Getting in the 'Zone'

Multiple Grade I winner Private Zone (Macho Uno) faces seven formidable foes in Saturday's GIII Belmont Sprint Championship S., the finale on a blockbuster Fourth of July weekend card. Transferred from Alfredo Velazquez to the high-percentage Jorge Navarro barn after running away with Aqueduct's GI Cigar Mile H. in November, the Good Friends Stable colorbearer finished second to 'TDN Rising Star' Honor Code (A.P. Indy) in the GII Gulfstream Park H. Mar. 7. He cut back a furlong to this distance and romped in the GII Churchill Downs S. May 2, and settled for third behind an extremely impressive Honor Code in the $1.25-million GI Metropolitan H. June 6. The bay makes the same distance move he made for the Churchill Downs, and boasts two prior wins at Belmont–in the 2013 and 2014 renewals of the GI Vosburgh Invitational S. Lightly raced 'Rising Star' The Big Beast (Yes It's True) has also tasted victory at the highest level, having annexed last August's GI King's Bishop S. at Saratoga. Sidelined with an ankle chip for the rest of his sophomore season, the hulking bay was brought back by Tony Dutrow for an Oaklawn allowance win over subsequent MGSW Alsvid (Officer) Mar. 1, but he settled for a non-threatening fourth as the chalk in Aqueduct's GI Carter H. Apr. 4. Longshot Green Gratto (Here's Zealous) was second that day, and enters off a track-and-trip optional claiming win June 6. Up Hill Stable's Clearly Now (Horse Greeley) turned in one of the best performances of last year when he took this race by 6 1/4 lengths with a gaudy 113 Beyer Speed Figure, but the off-and-on sort has been more off than on since then, hitting the board just once in four subsequent runs. Seventh on seasonal debut in the Carter, he was a close second to Stallwalkin' Dude (City Place) in the local Diablo S. May 10, but faded to sixth after breaking slow and making a wide move in the GII True North S. June 5. The David Jacobson-owned and trained Stallwalkin' Dude, who raced twice in each of the months of April, May and June, was second last out in Parx's Donald Levine Memorial H. June 20.