Although there is no Triple Crown on the line this year, the 154th Belmont Stakes takes place on June 11 at Belmont Park.
Rich Strike, the Kentucky Derby’s second-largest longshot winner in history, returns in the $1.5 million, Grade 1 race. His connections chose the Belmont Stakes over the Preakness Stakes, the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. A victory in the race will go a fair way toward removing any residual questions about a fluke Derby victory and reaffirming his status as the best in his class.
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Rich Strike will compete against a challenging field that includes Derby horses (Mo Donegal, Barber Road), Preakness horses (Creative Minister, Skippylongstocking), and some bright new shooters (We the People, Nest). The Belmont Stakes is known as the “Test of the Champion” for good reason: its marathon distance has always been something none of these three-year-olds have ever attempted and may never undertake again.
1. We the People (2-1 morning-line odds)
Jockey: Flavien Prat
Trainer: Rodolphe Brisset
Owners: WinStar Farm, CMNWLTH, Siena Farm and Bobby Flay
Career record: 4 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds
Career earnings: $230,250
Earnings per start: $57,563
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 101
Pedigree: Constitution – Letchworth, by Tiznow
Color: Bay
Running style: Pacesetter/press the pace
“Lone speed is always dangerous,” according to the handicapping maxim, and We the People may give it a crack in Belmont 154. The son of good, young sire Constitution arrives with a history of three wins in four races, all while either setting or pressing the pace. He won two straight at Oaklawn Park in February and March to begin his career at the age of three, setting up a start in the Arkansas Derby as the 2.40-1 second betting choice.
2. Skippylongstocking (20-1)
Jockey: Manny Franco
Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.
Owner: Daniel Alonso
Career record: 10 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 2 thirds
Career earnings: $214,600
Earnings per start: $21,460
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 100
Pedigree: Exaggerator – Twinkling, by War Chant
Color: Bay
Running style: Closer
Skippylongstocking comes into the Belmont Stakes off a fifth-place run in the Preakness Stakes, where he settled in midpack into the backstretch and stayed there until the final furlong. Before his Preakness appearance, this Florida-bred colt finished third after Mo Donegal and Early Voting in the Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino. He was no threat in either race, finishing 7/12 lengths behind Early Voting at Pimlico. Skippylongstocking has performed best while racing in the non-stakes companies and at Gulfstream Park, neither one is on the agenda Saturday.
Also read: Kentucky Derby 2022: Winner Rich Strike’s bloodline, name meaning, cost
3. Nest (8-1)
Jockey: Jose Ortiz
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Owners: Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, and Michael House
Career record: 6 starts – 4 wins – 1 second – 1 third
Career earnings: $850,550
Earnings per start: $141,758
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 106
Pedigree: Curlin – Marion Ravenwood, by A.P. Indy
Color: Bay
Running style: Stalker
Todd Pletcher won his first Belmont Stakes in 2007 when Rags to Riches, fresh off a Kentucky Oaks victory, outfinished Preakness Stakes champion and subsequent two-time Horse of the Year Curlin in one of the most dramatic races this century. Now, he’s carrying another tremendously gifted filly to the “Test of the Champion,” and this one, like Rags to Riches, has a solid chance to win. Nest is coming off a runner-up end in the Longines Kentucky Oaks behind Secret Oath on May 6, where she sat a good trip stalking the pace and made a lasting drive through the stretch to completing two lengths behind the victor, who made a well-timed wager for the run at Churchill Downs and snuck up on the rest of the field.
4. Rich Strike (7-2)
Jockey: Sonny Leon
Trainer: Eric Reed
Owner: RED TR-Racing
Career record: 8 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 3 thirds
Career earnings: $1,971,289
Earnings per start: $246,411
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 106
Pedigree: Keen Ice – Gold Strike, by Smart Strike
Color: Chestnut
Running style: Closer
Following an exciting Kentucky Derby experience for horse racing fans – and sports fans in general – this metaphorical “little guy’s horse” will be the focus of attention in Belmont Stakes 154 as he strives to prove that his 80.80-1 win wasn’t a fluke. To be honest, a 30-minute session with a bunch of PowerPoint slides and bullet points plenty could be held to highlight just how many things had to go perfectly for Rich Strike to win the Kentucky Derby. What’s gotten buried in all of the “what if?” speculation is the likelihood that this unknown colt had been improving steadily under the radar over several months, finishing an unaggressive third, fourth, and third in three stakes races at Turfway Park.
