Flintshire Facing Just Three

Juddmonte homebred Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}), the undisputed top turf male in America, faces just three rivals in Saturday's “Win and You're In” GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic S. at Belmont. Second in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe around this time last season, the then-Andre Fabre pupil bypassed the Breeders' Cup in favor of the G1 Hong Kong Vase in December, where he again proved second best. Turned over to Chad Brown this season, the 6-year-old has been unbeatable in three Stateside tries, though his races have not been completely without drama. Annexing the local GI Woodford Reserve Manhattan S. June 11 over a field that included next-out GI United Nations S. hero World Approval (Northern Afleet), Flintshire overcame one of the slowest graded stakes paces in recent memory to get up in Saratoga's GII Bowling Green S. July 30. His connections opted to enter a pacemaker for his title defense in the GI Sword Dancer S. back upstate Aug. 27, and that pacesetter supplied plenty of early speed before shifting off the rail into the lane, allowing Flintshire an easy path to victory, but also interfering with other rivals, prompting the connections of the horse most affected by the incident to file an appeal. Flintshire will not have a rabbit to set the table this time, but will be joined again by stablemate Money Multiplier (Lookin At Lucky), who earned his third Grade I-placing this year when completing the Sword Dancer exacta. In addition to a lack of pace, a potentially rain-softened turf course could prove something of an obstacle for Flintshire to overcome. “Of course, there's some concern with the possibility of rain,” Brown told the NYRA notes team. “He prefers firm ground, but we'll hope for the best. He's a top-class horse so he should be able to handle the conditions.” Rounding out the field is Twilight Eclipse (Purim), third in the Sword Dancer and on the board in the last two runnings of this race; and Ectot (GB) (Hurricane Runner {Ire}), an accomplished runner in France who was beaten a tough nose in a Spa optional claimer going this distance Sept. 4.