West Point Thoroughbreds’ Macho Again, winner of the Derby Trial and second to Big Brown in the Preakness (gr. I), will be pointed for the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), according to West Point founder and president Terry Finley.
“It (the Belmont) looks like kind of the same deal as the Preakness,” said Finley May 19 while attending the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic preferred sale of 2-year-olds in training in Maryland. “It’s a decent group of horses, but nobody really stands out except Big Brown. I know Casino Drive ran well in the Peter Pan (gr. II), but I think we ran pretty well in the Derby Trial and we ran OK in the Preakness. It (the Belmont purse) is a million dollars, so we’re going to roll the dice again.”
A son of Macho Uno, Macho Again has captured three of his nine career races and has finished second three times while being trained by Dallas Stewart. The gray or roan colt has earned $343,761.
“We can’t beat Big Brown without something going wrong -- his feet or he has terrible racing luck,” Finley said. “We’re going there with the intention of running well and hitting the board. Some people would say, ‘Why would you run in a race where you don’t have shot?’ But things can happen.”