Belmont Stakes: Materiality top threat to American Pharoah

ELMONT, N.Y. – Todd Pletcher said he will never know if he made the right decision when opting to keep Materiality out of the Preakness Stakes and wait for the Belmont Stakes. What he does know, especially after Friday morning, is that in Materiality he has one of – if not the – major threats to American Pharoah’s Triple Crown bid in the $1.5 million Belmont on June 6.

Materiality, who finished a troubled sixth in the Kentucky Derby, worked a terrific five furlongs in 59.81 seconds Friday over the Belmont main track. Materiality was one of five Belmont Stakes horses to put in workouts Friday, a roster that included Pletcher’s other two expected entrants, Carpe Diem and Madefromlucky, Kentucky Derby fourth-place finisher Frosted, and, in Kentucky, Conquest Curlinate, the Peter Pan Stakes runner-up. While Materiality’s final time may have been slower than that of his stablemates Carpe Diem and Madefromlucky – who worked three hours earlier – Materiality finished extremely strong and galloped out very well.

Materiality, with John Velazquez in the saddle, came home his final quarter-mile in 22.65 seconds in company with Louisiana Derby runner-up Stanford. The two galloped out six furlongs in 1:12.04, seven furlongs in 1:25.74, and pulled up a mile in 1:40.76. “I thought both horses worked extremely well,” Pletcher said. “It was a little bit slower the first part than the Carpe Diem–Madefromlucky team, but they finished with similar times and a strong gallop-out. Before we went out, I told them we were looking for a minute or 1:01 with a strong gallop-out. The fractions were going to land them in that time frame. I relayed the times to them, then they picked it up on their own through the lane.” Though Velazquez worked Materiality, it has not been determined if he will get back on the horse he rode to three victories, including the Grade 1 Florida Derby. Velazquez chose Carpe Diem – on whom he won two Grade 1 races – over Materiality in the Kentucky Derby. Carpe Diem finished 10th in the Derby.

Javier Castellano rode Materiality to a sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby after the colt hesitated at the break and was 17th at the top of the stretch. Pletcher gave serious consideration to running Materiality in the Preakness before sticking with his initial instinct to await the Belmont. American Pharoah, the Kentucky Derby winner, won the Preakness by seven lengths over a sloppy track. “It’s one of those things when you make that decision not to run, you never know if you’re right,” Pletcher said. “If you make the decision to run, you know. When you make the decision not to run, you can always second-guess it. We felt comfortable with it, and like I said, it’s a long year, there are a lot of big races. We felt like if you’re wrong and you came back in two weeks and you didn’t handle the slop, then you’d really be kicking yourself, so I’ve got no regrets.” Pletcher said Stanford is a candidate for either the Easy Goer Stakes or the Grade 2 Woody Stephens Stakes on the Belmont undercard. Shortly after 6 a.m., Pletcher put Blue Grass Stakes winner Carpe Diem and Peter Pan Stakes winner Madefromlucky together for a five-furlong workout that was timed by Daily Racing Form’s Mike Welsch in 59.19 seconds, with a final quarter of 23.57. They galloped out six furlongs in 1:11.79, seven furlongs in 1:25.82, and a mile in 1:41.12. Pletcher was happy with both works but noted that for Madefromlucky, “That was the best that I’ve seen him breeze since we’ve had him.” For Carpe Diem, it was his first work since the Derby. Pletcher said that he felt Carpe Diem needed only two works because he gallops very strongly.

Meanwhile, Kentucky Derby fourth-place finisher Frosted worked five furlongs in 1:01.56 in company with the Godolphin Mile winner and Metropolitan Handicap contender Tamarkuz. The two went the first three furlongs in 36.79 seconds and came home a final quarter in 24.78 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.64. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said he wasn’t looking for as fast a work as a week ago, when Frosted went a half-mile in 47.64 in company with Classy Class. “We didn’t want to over-coach the riders, but we didn’t want a 58-and-change,” McLaughlin said.