Also read: Kentucky Derby 2022: Payout for betting on surprise winner Rich Strike
Trainer Eric Reed stated when his charge was a Kentucky Derby alternate that the long-term goal was the Belmont Stakes, and Rich Strike’s connections should be credited for sticking to that plan and skipping the Preakness Stakes, even if it was a letdown for both day-to-day horse racing fans and the general public. He’s bred for one and a half miles as the son of Belmont third-place winner Keen Ice and a dam (mother) who was a Canadian champ and is by the late Smart Strike, one of the top sires of the last 20 years.
Rich Strike is by no means a lock for the Belmont: he’s a closer who very probably won’t get the quick pace he got in the Kentucky Derby, and jockey Sonny Leon hasn’t ever ridden at Belmont Park before. Still, Rich Strike enters Saturday’s race in career-best condition, and he’ll have millions of fans hoping for another great performance that might put “Richie” and his associates back in the spotlight. All of Rich Strike’s connections are making their first Belmont Stakes appearance.
5. Creative Minister (6-1)
Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.
Trainer: Ken McPeek
Owners: Fern Circle Stables, Back Racing, and Magdalena Racing
Career record: 4 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 1 third
Career earnings: $322,095
Earnings per start: $80,524
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 108
Pedigree: Creative Cause – Tamboz, by Tapit
Color: Gray or roan
Running style: Stalker/closer
Up-and-coming Creative Minister confronts a difficult test in the Belmont Stakes, but he overcame a similar challenge three weeks ago in the Preakness Stakes and finished third, confirming trainer and co-owner Ken McPeek’s faith in him. The Creative Cause colt arrived at Pimlico off a strong win in an allowance-optional asserting race on the May 7 Kentucky Derby undercard at Churchill Downs, and he followed the pace along the backstretch while preserving room in the Preakness.
6. Mo Donegal (5-2)
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Owners: Donegal Racing and Repole Stable
Career record: 6 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 2 thirds
Career earnings: $711,800
Earnings per start: $118,633
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 103
Pedigree: Uncle Mo – Callingmissbrown, by Pulpit
Color: Bay
Running style: Closer
This excellent horse will compete for post-time preference in the Belmont Stakes – he’s trained by a three-time Belmont winner, ridden by perhaps the best contemporary NYRA jockey, and is bred to flourish at 1 1/2 miles. Mo Donegal comes into this race off a fifth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, where he rallied late but ran out of room to finish 3 3⁄4 lengths after fellow come-from-behind runner Rich Strike. In the Derby, he broke slowly from the “kiss of death” rail post position and was running 10-wide in the stretch at one point, finishing off the mark for the first time in his career.
Also read: Epicenter 1st horse in a decade to be Kentucky Derby, Preakness runner-up
7. Golden Glider (20-1)
Jockey: Dylan Davis
Trainer: Mark Casse
Owners: Gary Barber, Manfred Conrad, and Penny Conrad
Career record: 6 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds
Career earnings: $159,122
Earnings per start: $26,520
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 99
Pedigree: Ghostzapper – Golden Scarf, by Orientate
Color: Chestnut
Running style: Closer
After missing the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, this Mark Casse youngster returns to the Triple Crown stage. Golden Glider entered Derby preps in February after two successive wins to start his career, but he did not make much of an impression, finishing fourth in the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby and Toyota Blue Grass Stakes. He began in the 1 1/8-mile Peter Pan Stakes on May 14, held around one turn at Belmont Park, after being routed towards the Belmont Stakes.
8. Barber Road (10-1)
Jockey: Joel Rosario
Trainer: John Ortiz
Owner: WSS Racing
Career record: 9 starts – 2 wins – 4 seconds – 1 third
Career earnings: $650,720
Earnings per start: $72,302
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 100
Pedigree: Race Day – Encounter, by Southern Image
Color: Gray or roan
Running style: Closer
Barber Road outran his 60.40-1 odds to finish sixth in the Kentucky Derby, 4 3/4 lengths behind champion Rich Strike. He joined the battle for the roses after four straight on-the-board finishes in Oaklawn Park prep races, including a runner-up result in the Arkansas Derby. In the Kentucky Derby, he started last of 20 and raced wide through the far turn before pushing even further out in the stretch and picking off fatigued runners. He finished a length behind fifth-place finisher Mo Donegal and will face him again in the Belmont, as well as Rich Strike, who was also well back on the grid early on but saved considerably more room on his way to a stunning upset.
