Skippylongstocking

Trainer:

Saffie Joseph Jr. Owner: Daniel Alonso Jockey: Manny Franco Best Beyer: 94 Record: 10-2-1-2

STRENGTHS: He has some natural speed, and that might give him a tactical advantage on a number of his rivals. Skippylongstocking could sit just off anticipated pacesetter We the People when he breaks right outside of that one from post 2. Skippylongstocking has a nice foundation of races to support him over the 1 1/2 miles of the Belmont Stakes and owns an ascending pattern of Beyer Speed Figures. He also has been in a pair of notable races in his last two starts, as he comes out of the Preakness and before that was third in the Wood Memorial behind Mo Donegal, a top contender in the Belmont Stakes, and Early Voting, the next-out winner of the Preakness. Skippylongstocking has had a chance to work over the track at Belmont and gets the services of the meet’s third-leading rider in Manny Franco.

WEAKNESSES: He’s never raced at Belmont. He’s also never raced on a wet track and there is rain in the AccuWeather forecast for Saturday. In this one’s favor is the fact that sire Exaggerator was 4 for 5 on wet tracks, among his wins the Preakness. Skippylongstocking has not yet won a stakes and has not yet hit triple-digits on the Beyer scale like leading Belmont contenders We the People, Rich Strike, and Creative Minister.

BETTING VALUE: Very good. He will be one of the field’s longer prices, but he’s represented himself well against some of the division’s elite members and his natural speed might put him in a position to do some damage. One to at least use underneath in the exotics.

– Mary Rampellini

SIRE: Exaggerator won the 2016 Preakness Stakes and two other Grade 1 routes that year on wet tracks. He also was second in the Kentucky Derby, but 11th in the Belmont Stakes. The young stallion is by two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, whose sons have been in the spotlight already this Triple Crown series, as Rich Strike, from the first crop of Belmont third-place finisher Keen Ice, won the Kentucky Derby. Curlin, who himself finished a hard-fought second to champion filly Rags to Riches in the 2007 Belmont, sired a Belmont winner in his first crop in 2013 winner Palace Malice. In addition to Keen Ice, he put an additional horse on the board in this longest American classic in 2017 with runner-up Irish War Cry. Skippylongstocking became the first graded stakes performer for Exaggerator with his third-place finish in the Wood Memorial.

DAM: Twinkling, who was winless in five starts, also is the dam of Moonlite Strike, who was third in last year’s Tampa Bay Derby before cutting back in distance to win the Roar Stakes sprinting on turf and placing in two other sprint stakes. This is the extended family of Eclipse Award champion female sprinter Musical Romance, and Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup winner Collect the Cash, who in turn produced Stately Victor, winner of the Blue Grass on Polytrack.

OUTLOOK: Skippylongstocking is from a stamina-laden sireline, and a wet track on race day would certainly suit him. However, his female family raises questions about distance and surface.

– Nicole Russo