Not Phone, fresh off a track record performance earlier this month, is the horse to beat in Sunday's $100,000 Jaipur (gr. IIIT) at six furlongs on the Belmont Park Widener Turf Course. The 8-year-old Not Phone, a classy Argentine-bred horse trained by Rick Dutrow Jr., faces eight rivals in the Jaipur. From 1986 to 2005, the Jaipur was contested at seven furlongs.Not Phone set the six-furlong inner turf record at Belmont after winning a $100,000 optional claiming race earlier this month. His final time of 1:07.89 eclipsed the previous record of 1:08.07 held by No Parole. Not Phone had not started in more than seven months.The horse has had his share of bumps and bruises over the years. He's started just 18 times, earnings six wins, five seconds and one third. Not Phone has been able to breeze twice since his last victory and enters the Jaipur in good shape according to Dutrow."He's trained good and he's coming in fine," said Dutrow, who recently worked Not Phone five furlongs at Aqueduct May 18 in 1:00.27. "He's cooling out the same way he always has and I'll be happy if he runs big. He likes the course and he's doing good."Overall, Not Phone is three for five on the Belmont turf and was only beaten a length in last year's Kelso Breeders' Cup Handicap (gr. IIT). The Kelso runner-up, Artie Schiller, returned to win last fall's NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT). Not Phone breaks from the rail for Edgar Prado.Summer Service was third to Not Phone earlier this month and will take another run at him in the Jaipur. Trained by Pat Reynolds, Summer Service has won six of 11 turf starts and 10 of 28 overall.
"He tries every time you take him over there," said Reynolds, who also entered the venerable Spooky Mulder as a main track only in the Jaipur. "He's training really good and I thought the wide trip hurt him the other day. It was a tough heat he's coming out of and he was beaten by a good horse. That Not Phone is one tough unit." Spooky Mulder needs no introduction after winning 25 of 63 starts. If the Jaipur is rained off the turf, the race would mark th 8-year-old gelding's debut for Reynolds and owner Paul Pompa Jr., who claimed him for a whopping $100,000 in April. Spooky Mulder most recently defeated last year's Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Silver Train in an Aqueduct allowance race April 20th.Around the Cape, a son of Carson City, should be tough. Trained by Bill Mott, Around the Cape owns a win, a second and a third in a trio of turf sprints. He'll enter the Jaipur on the heels of a neck loss to Atticus Kitty in Keeneland's Shakertown (gr. IIIT) April 14.
$100,000 Jaipur Stakes (gr. IIIT, Race 8, 4:56 p.m.), 3 & Up, 6 Furlongs (Turf)
PP. Horse, Weight, Jockey
1. Not Phone (ARG), 122, Edgar S. Prado
2. Si O No (CHI), 118, Richard Migliore
3. Blakelock (KY), 120, Eibar Coa
4. War Plan (KY), 118, Garrett K. Gomez
5. Bold Decision (NY), 118, Jose L. Espinoza
6. Summer Service (CA), 120, Kent J. Desormeaux
7. Primary Suspect (KY), 120, Pablo Fragoso
8. Around the Cape (KY), 118, Cornelio H. Velasquez
Main Track Only
9. Spooky Mulder (KY), 120, Eibar Coa