Belmont at the Big A Notes
- G1 Belmont Stakes or G1 Woody Stephens on the table for The Wine Steward
- Canada’s Horse of the Year Fev Rover to make seasonal debut in G1 New York
- Evvie Jets set to take flight in G1 Just a Game
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher’s Grade 1-placed New York-bredThe Wine Stewardis under consideration for both the 10-furlong Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets and the seven-furlong Grade 1, $500,000 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun, both slated for Saturday, June 8 at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Mike Maker, the son of 2019 Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic-winner Vino Rosso was last seen finishing a close second to Belmont Stakes contender Antiquarian in the Grade 3 Peter Pan on May 11 at Belmont at the Big A.
The Wine Steward has finished second in each of his last three outings, including in the Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity in October at Keeneland, and in the Grade 3 Lexington to kick off his sophom*ore campaign in April over the same course.
The Wine Steward had his first work since the Peter Pan yesterday at Churchill Downs, covering a half-mile in 48 seconds flat.
“I was there and he worked pretty easy and looked good,” said Staudacher. “Mike is going to have to decide on which race in the next week or so. We’re still undecided. He had a couple tough races, so we’ve got to make sure he bounces back right.”
The Wine Steward graduated on debut sprinting five furlongs last May at Belmont Park ahead of an open-company stakes win in the six-furlong Bashford Manor at Ellis Park. He followed with a head triumph over multiple graded stakes-placed El Grande O in the state-bred Funny Cide presented by Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital sprinting six furlongs at Saratoga en route to his two-turn debut in the 1 1/16-mile Breeders’ Futurity.
“It depends on the trip, but I think he can get it [the distance]– he’s bred to get it and should be able to,” Staudacher said regarding the 10-furlong Belmont Stakes distance. “I think he likes the track up there, so we’ll see what Mike decides to do. We just have to see how the horse is doing. He’s a really nice horse and we don’t want to rush him. We’d love to be in the Belmont, so we have our fingers crossed.”
In addition to The Wine Steward, Paradise Farms Corp. and Staudacher are also considering graded stakes-winnerSugoiand graded stakes-placedReally Goodfor either the 1 3/16-mile Grade 1, $1 million Resorts World Casino Manhattan or the two-mile Grade 2, $250,000 Belmont Gold Cup, which will be a ‘Golden Ticket’ event offering the winner an automatic berth into the Group 1, AUD$8.4 million Lexus Melbourne Cup.
“It will just depend on who goes where,” said Staudacher.
Nominations for the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival are now available online athttps://www.nyra.com/saratoga/horsem*n/.
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Canada’s Horse of the Year Fev Rover to make seasonal debut in G1 New York
Tracy Farmer’s talented dual Grade 1-winning millionaireFev Roverwill make her anticipated return in the Grade 1, $750,000 New York presented by Rivers Casino, a 1 3/16-mile turf test for older fillies and mares on Friday, June 7 during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course.
The now 6-year-old Gutaifan bay posted a record of 6-3-0-1 last year, including Grade 1 scores in the Beverly D. at Colonial Downs and the E. P. Taylor at Woodbine Racetrack where she also took down the Grade 2 Nassau. Fev Rover was also a close third in the Spa’s Grade 1 Diana where she finished a half-length back of the victorious Whitebeam, who nosed out her stablemate In Italian.
The tremendous season propelled Fev Rover to Horse of the Year honors in Canada where her dual Hall of Fame conditioner Mark Casse was also a Sovereign Award-winner as Outstanding Trainer for the 13th consecutive year and 16th time overall.
Fev Rover was last seen finishing off-the-board in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on November 4 at Santa Anita Park.
“She was Horse of the Year in Canada, which is important,” Casse said. “Her wins in the Beverly D and E. P. Taylor were big races. Her race at Saratoga in the Diana, she just got a little unlucky.
“I was disappointed with her effort in the Breeders’ Cup – she just didn’t show up,” Casse added. “I don’t know why, she had trained really well into it, so I was disappointed with her performance.”
Fev Rover returned to the work tab on March 31 at Woodbine where she has breezed consistently over the Tapeta course, including a half-mile effort from the gate in 47.20 on May 18.
“She loves Woodbine. It’s where we’ve gotten her ready the last couple of years,” Casse said. “She’s training very well. She loves to train on the synthetic. We purposely get her ready over the synthetic.”
Fev Rover’s will again be piloted in the New York by Hall of Famer Javier Castellano.
Previously conditioned by Richard Fahey, Fev Rover was a Group 2 winner in France in 2020 and finished third in the 2021 Group 1 English 1000 Guineas at Newmarket. She was acquired by Farmer from the 2021 Tattersalls December Mares Sale for over $970,000 and made her North American debut when a close second in the Grade 2 Dance Smartly in July 2022 at Woodbine. Fev Rover went on to capture the Grade 2 Canadian there one month later ahead of a third-place result in that year’s Grade 1 E. P. Taylor.
