Mubtaahij works five furlongs in company in prep for Belmont Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – For the third time in eight days, Belmont Stakes candidate Mubtaahij put in a timed workout, this time going five furlongs in 1:01.83, according to Daily Racing Form, in company with stablemate Umgiyo over the Belmont main track. The move, which began at the half-mile pole and went to a furlong past the wire, came shortly after the 8:45 a.m. renovation break on an absolutely stunning late-spring morning in New York.

Mubtaahij, under exercise rider Lisa Moncrieff, worked inside of Umgiyo, with the pair basically going even quarter-mile splits of 24.03 seconds and 24 from the half-mile pole to the wire. Though Mubtaahij did switch to his correct lead in upper stretch, he flipped back to his left lead nearing the wire, and his last eighth went in 13.80 seconds.

The move was not as visually impressive as his three-furlong blowout in 36.02 seconds Wednesday, when he galloped out a half-mile in 47.88. That move Mubtaahij did by himself on the dirt. Sunday’s work was in company with Umgiyo, who is a turf horse and who also worked with Mubtaahij last Sunday on the turf. “I wanted a good piece this morning, but I didn’t want to kill that horse Umgiyo because [Mubtaahij] is so much better on the dirt than he is,” said Trevor Brown, assistant to trainer to Michael de Kock, who was on Umgiyo in the work. Brown said he had Mubtaahij on the inside of Umgiyo because he wanted to “just make the work a little more easy with him, don’t take him off his tract. I moved off the rail, and he carried on the same tract. I didn’t want to move him out.”

Though it was his third work in eight days, Mubtaahij seemed to handle everything well back at the barn, where, he was attacking his hay net after getting bathed and walked. “He handles his work well. He’s not too much of a stressed out horse,” Brown said. Mubtaahij is likely to work again Wednesday, potentially with Irad Ortiz Jr. getting on him. Ortiz will ride Mubtaahij for the first time in the Belmont Stakes. Brown said de Kock is expected to arrive in New York on June 1.

** Also at Belmont on Sunday morning, Preakness runner-up Tale of Verve galloped once around Belmont’s main track after the break and exited the track through the tunnel that led to the paddock. Trainer Dallas Stewart said Tale of Verve will likely return to the work tab later in the week or over the weekend.