Belmont '16 Notebook: Gettysburg to run; Asmussen to train

[Kasept]

Ned Allard: 'We're good to go!' Veteran horsemen escaping Parx with eyes on Preakness with Abiding Star & MD Sprint with Always Sunshine.

[richard burch]

...and CONGRATS !!!! to Exaggerator.... but the 2 and 4 helped him out significantly.

http://www.equibase.com/premium/char...6&cy=USA&rn=13

and Cherry Wine won in the slop at gulfsteam.

[cakes44]

Originally Posted by richard burch

...and CONGRATS !!!! to Exaggerator.... but the 2 and 4 helped him out significantly.

http://www.equibase.com/premium/char...6&cy=USA&rn=13

and Cherry Wine won in the slop at gulfsteam.

I thought Mario Gutierrez helped him quite a bit too with a very questionable/awkward ride that started as soon as the gates opened.

[richard burch]

Originally Posted by cakes44

I thought Mario Gutierrez helped him quite a bit too with a very questionable/awkward ride that started as soon as the gates opened.

Agreed. The 4 was the problem more than the 2 . Nyquist could have stalked the 2 around the track but not with a horse pressing on the outside. Seen it many times.

[Alabama Stakes]

Creator is the. Best bet of the year to win the Belmont

[FATPIANO]

Originally Posted by Alabama Stakes

Creator is the. Best bet of the year to win the Belmont

DITTO

[RHT2004]

Originally Posted by Alabama Stakes

Creator is the. Best bet of the year to win the Belmont

More likely to be last.

[Kasept]

6/11 (BEL): BELMONT STAKES

Exaggerator (Desormeaux)
Cherry Wine (Romans)
Lani (Matsunaga)
Creator (Asmussen)
Destin (Pletcher)
Suddenbreakingnews (Von Hemel)
Brody's Cause (Romans)
Governor Malibu (Clement)

Stradivari (Pletcher)
Mo Tom (Amoss)

[Pants II]

I give Nyquist a .2% chance of running.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by Pants II

I give Nyquist a .2% chance of running.

And now confirmed with elevated white blood cell count..

[Kasept]

Nyquist out of Belmont with high white cell count
By David Grening

Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist will miss the Belmont Stakes on June 11 due to an illness, trainer Doug O’Neill told Daily Racing Form Tuesday morning.

O’Neill said that Nyquist has an elevated white blood-cell count and that his temperature, after returning to normal Monday afternoon, was up to 101.2 degrees mid-morning Tuesday. His normal temperature is 100.3, O’Neill said.

O’Neill said that Nyquist would be put on stronger antibiotics to treat the illness and that he would return to California when he’s healthy.

“We’re going to put him on stronger antibiotics, get him right, get him back to California and let him relax and recover from the trip,” O’Neill said by phone.

The defection of Nyquist means there will not be a rubber match with Preakness winner Exaggerator in the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes. Nyquist, the undefeated 2-year-old champion of 2015, beat Exaggerator by 1 1/4 lengths in the Kentucky Derby on May 7. Exaggerator turned the tables on Nyquist in the Preakness, winning by 3 1/2 lengths while Nyquist was nosed out for second by Cherry Wine.

O’Neill said Sunday he wanted to run Nyquist in the Belmont and had planned to ship the colt to New York from Baltimore on Monday. But Monday morning, Nyquist was diagnosed with a “102-and-change” temperature. Though he was treated and the temperature returned to normal, blood work taken Monday revealed a high white-blood cell count.

“It is a bummer,” O’Neill said. “It’s like a family member being sick. We’re going to focus on getting him better and we look forward to a summer campaign.”

O’Neill said he is not sure where or when Nyquist would return, but he did say he hoped the horse could run this summer at Saratoga, in either the Jim Dandy on July 30 or the Travers on Aug. 27.

[FATPIANO]

no reason for Nyquist to run in The Belmont, it would be the only time he has to run a t 1 1/2. nothing to gain by him. he will be back and stay undefeated the rest of the year...............

[Pants II]

Originally Posted by Kasept

And now confirmed with elevated white blood cell count..

Not surprising. The horse was giving it his all down the stretch. Keyed up the whole race really.

Just want him back for the summer/fall campaign.

(hoping Exaggerator is scratched, tbh)

[dalakhani]

Originally Posted by Kasept

6/11 (BEL): BELMONT STAKES

Exaggerator (Desormeaux)
Cherry Wine (Romans)
Lani (Matsunaga)
Destin (Pletcher)
Suddenbreakingnews (Von Hemel)
Brody's Cause (Romans)
Governor Malibu (Clement)

Nyquist (O'Neill)
Stradivari (Pletcher)
Creator (Asmussen)
Mo Tom (Amoss)

someone is going to steal this race on the lead.

