A spectacular card of graded stakes action has been assembled for Saturday at Belmont Park and the $1 million Ogden Phipps is shaping up to be one of the most competitive races of the day. The Grade 1 event for fillies and mares will be contested at a mile and a sixteenth.
Trainer Todd Pletcher will likely have two of the top contenders, Stopchargingmaria and Curalina. Last year, Stopchargingmaria capped off her season with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) and earned her ninth career victory. She was second in the Madison Stakes (G1) in her only start this year. Curalina has been on the board in all nine starts and was last seen winning the La Troienne Stakes (G1) in her first start since finishing third in the Distaff.
Another probable contender is Cavorting for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. Owned by Stonestreet Stables, the four-year-old daughter of Bernardini was purchased for $360,000 as a yearling and has won six of her eleven starts. Of those six wins, three of those victories have come at Belmont Park. She has had two starts this year and was last seen winning the Ruffian Stakes (G2) by five-lengths over five rivals.
Carrumba, a homebred for the prestigious Phipps Stable for whom the race is named, is also listed as a probable contender. A four-year-old daughter of Bernardini, she is trained by Claude McGaughey, III and has four wins and four second-place finishes from eight starts. She earned her first graded stakes victory two starts back and was last seen finishing second to Cavorting in the Ruffian Stakes (G2).
Saturday, January 29 at Gulfstream Park is one of the biggest races of the year: the Pegasus World Cup (G1)! This $3 million race, covering a mile and an eighth on the Gulfstream dirt track, drew a field of nine handicap horses. The eyes of the racing world will be on Gulfstream on Saturday, and you can bet it from the comfort of your own home here in Canada!
The Kentucky Derby trail makes its way to Oklahoma on Friday, December 17 for the Remington Springboard Mile! The race drew a field of nine up-and-coming two-year-olds to go a mile on the main track. The prizes are rich: a $400,000 purse, as well as Road to the Kentucky Derby points (10-4-2-1) for the first four horses across the wire.
The Los Alamitos Futurity (G2), California’s most important Kentucky Derby Prep in December, is coming up on Saturday, December 11! The race features the most promising two-year-olds in California, set to go a mile and a sixteenth over the dirt at Los Alamitos Racecourse. The race offers a purse of $300,000, as well as Road to the Kentucky Derby points, apportioned 10-4-2-1 to the top four finishers.
Let's have a look at the 2021 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf betting picks and predictions.
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