Gronkowski

Trainer: Chad Brown Owner: Phoenix Thoroughbred Limited Jockey: Jose Ortiz Record: 6-4-1-0

STRENGTHS: He likes to win. He’s reeled off four straight victories on synthetic surfaces in England after coming up short on turf in his first two career starts. Notably, his win streak began when blinkers were added to his equipment. He appears to be versatile in terms of running style, judging from the comment lines in his European past performances. He is now in the care of trainer Chad Brown, and with Jose Ortiz scheduled for the mount, he has the backing of the Eclipse Award-winning trainer and jockey of 2017.

WEAKNESSES: He has never raced on dirt, and has yet to go a distance longer than one mile. Moreover, this will be his first start in 10 weeks after a fever knocked him out of an intended start in the Kentucky Derby. Most importantly, however, the Belmont will be his first ever attempt in a group or graded stakes race, meaning he is taking a massive leap in class from the level of competition he has been beating.

BETTING VALUE: Not to be glib, but there won’t be any. Off what he has actually accomplished, his real chances of winning the Belmont probably fall somewhere in the 70-1 to 80-1 range. But because he is named after the high-profile New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, in light of the massive success of his new U.S. connections, and because Triple Crown races often attract some really wacky betting, this colt might well be a small fraction of the price he should be at somewhere around 20-1 to 30-1. In other words, he could be a giant underlay. – Mike Watchmaker

SIRE: This is a sireline that has produced stamina fairly consistently, but that also shows brilliance and speed. Octagonal, the sire of Lonhro, was an Australian Horse of the Year and Triple Crown winner, taking 10 Group 1 events at distances up to 1 1/2 miles. Fellow Australian Horse of the Year Lonhro won at up to 1 1/4 miles, but also was a prominent performer at shorter distances, taking 11 Group 1 events total. A perennial leading sire in Australia, Lonhro’s best runner is Pierro, who took the Group 1 Golden Slipper sprinting in his 2-year-old championship campaign. Pierro is already, with his first two crops, a classic sire in Australia.

DAM: Unraced Four Sugars is a half-sister to Flashy Bull, winner of the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap, and to multiple stakes winner Pink Viper. It is the family of Canadian champion grass horse Perfect Soul and Grade 1 winner Zipessa.

OUTLOOK: This is a mainly turf-oriented pedigree, with Flashy Bull the lone high-level outlier on dirt. As he travels beyond a mile for the first time, Gronkowski will have to reach back and tap into the stamina displayed by Octagonal and Lonhro in their own racing careers. – Nicole Russo