Pennine Ridge for 3-year-olds tops the Saturday  Belmont card

By NY Hot List Staff | Friday, June 2, 2023

The countdown to the Belmont Stakes begins in earnest on Saturday at Belmont Park with the final weekend of action before the June 10 final leg of the Triple Crown.

The Saturday featured race, much as it will next Saturday, will involve 3-year-olds. Only this time, the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge Stakes will be contested on turf with a field of eight going nine-furlongs. The likely favorite, Silver Knott, ships in from Europe for trainer Charlie Appleby, who has won with four of his last six New York starters.

Here’s the Hot List picks for the Pennine Ridge:

The $200,000 Pennine Ridge (G2), Belmont Park, Saturday, Race 9.

8) Far Bridge won the first two starts of his career at Gulfstream Park for Todd Pletcher moving from a maiden score to an allowance while going long on the turf. Last month he moved up to stakes company at Churchill Downs in the American Turf (G2) and once again made a strong late move and came up a nose shy of the victory. He should appreciate the added distance. (4) Silver Knott won a pair of Group 3 stakes in Great Britain as a 2-year-old and ended that campaign with a second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) beaten by just a nose. He made one start this year in a Group 1 at Newmarket. Charlie Appleby’s runners are always win contenders when they ship to America. (6) Kalik won both of his starts in 2023 with a front running effort last month at Belmont Park in an allowance with improved speed figures. (5) Congruent moves back to the turf after two starts on the synthetic surface at Turfway Park on the Kentucky Derby trail. He won the John Battaglia Memorial and then tried the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) which is a race that has proven to have had a quality field.

The rest of the NY Hot List picks and the Special Saturday Pick 3 are available free of charge at this website.