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All racing eyes have switched from Saratoga
to Belmont Park as the countdown to the
Breeders’ Cup Classic at Monmouth
Park has started.
Two of the 36 stakes during Belmont’s
33-day fall meeting that runs through Oct.
21 will help decide the early favorite
in the BC Classic next month.
First, the 119th running of the $150,000
Brooklyn Breeders’ Cup Handicap at
1 1/8 miles for 3-year-olds and up gives
Any Given Saturday his first crack at older
horses on Sept. 22.
If he duplicates his Dwyer and Haskell
Invitational victories in the Grade 2,
he will become a strong candidate for Horse
of 2007 during a year dominated by sophomores.
The son of Distorted Humor worked five
furlongs in a sharp 59 4/5 on Sept. 8. “He
was very business-like and focused in his
breezes,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “He
enjoys his work.”
The race is named for one of the five
boroughs that comprise New York City when
Brooklyn and Manhattan were rival commercial
centers before they merged to form NYC
in 1898.
Eleven years earlier, Dry Monopole captured
the inaugural Brooklyn when the purse was
$5,850. A clever wine salesman capitalized
on the winner’s name – the
same as a brand of champagne – and
furnished free bubbly to the fans.
The race was staged at several tracks
over the years from Gravesend, old Aqueduct
and Jamaica to new Aqueduct and Belmont
Park. The distances have ranged from 1
1/8, 1 3/16 and 1 ¼ miles to 1 3/8
and 1 ½ miles.
Only four horses have won the so-called “Handicap
Triple” – the Metropolitan,
Brooklyn and Suburban – including
the great Kelso in 1961 when the purse
was $73,320. And he carried 130, 133 and
136 pounds, respectively.
The last 3-year-old to take the Brooklyn
was Living Vicariously in ’93. Back
in ’34, Discovery as a sophomore
won the race the first of three consecutive
times when the purse was only $2,925.
Four decades later, the great Forego became
only the second thoroughbred to take the
Brooklyn three straight years starting
in ’74 when he was 4. The purse averaged
slightly more than $67,000 and he carried
129, 132 and 134 pounds, respectively.
Curlin, third to Street Sense in the Kentucky
Derby - winner of the Preakness Stakes
and runner-up to Rags to Riches in the
Belmont - is scheduled to try his luck
against older horses in the $750,000 Jockey
Gold Cup at 1 ¼ miles on Sept. 30.
The son of Smart Strike may not be the
only winner of a Triple Crown race this
year to go in the Grade 1. Trainer Carl
Nafzger is considering the Gold Cup among
five races to serve as the BC Classic prep
for Street Sense.
Some experts say Street Sense can afford
to lose in his BC prep and still can garner
Horse of the Year honors by winning the
Classic.
One thing in his favor – the son
of Street Cry never throws in a clunker.
He’s most dangerous when he lags
far back off a fast pace and unleashes
his explosive kick on the far turn as he
did in the Jim Dandy and Travers at Saratoga.
Three-year-olds have done extremely well
in the Gold Cup since Purchaser captured
the inaugural race in ’19. They have
scored more than once four times, with
Kelso posting five consecutive victories
since ’60 when he was a sophomore.
In fact, 23 have visited the winner’s
circle since ’47 when Phalanx started
a nine-race winning streak.
However, a 4-year-old may have something
to say about the Classic outcome. Lawyer
Ron has recorded a pair of eye-popping
triumphs at Saratoga.
The son of Langfuhr roared home in the
Whitney, breaking the track record for
1 1/8 miles. Then he exploded again in
the stretch to capture the Woodward.
Come Oct. 27, it will be Lawyer Ron vs.
the crème de la crème of
this year’s 3-year-olds.
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Posted on 9/10/2007 9:22:56 PM
Belmont Horse Racing - Betting at Monmouth Park
By Greg Melikov
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