Trainer Dallas Stewart confirmed that his pair of recent maiden winners, Seeking the Soul (Perfect Soul {Ire}) and Forever d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro), are set to compete in GI Belmont S. Both are homebreds for Charles Fipke.
Seeking the Soul, a neck winner at third asking in a maiden special weight going a mile at Churchill May 29, will be ridden by Florent Geroux. He will ship to New York Tuesday morning.
Forever d'Oro, a son of GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Lemons Forever (Lemon Drop Kid), earned his diploma in dramatic come-from-behind fashion at third asking going 1 1/16 miles at Belmont May 29. He will be piloted by Jose Ortiz.
“They're both real nice horses,” Stewart said. “They're bred for the distance so they've got the breeding that will take them both a mile-and-a-half. It will be a tough race, though.”
On the Belmont S. undercard, Stewart will saddle Forever d'Oro's Grade I-winning older half-sister Forever Unbridled (Unbridled's Song) in the GI Ogden Phipps S. She put in her final breeze for the race over the Churchill Downs main track Saturday morning, covering five furlongs in :59.
“She breezed great,” Stewart said. “She looked good, came back good and healthy so she's all set and ready to go.”
Stewart will also saddle Tom's Ready (More Than Ready), 12th in the GI Kentucky Derby, in that day's GII Woody Stephens S.
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