Nine sophomore turfers have come from all over to contest Saturday's second running of the $1.25-million GI Belmont Derby Invitational. California-based Bolo (Temple City) gets the 7-2 nod on a morning line that Eric Donovan surely mulled over a little longer than usual. A promising grass stakes winner for Carla Gaines last season, the dark bay certainly did not disgrace himself on the Triple Crown trail earlier this season. Third behind Dortmund (Big Brown) in the Mar. 7 GII San Felipe S. and Apr. 4 GI Santa Anita Derby, he checked in 12th in the GI Kentucky Derby. Put back on the turf after that, Bolo was a very easy winner of a May 29 allowance in Arcadia in which he controlled the race from start to finish. “[The Belmont Derby] was on our radar after the [Kentucky] Derby,” said Gaines. “We just decided to give the Derby trail a try, obviously, because he had enough points to get in, but in the back of our heads we thought that eventually we'd go back to grass. He's doing very, very well. He had a nice workout the other day and everything looks really, really good.”
Lightly raced Divisidero (Kitten's Joy) and Takeover Target (Harlan's Holiday), separated by a neck in the local Pennine Ridge S. May 30, book-end Bolo in the three and one holes, respectively. Gunpowder Farms's Divisidero blew up the tote with a first-out success at Gulfstream in February, and was stymied by traffic trouble before settling for third in the GIII Palm Beach S. Mar. 7. He closed like a freight train on Derby day to get up in the GII American Turf S. May 2, and bested Takeover Target last out despite mounting a rarely successful wide, premature move into a soft pace.
Takeover Target was a first-up graduate here in October, and returned a winner in an optional claimer May 7. He was 1 1/4 lengths ahead of fellow Chad Brown trainee and Klaravich/Bill Lawrence colobearer Startup Nation (Temple City)–last year's GII With Anticipation S. winner–in the Pennine Ridge. “They breezed together [on Saturday] like they have been all along and it was more of the same from them,” Brown said, referencing a 1:03.24 (22/23) drill going five panels over the Belmont lawn with the dogs up. “It was a steady, easy work. We didn't want to do too much with them and they went perfect. I believe both of those horses should have no problem with a mile and a quarter.”
Richard Santulli homebred Force the Pass (Speightstown) broke through in graded company last time in the lucrative GIII Penn Mile May 30. 'TDN Rising Star' Granny's Kitten (Kitten's Joy) was third there.
Two European shippers further add to the intrigue. The Aga Khan's Canndal (Fr) (Medicean {GB}) was third in Longchamp's GII Prix Hocquart May 10, and might have won Compiegne's Prix Ridgway June 20 if not for interference that saw him promoted from third to second. Juddmonte homebred Postulation (Harlan's Holiday), no worse than third since his debut, defeated older horses–including MGSW Parish Hall (Teofilo {Ire})–in The Curragh's Silver S. June 7.
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