Man o’ War tops card with 5 stakes at Belmont on Saturday

By the New York Hot List // Friday, May 7, 2021

A week after the Kentucky Derby, a pretty high level of racing can be found at Belmont Park. A total of five graded stakes are included in an 11-race card, topped by the $700,000 Man o’War Stakes, a Grade 1 turf stakes. Contested at 1 3/8 miles, the Man o’ War offers an interesting battle between the 8-5 morning line favorite Sovereign, a Group 1 winner in Europe making his first start in the United States for trainer Chad Brown, and the 2-1 second choice Gufo, who was at Grade 1 winner at Belmont Park for trainer Christophe Clement last fall as a 3-year-old.

Here’s the Hot List picks:

Belmont Park, Saturday, Race 10 – $700,000 Man o’ War (G1) – 1 3/8 mi. TURF

(1) Sovereign will make his American debut for Chad Brown after racing for Aidan O’ Brien against the best horses in Europe. He finished second at Ascot in a Group 1 race behind the great Enable but ahead of Japan. He won a Group 1 at the Curragh in Ireland over Anthony Van Dyck by six lengths. Brown wins with 26% of his European imports in their first starts in the United States. (8) Gufo will make his 2021 debut as a 4-year-old. Last year, he won the Belmont Derby (G1) for Christophe Clement in his only start at Belmont Park. In eight career starts he has five wins and has never finished worse than third. (2) Moon Over Miami ran twice at Gulfstream Park this year as a 4-year-old with a third and then a second in Grade 2 races run at long distances for the Hall of Famer Bill Mott. (3) Ziyad made the move last year from racing in France to America for Graham Motion with two third-place finishes in Grade 3 races in the fall. The 6-year-old will now make his first start of this year.

Analysis of the other NY Hot List races and the Special Saturday Pick 3, which includes the Peter Pan (G3) and the Man o’ War (G1), are available free of charge at this website.