Belmont Notes

- Barclay Tagg had another winner on Wednesday, his third straight, when his first-timer Anita Rosita (Tomorrow's Cat) held off the Contessa favorite in the second at Belmont. It was the trainer's sixth winner with his last eight starters in New York! And it was his sixth first-out two-year old winner of this year, out of ten such runners!

And yet another winner for Richard Schosberg, three for four at the meeting. He may have a nice one in Light Tactic, now two-for-two with an easy allowance win. While watching this gray son of Tactical Cat bound away from the rest of the field, I was imagining that it was Highland Cat. That's what he might have looked like if he was good.

Two winners each for Stan Hough and Richard Dutrow....and none for Pletcher. The Toddster had one horse, Christies Treasure, who finished 6th at 4-1 in the Wild Applause Stakes. Unspoken Word set a reasonable pace, and had a lot to offer when asked for run in the stretch; just enough to hold on Stormy West.

The runner-up was 14-1, and ran an absolutely huge race closing from absolutely dead last at the top of the stretch; and doing so through a final 1/8th of 12.05 seconds. This daughter of Gone West won her last for Mott/Desormeaux at 9-1, and the bettors certainly didn't take her anymore seriously here. Probably because Desormeaux opted for the trainer's Sweet Ransom instead. Alan Garcia was up instead, and I'd imagine that Kent D. wants his mount back; that was one serious rally.

I've posted about Unspoken Word before; this three-year old filly was claimed for 75K from her breeder Kenneth Ramsey in her debut. But she is a daughter of Ramsey's Storm Cat sire Catienus, so at least he can console himself in that it's another stakes winner for the sire.

And did you see that superfecta in the ninth? A nifty return of $192,625 for 7-1 Dance for Fashion on top of 31-1, 145-1, and 24-1! A mere $9,429 for the triple..