Saturday Morning Belmont Notes

- First-time starter Noble Fire breezed by almost seven lengths in the 4th at Belmont on Friday, a NY-bred juvenile affair. He's trained by Linda Rice and sired by Hook and Ladder, and we've been seeing those names a lot lately. Rice, who had that six race winning streak at Saratoga, has now won with seven out of her last 12 two-year old first-timers...nice. However, nobody is getting too rich following these, or maybe some are, but not the way I bet. The highest price amongst her winners was 9-2; but the second highest was only 8-5! Four of them, including Noble Fire (#3.60), paid even money or less. No secrets here.

Noble Fire is out of a stakes winning mare by Melodisk, a deceased son of Alydar who stood in West Virginia. Not much else on the catalog page. But he sold for $115,000 this year, which far exceeds his stallion's $6,000 fee. Hook and Ladder (Dixieland Band) is also the sire of Big Truck, a state-bred stakes winner last weekend for Barclay Tagg, who speaks quite highly of him indeed. He's also the sire of stakes placed I Promise and Spanky Fischbein, has six winners overall and stands 8th on the first-year sire list.

Nick Zito ran one-two with two first-timers in the sixth, at odds of 16-1. Yet another instance of both halves of a longshot entry running one-two. The winner, Anak Nakal, was ridden by Eibar Coa, one of five winners of the day for him. This was quite an improbable late rally; no way did he look like he had a shot at the sixteenth pole, but he rolled late, and even got up over a riderless horse at the wire.

Anak Nakal has some unusual breeding. He's by Victory Gallop, out of a Quiet American mare, which makes him inbred 3x3 to Fappiano. He also has a lot of Dr. Fager, 5x4x5. His second dam is a French stakes winner named Perlee...

Pletcher had a first-timer in the race; Storming Off was 8-1 morning line, but went off at 4-1 off some sharp works. However, he checked in 8th, stretching the Toddster's latest string of futility with first-time juveniles to 21, going back to August 3. But again, this is strictly a NY phenomenon. Out of town, he recently won four two-year old maiden races in a row, two each at the Meadowlands and Turfway.

- Darley has two well-bred first-timers starting in baby races at Belmont on Saturday. In the second, Tom Albertrani starts Splendid Bloom. She's a daughter of AP Indy, out of a Mr. Prospector mare. Her third dam is the prolific producer (and Grade 1 winner herself) Fall Aspen, the dam of the Grade 1 winners Timber Country, Hamas, Northern Aspen, and Fort Wood; and also of the dam of the late Dubai Millenium.

In the 5th, Kiaran McLaughlin starts Etched, a son of Forestry out of the Distaff winner Unbridled Elaine. Darley purchased the dam in foal to this colt for $4.4 million at the 2004 Keeneland November sale. Unbridled Elaine is also a half-sister to the Ashland winner Glitter Woman, who passed away last year; she was the dam of Political Force, who will be running in the Jockey Club Gold Cup tomorrow.