Belmont Stakes Notes
WinStar Farm’s Mr. Hot Stuff breezed a half-mile this morning in 49.80 on the fast PolyTrack at Keeneland. It was his first breeze back after his 15th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby on May 2.
Trained by Eoin Harty, the Tiznow colt is a possible candidate for the 141st running of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes – the 1½-mile “Test of the Champion” for three-year-olds on Saturday, June 6.
Meanwhile, at Belmont Park, Robert V. LaPenta’s Miner’s Escape breezed a half-mile in 51.77 on the fast main track. Winner of the nine-furlong Federico Tesio at Pimlico on May 2, the Mineshaft colt is also possible for the Belmont Stakes. Last year, LaPenta’s Da’Tara, also trained by Hall of Famer Nick Zito, upset the Belmont Stakes and ruined Big Brown’s chance for the Triple Crown.
Others possible for the Belmont Stakes, not including the starters in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, are Charitable Man, winner of last Saturday’s Grade 2, nine-furlong Peter Pan; Chocolate Candy, fifth in the Kentucky Derby; Dunkirk, eleventh in the Derby; Summer Bird, sixth in the Derby; and English import Gitano Hernando.