OZONE PARK, N.Y. – As fast as Belgian ran on the dirt in his debut, trainer George Weaver admitted it was tempting to keep the 2-year-old colt on that surface for his next start. However, Weaver believes Belgian is meant to be a turf horse, which is why he has elected to run him in Friday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Futurity Stakes going six furlongs over Aqueduct’s outer turf course.
The Futurity, which is a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Del Mar on Oct. 31, will lose a top contender, as Outfielder was cross-entered in a six-furlong dirt allowance at Keeneland on Saturday and will run there, trainer Wesely Ward said.
Belgian was scheduled to run in a 5 1/2-furlong turf maiden race at Saratoga on Aug. 14. Rain forced the race to the dirt, and in a scratch-reduced field of four, Belgian splashed his way to an 11-length victory in the slop, earning a 90 Beyer Speed Figure.
“I felt he could handle the dirt well enough. I said, ‘Let’s leave him in there,’ ” said Weaver, who trains the son of Beau Liam for Newtown Anner Stud. “Obviously, he ran huge. He ran fast enough to open up the discussion as to what the next step was. They asked me what would I do, and I said I would still like to see the horse on the grass. He breezed really well on the grass. We need to see that. We can always swing for a big dirt race after that.
“I’m pretty excited about what he can do on the grass. That’s why we’re doing this.”
Outfielder, an impressive maiden winner at Churchill Downs in May, finished fourth in the Group 1 Prix Morny in France in August and would have been a contender in the Futurity, but Ward will instead go with Longshoreman. A son of Twirling Candy, Longshoreman was a dominant second-out winner over the turf at Churchill Downs in June. In the Juvenile Turf Sprint at Kentucky Downs on Aug. 31, Longshoreman was keen early and was in some traffic while finishing fifth, 5 3/4 lengths behind the Weaver-trained Johnny’s Red Storm.
“He broke a step slow, and instead of just sitting there, [jockey Walter Rodriguez] tried to rush up and got stopped, and then he kept trying to go in and out and was checking,” Ward said. “It was a trip that all you got to do is watch it one time and you’ll see what happened.”
Manny Franco will ride Longshoreman.
Intricate Spirit, trained by Miguel Clement, was a debut winner at Saratoga on Aug. 1 before finishing second to Street Beast in an allowance at Kentucky Downs on Aug. 28. Street Beast came back to win the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile Stakes by seven lengths.
“He’s very impressive, he’s quick, he’s got a lot, a lot, a lot of early speed. He’s probably one of the quickest ones we have, to be honest with you,” Clement said. “I think he would greatly benefit from six furlongs on the flat than 6 1/2 at Kentucky Downs with an uphill finish.”
Attfield, at 23-1, upset the highly touted first-timer Schwarzenegger in an Aug. 29 maiden race at Saratoga for trainer Tom Morley. Expressway and No Pressure were a neck apart in a six-furlong maiden race at Aqueduct on Sept. 13 and come back quickly in this spot. Channel the Music, a son of Maclean’s Music, has gone 1 for 3 on dirt and now tries turf for the first time here.
The Futurity goes as race 6 on a nine-race card that also includes the Grade 2, $200,000 Pilgrim Stakes for 2-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on turf.
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