to become Thoroughbred racing’s 13th Triple Crown winner in the 150th Belmont Stakes, Pletcher will once again be a participant in the race. How many runners he has, however, will depend upon decisions that will be forthcoming from his owners.
Pletcher will definitely run Vino Rosso, winner of the Wood Memorial and the ninth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby.
As of Monday, Pletcher is also preparing Audible for the race. But since Audible’s ownership group – WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, SF Racing, Starlight Stables, and Head of Plains Partners – mirrors that of Justify, Audible’s participation is uncertain.
On Sunday, Elliott Walden, president of WinStar, said: “I think we’ll just have to wait and see. We’re just not going to make any rash decision; we’ll think it through. We’ll see how they both train up and go from there.”
On Monday, Pletcher said he would like to run Audible.
“If he’s training well, yeah, we’d like to run him,” said Pletcher, who has 3 wins and 5 seconds with 24 starters in 14 runnings of the Belmont. “He seems to have bounced out of the Derby with good energy. We’ll see what those guys want to do. Lot at stake on all ends.”
Audible, a New York-bred son of Into Mischief, won the Grade 1 Florida Derby by three lengths before finishing a laterunning third, 2 1/2 lengths behind Justify, in the Kentucky Derby. He missed second by a head to Good Magic.
“His pedigree doesn’t scream that he wants a mile and a half, but he was arguably finishing the best of any horse in the Derby and I think he’s a kind horse that will relax, which I think is important when you’re going that far,” Pletcher said. “I think those two things encourage you to think he could get the mile and a half.”
Pletcher won last year’s Belmont with Tapwrit and in 2013 with Palace Malice, both of whom ran in the Kentucky Derby and skipped the Preakness. In 2007, Pletcher won the Belmont with Rags to Riches, who ran in the Kentucky Oaks – one day before the Kentucky Derby – and had the same five weeks’ rest. In 2014, Commissioner was beaten a head by Tonalist, and in 2016 Destin was nosed out by Creator.
Pletcher plans to breeze Audible on Friday and hopes to have some idea by then whether the colt is training for the Belmont or a different race.
On Sunday, Walden said there is no backup plan for Audible, saying the Belmont is “the race he would run in if we choose to run him.”
Vino Rosso is also scheduled to breeze Friday, Pletcher said. Vino Rosso is a son of Curlin out of the dam Mythical Bride, who is a half-sister to the Pletchertrained Commissioner.
“We’ve always felt like that was a race that was really meant for him,” Pletcher said of Vino Rosso running in the Belmont.
Another horse whose connections have common ownership with Justify is My Boy Jack, the fifth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby. Sol Kumin, who has multiple partnerships including Head of Plains, which has a minority interest in Justify, is one-third owner of My Boy Jack with his Monomoy Stables. On Sunday, Kumin said a race like the Grade 1, $1.25 million Belmont Derby on turf July 7 is a viable alternative to the Belmont for My Boy Jack.
On Monday, trainer Keith Desormeaux said that if the decision were made to run My Boy Jack in the Belmont Stakes, he would want to ship the horse to New York this weekend.
As of Monday, those confirmed to face Justify in the Belmont were Bravazo and Tenfold, second and third in the Preakness; Hofburg, seventh in the Kentucky Derby; Blended Citizen, winner of the Peter Pan Stakes; Vino Rosso; and Free Drop Billy, 16th in the Derby.
On Monday at Churchill Downs, Free Drop Billy worked a half-mile in 47.60 seconds, the fastest of 51 works at the distance.
Gronkowski, winner of the one-mile Burradon Stakes in England, is possible for the Belmont. He was recently transferred from trainer Jeremy Noseda to Chad Brown. Gronkowski is expected to have a workout at Belmont Park on Saturday.
“Everyone wants to give the horse a fair opportunity to get into the race, and I’m going to give him every opportunity to get there,” Brown said. “He’s going to breeze, and we’ll see how it goes.”