Vino Rosso, Noble Indy put in final prerace works

ELMONT, N.Y. – For as much success as trainer Todd Pletcher has had in the Belmont Stakes – three wins and five seconds from 14 runnings – he understands that the degree of difficulty might be at its highest when he sends out Vino Rosso and Noble Indy against the undefeated Justify in next Saturday’s $1.5 million Belmont Stakes.

“For all of us, we need Justify to wake up on the wrong side of the bed to have a chance,” Pletcher said, referring to the unbeaten 3-year-old attempting to win the Triple Crown.

The tangibles that Pletcher feels have benefited his Belmont Stakes winners – and narrow losers – once again will be in play next week. His two horses will have had five weeks between their most recent start and the Belmont, and they will have the benefit of training here.

As rain fell in New York on Friday, Pletcher called an audible for the final prerace workouts for Vino Rosso and Noble Indy, moving them to the training track from the main track, hoping to get better conditions.

Noble Indy, 17th in the Kentucky Derby after winning the Louisiana Derby, went five furlongs in 1:01.33 while working outside of the 3-year-old Hyndford. But the gallop-out was the most important part as far as Pletcher was concerned, and Noble Indy, while being asked by Javier Castellano, went six furlongs in 1:14.63, seven furlongs in 1:28.16, and a mile in 1:41.82, according to Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch.

Noble Indy worked in blinkers, equipment he has worn in his last two races. Last week, Noble Indy worked without blinkers in company with Vino Rosso in a fast workout over the

main track.

“He seemed a little more forward without them last week,” Pletcher said. “I don’t know if that was being on the main track or being on the inside, but he was actually more relaxed with the blinkers on, which is kind of not what you’d expect. I think going a mile and a half, my first reaction would be to take them off for the race. I’ll give it a few more days to decide that for sure.”

The rain came down heavier as Vino Rosso, ninth in the Kentucky Derby, got into his work with the recent allowance winner Patch, who is pointing to the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap on June 16 at Churchill Downs. As the track went from good to muddy, Vino Rosso, under John Velazquez, went five furlongs in 1:01.58, according to Welsch, with a six-furlong gallop-out in 1:15.19, seven furlongs in 1:28.01, and a mile in 1:42.09.

“I thought it was a good, methodical work and again an emphasis on the gallop-out, which I thought was very good,” Pletcher said. “That’s what we’ve seen from him all along; he’s long, steady, and that’s why we always felt like the Belmont is a race he’s designed for.”

Like everyone else, Pletcher has been impressed with what

Justify, trained by Bob Baffert, has accomplished in a short period of time.

“It’s remarkable. You’re talking about a horse that didn’t break his maiden until the middle of February, and to get to this point, it’s very hard for any horse to click off those wins, even one with a foundation prior to that,” Pletcher said. “He’s been perfect so far. I think Bob’s done a remarkable job with him to get him to this point. It looks like he’s holding form, based on the work I saw.”

So, can either of Pletcher’s horses beat him?

“There’s only one way to find out,” Pletcher said.

Churchill: Justify looking good

The weather and routine were a bit different Friday when Justify went out for exercise, but the bottom line was the same – all is well with the superstar colt as the Belmont Stakes drew another day closer.

In his second day of training since a swift Tuesday breeze over a fast Churchill Downs surface, Justify and regular exercise rider Humberto Gomez were greeted with a tightly sealed racetrack early Friday, the result of considerable rain in the Louisville area in the preceding 18 hours. With Jimmy Barnes accompanying him astride the Baffert stable pony from the 5 1/2-furlong gap, Justify jogged counterclockwise over to the starting gate stationed at the quarter pole, where he underwent an uneventful schooling session of less than a minute.

From there, he galloped down the stretch, around the clubhouse turn, and down the length of the backstretch, encompassing about three-quarters of a mile. The entire regimen took less than 10 minutes.

Elliott Walden, the former trainer who is president of WinStar Farm, one of the ownership partners in Justify, took it all in.

“I was really pleased with his energy level,” Walden said. “He had his tail up over his back coming home; that’s a good sign.”

Baffert is scheduled to return here Sunday from his California home to oversee a Monday breeze for Justify prior to the colt being flown Wednesday to New York via equine charter. Walden said he hasn’t discussed all the details of the planned work with Baffert, but it probably won’t be as quick as Tuesday’s half-mile work in 46 seconds and change, the colt’s first drill since winning the May 19 Preakness.

“Bob is always pretty scripted in his breezes,” Walden said. “Whatever he wants. I wouldn’t think it’d be as fast as it was the other day, but the horse is training out of his mind.”

As the heavy favorite in the 150th Belmont, Justify will be seeking to become the 13th horse to sweep the Triple Crown and just the second to do so while unbeaten, following Seattle Slew (1977).

Belmont probables