[Kasept]

Belmont Stakes: Creator is good to go
By Marcus Hersh

Trainer Steve Asmussen on Thursday confirmed Arkansas Derby winner Creator as a definite starter for the Belmont Stakes on June 11. Creator finished a troubled 13th in the Kentucky Derby after coming rapidly to hand this winter and spring in Arkansas and winning the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park by 1 1/4 lengths over Suddenbreakingnews, another likely Belmont runner.

Creator worked back nine days after the Derby, going an easy half, and worked five furlongs Monday in 1:02. Asmussen, who trains Creator for WinStar Farm, said Creator will work Monday at his Churchill Downs base and ship to New York on Tuesday. The work will be with company, Asmussen said, but not especially demanding.

“We’re there already. He has a great fitness level, and I like the rhythm he’s in,” Asmussen said.

Creator is a one-run closer and was only starting to make his move around the far turn in the Derby when he got into trouble, losing his momentum.

“He came back with a couple superficial cuts but nothing serious, and he’s rebounded nicely,” said Asmussen. “It’s the Derby. You wish you’d have had a little cleaner trip is all.”

Asmussen said he’ll ship Holy Boss for the True North and Counterforce for the Woody Stephens on the Belmont undercard along with Creator next week.

Exaggerator, who will be heavily favored to win the Belmont on the strength of his second in the Derby and win in the Preakness, remains at Pimlico Race Course and was scheduled to have a walk day Thursday before returning to the track for exercise on Friday. Exaggerator is scheduled to ship Sunday from Pimlico to Belmont.

Trainer Tom Amoss said a decision on Mo Tom’s status for the Belmont will be announced Monday. Todd Pletcher said that Destin and Stradivari, his two Belmont possibles, are “both doing well.” Destin, who was sixth in the Derby, is an intended Belmont runner, but Pletcher said he wants to wait to decide whether Stradivari, fourth in the Preakness while making his stakes debut, will run in the race.

[Kasept]

1. Exaggerator (Desormeaux)
2. Cherry Wine (Romans)
3. Lani (Matsunaga)
4. Creator (Asmussen)
5. Stradivari (Pletcher)
6. Destin (Pletcher)
7. Suddenbreakingnews (Von Hemel)
8. Brody's Cause (Romans)
9. Governor Malibu (Clement)
10. Trojan Nation (Gallagher)
11. Forever d'Oro (Stewart)
12. Seeking the Soul (Stewart)
13. Gettysburg (Asmussen)

[Kasept]

Belmont pace scenario addressed: Gettysburg to run; Asmussen to train
By Dave Grening

The much-talked about pace scenario in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes was finally addressed by one of the participants in the race. WinStar Farm, owner of the late-running Creator, and holder of the breeding rights to Preakness winner Exaggerator, will run the speedy Gettysburg in the Belmont.

Gettysburg set the pace in the Arkansas Derby but faded to fifth in a race won by Creator.

"I think he complements Creator well and there doesn't look like there's a lot of speed in the race and he runs his best races on the lead," said Elliott Walden, president/CEO and racing manager of WinStar Farm.

Paco Lopez will ride Creator in the Belmont.

Gettysburg made his first seven starts for trainer Todd Pletcher. He will run in the Belmont for trainer Steve Asmussen, who is the trainer of Creator.

Pletcher has two horses in the Belmont -- Stradivari and Destin -- for other clients. Absent Gettysburg, Stradivari and Destin looked like the major pace players in the Belmont.

"When you start talking strategies and a trainer has multiple horses in the race it can get a little confusing sometimes," Walden said. "The fact Steve has Gettysburg and Creator and we're his only owner takes out the conflict of having multiple horses in the race for different owners and Todd was 100 percent behind it."

More later at drf.com

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Belmont pace scenario addressed: Gettysburg to run; Asmussen to train
By Dave Grening

The much-talked about pace scenario in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes was finally addressed by one of the participants in the race. WinStar Farm, owner of the late-running Creator, and holder of the breeding rights to Preakness winner Exaggerator, will run the speedy Gettysburg in the Belmont.

Gettysburg set the pace in the Arkansas Derby but faded to fifth in a race won by Creator.

"I think he complements Creator well and there doesn't look like there's a lot of speed in the race and he runs his best races on the lead," said Elliott Walden, president/CEO and racing manager of WinStar Farm.

Paco Lopez will ride Creator in the Belmont.

Gettysburg made his first seven starts for trainer Todd Pletcher. He will run in the Belmont for trainer Steve Asmussen, who is the trainer of Creator.

Pletcher has two horses in the Belmont -- Stradivari and Destin -- for other clients. Absent Gettysburg, Stradivari and Destin looked like the major pace players in the Belmont.

"When you start talking strategies and a trainer has multiple horses in the race it can get a little confusing sometimes," Walden said. "The fact Steve has Gettysburg and Creator and we're his only owner takes out the conflict of having multiple horses in the race for different owners and Todd was 100 percent behind it."

More later at drf.com

Its a wonderful situation in racing when even Classic races are now manipulated by supertrainers and mega owners.