Joseph Lacombe Stable's Deputy Glitters breezed five furlongs over Belmont's main track Monday morning in 1:01 4/5 with exercise rider Simon Harris up. The son of
"He's a real good work horse, so we just wanted him to do something in hand and let him gallop out strong," said assistant trainer Andy Rehm, who supervised the work while trainer Tom Albertrani is serving a suspension. "He got some unexpected company at the quarter-pole. One of [trainer] Bill Mott's horses hooked up with him, but it didn't affect him."
In his most recent start, Deputy Glitters ran eighth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).
"He ran well in the Derby," Rehm said. "He was wide the whole way around. I think he got a 4 on The Sheets, which was one of the lowest numbers in the race. If we got the same kind of trip Bluegrass Cat got, I think we could have been second. Bluegrass Cat is kind of the same horse as Deputy Glitters, he beat us a length and we beat him a length."
Rehm and Albertrani like how Deputy Glitters fits in the Belmont and the colt comes into the race fresh having sat out the Preakness (gr. I), won by stablemate Bernardini.
"He's going to be laying close and he can run all day, so he fits the profile of the Belmont.
Rehm officially confirmed that Edgar Prado will be the jockey aboard Deputy Glitters in the Belmont. The colt had been ridden in his last four starts by Jose Lezcano.In another Belmont workout Monday, Peter Redekop's Cause to Believe worked one mile at Bay Meadows in 1:39 4/5, handily, with jockey Russell Baze aboard. The son of Maria's Mon who finished 13th in the Kentucky Derby may start in the Belmont Stakes.
"The owners have given me permission to do what I want," trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said. "I want to see how he comes out of this work before making a decision."
Hollendorfer's only Belmont starter was in 2000 when he finished 10th with Globalize.
"The Belmont is a very difficult race to win," Hollendorfer said. "It could have been loaded with horses this year, but unfortunately some have gone by the wayside."Trainer Mike Trombetta said he has not made a decision yet regarding Sweetnorthernsaint in the Belmont Stakes. The Kentucky Derby favorite ran a game second in the Preakness, but grabbed a quarter in the process.
"We're kicking it around," Trombetta said of the Belmont. "His foot is fine. He was a littler tender for a day or two, but it turned out to be no big deal. "
Trombetta said the most important factor will be how Sweetnothernsaint feels and trains during the next week.
"Everything would have to be going unbelievably well," Trombetta said. "I'm kind of dragging my feet here for a while. We need to work him by Saturday. If he doesn't work by Saturday, he won't run in the Belmont."
High Finance, a two-time winner this spring for trainer Rick Violette Jr., is currently under consideration for the Belmont Stakes. A colt by Talk Is Money, High Finance owns two wins, a pair of seconds and a third from five starts. On Sunday, he breezed one mile over Belmont's main track in 1:38.49.
"He breezed really well and right now we're seriously considering (the Belmont Stakes,)" Violette said. "We know it's a huge step up, but it's a wide open race and nobody knows whose going to get a mile and a half. His breeze was really spectacular. He went the last eighth in 11 and change."
After breaking his maiden by more than nine lengths on April 15 at Keeneland, High Finance put forth his best effort to date on May 4 at Belmont, winning an entry-level allowance by five lengths. Although the "in control from start" comment he earned that day is impressive, fans shouldn't forget that he broke through the starting gate prior to the race.
"I thought he beat a really good field and he showed he was faster than those horses," Violette said.