Bred in Ireland by Manister House Stud, Fev Rover is out of the High Chapparal mare Laurelita.
Casse, a fixture each summer at Saratoga, will have a number of starters at the upcoming Belmont Stakes Racing Festival which spans Thursday, June 6 through Sunday, June 9.
Highlighted by the 156th edition of the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on Saturday, June 8, the four-day Festival will include 24 stakes races with purses totaling $10.25 million, the highest purse levels and number of stakes offered since the launch of the multi-day Festival in 2014.
Among Casse’s anticipated Festival runners are Gary Barber and Kinsman Stable’sStrong Quality, last-out winner of the restricted Knicks Go on dirt on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs, who will target a return to grass in the Grade 1, $1 million Resorts World Casino Manhattan, a 1 3/16-mile turf test for older horses on June 8.
Gary Barber’sRun for the Hills, third last-out in the Grade 3 Unbridled Sydney on Kentucky Oaks Day at Churchill, will try the Grade 2, $200,000 Intercontinental presented by MTV Solutions at 5 1/2-furlongs turf for older fillies and mares on Friday, June 7.
The complementary duo of Live Oak Plantation’s speedy Florida homebredSouper Questand the Barber, Wachtel Stable and Peter Deutsch-owned closerFilo Di Ariannawill point to the Grade 1, $500,000 Jaipur presented by Resolute Racing on June 8. The 5 1/2-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint in November at Del Mar.
Barber, Wachtel Stable and Deutsch will also be represented by multiple graded stakes-placedIceChocolatin the Grade 3, $350,000 Poker, a one-mile turf test for older horses on Belmont Stakes Day; while Woodbine maiden-winnerFrench Hornwill test her chops in the Listed $150,000 Astoria, a 5 1/2-furlong sprint for 2-year-old fillies on June 6.
Rounding out Casse’s Festival competitors are D. J. Stable’sConmanand Barber’sCoinage, who could see action in the $125,000 Kingston, a 1 1/16-mile turf test for older Empire State-bred horses as part of the June 9 New York Showcase Day.
For more information on the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, visit BelmontStakes.com.
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Evvie Jets set to take flight in G1 Just a Game
The Estate of Robert J. Amendola’s multiple graded-stakes winnerEvvie Jetswill make her second start off the layoff in the Grade 1, $500,000 Just a Game, a one-mile turf test for older fillies and mares on June 7 during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Mertkan Kantarmaci, the 6-year-old Twirling Candy bay made her seasonal debut in the one-mile Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile on May 4 Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs. There, Evvie Jets traveled well off the pace early and finished a distant eighth over the good turf. The event’s top three finishers, a Chad Brown-conditioned trio of Chili Flag, Coppice, and Delahaye, are also nominated to the Just a Game.
Kantarmaci said that he doesn’t blame the seven-month layoff for the uncharacteristic effort, but rather the softer turf after heavy precipitation leading up to the race.
“The lay-off wasn’t the worry we had. It rained too much over there after the Oaks Friday night,” said Kantarmaci. “It was still raining, raining, after all the rain. She never has run over that heavy of a turf ever, I was expecting that it could be better for her, but it totally went the wrong way.”
Evvie Jets’ last graded victories came over firm green, when coming from off the pace to win 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Ballston Spa in August at Saratoga and running prominently to capture the one-mile Grade 3 Noble Damsel in October 2022 at Belmont at the Big A.
“She couldn’t get a hold of the ground [last out]. She couldn’t compete her race. She would be the real Evvie Jets over firm,” Kantarmaci said. “If there is no speed, she can always be on the lead, and she is going to fight at the last part. Whoever comes, she is going to answer.
“If there is a speed horse, we shouldn’t get involved like we did last year,” added Kantarmaci, regarding the versatility Evvie Jets put on display last summer when rallying up the rail to win the Ballston Spa at odds of 29-1.
Kantarmaci said he will call upon Dylan Davis, who hasn’t yet ridden the mare during her 24-start career, to engineer a winning trip.
Evvie Jets has worked twice since her last effort, including a half-mile solo breeze over the Belmont Park dirt training track Sunday in 50.31 seconds.
Bred in Kentucky by Farfellow Farms, Evvie Jets was haltered by her current connections for $80,000 out of a runner-up effort in September 2021 at Belmont. She boasts a lifetime record of 24-7-6-3 with $777,768 in earnings including Listed scores last year in the Perfect Sting in July at Belmont and the Plenty of Grace in April at Aqueduct.
