A field of seven line up in the Belmont Sprint Championship with a Breeders’ Cup Sprint berth up for grabs. (photo credit: © Cheryl Quigley | Dreamstime.com)
Mind Your Biscuits will be tough to beat as the 9-5 morning line favorite while Awesome Slew will need to be just that to pull off the upset in the $350,000 Belmont Sprint Championship (G2) at Belmont Park on Saturday.
The race is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” race for the $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) and is one of five graded stakes on a blockbuster Stars & Stripes Racing Festival card. The race will be televised live on NBC as part of a 90-minute telecast that starts at 4:30 ET.
Mind Your Biscuits is making his first start since winning the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) on March 25 in the mud at Meydan. The colt ran third in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint and has landed in the exacta in 11 of his 15 career starts and has earned $2,015,166.
Awesome Slew may end up the best option to backing the chalk. The Mark Casse trainee was fourth in the Met Mile (G1) in his last outing. He has run well in both of his starts at seven furlongs including winning the Commonwealth (G3) at the spring Keeneland meeting.
The $1.2 million Belmont Derby Invitational (G1) drew a field of 11 three-year-olds that will go 1 ¼ miles over turf that may have some give to it.
Last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) winner Oscar Performance is the 3-1 morning line favorite. The Brian Lynch trainee won the Pennine Ridge (G3) over the turf here at nine furlongs in his last start.
The $1 million Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1) drew a dozen led by four sent out by Chad Brown, who won this race four years in a row between 2012 and 2015.
He will saddle 5-2 morning line favorite Sistercharlie, who makes her U.S. debut. She ran second in the Prix de Diane Longines (G1) at Chantilly in her most recent outing.
Shaman Ghost is the 4-5 morning line favorite for the $750,000 Suburban Handicap (G2). The Jimmy Jerkens trainee won the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) and Pimlico Special (G3) in his last two starts.
The $400,000 Dwyer (G3) kicks of the stakes action. A field of five three-year-olds will go one mile on the main track. Practical Joke, who was fifth in the Kentucky Derby (G1) in his last outing is the 7-5 morning line favorite.
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Let’s head out to Belmont Park for Saturday’s featured race of the day:
Belmont Park Race 7 The Belmont Sprint Championship G2 (5:13 ET)
#5 Awesome Slew 5-1
#2 Mind Your Biscuits 9-5
#7 Unified 5-2
#1 Stallwalkin’ Dude 5-1
Awesome Slew cuts back to seven furlongs after being outrun early and coming with a mild late run to finish fourth in the Met Mile (G1) last out. Two back at seven furlongs the colt came with a good late rally to just miss by a head in the Churchill Downs (G2). The winner of that race was Limousine Liberal, who returned to win the Aristides (G3) and Kelly’s Landing in his next two starts. Three back our top pick earned a career top speed fig winning the seven-furlong Commonwealth (G2) at Keeneland off a two-month break. Johnny V. picks up the call and it looks as if the price will be fair. However, this guy is going to need some pace and that could be a question mark here as there is some early zip signed up but it is quality speed.
Mind Your Biscuits is the logical one to beat but he likely is going to be much lighter in price than his 9-5 morning line. He returns off a three month break after winning the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) last out. He was upset two back in the Gulfstream Park Sprint, making a god late rally to come up just a neck shy of catching Unified. The colt has been working sharply in the mornings for his return and the barn seems to indicate this guy is locked and loaded and they want to turn the tables on Unified here.
Unified took the field gate to wire to win the Gulfstream Park Sprint and came back with a game effort in a neck loss to Green Gratto in the Carter ‘Cap (G1) at Aqueduct, the winner going off at 54-1. The colt owns solid early and mid pace numbers and he won over the main track here in his lone trip, taking the nine-furlong Peter Pan (G2) in his third career start last year.
Wagering
WIN: #5 to win at 4-1 or better.
EX: 2,5 / 1,2,5,7
TRI: 2,5 / 1,2,5,7 / 1,2,4,5,7
Get Michael’s Best Plays Report each Saturday which will include all of the U.S. based Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” races from now to October and Michael Dempsey’s 2-Day Breeders’ Cup Report.
Michael’s two-day Breeders’ Cup Report includes his selections, analysis, fair odds line, and wagering recommendations for every race on the two-day championship event from Del Mar on Nov. 3-4.
