No Holds Barred Belmont Stakes Showdown

There’s no let-up this time of the year with top class action coming from the world over, after some hot ITV Racing on Saturday all eyes will turn to our Greyhound Tips & then to our American Tips from Belmont, with no less than EIGHT Grade 1 races on the card.

Good things come in threes and to those who wait, is that to say we’ve saved the best to last as far as the Triple Crown is concerned? The Belmont Stakes is nearly here to give us our eagerly awaited answers. War Of Will bids to give us another WOW moment and clinch the final leg of one of the most talked about and controversial Triple Crown series for many years. But before we get to the final stamina sapping leg of the Triple Crown we have an astounding seven more Grade 1 races on the card to take-in as well a brief re-cap on the Triple Crown so far.

A race won by Triple Crown winners Secretariat, American Pharoah, and Justify, this year's @BelmontStakes features the Preakness winner War Of Will – tune in on Saturday night on Sky Sports Racing 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/rwqHKVqUzc

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 5, 2019

Triple Crown Recap

Kentucky Derby – There’s little doubt the 2019 Triple Crown will live long in the memory after the now infamous 145th Kentucky Derby and opinion-splitting disqualification of Maximum Security and sequence of events that followed, including a tweet from US President Donald Trump, the deferral of the Kentucky Derby winner Country House from the Preakness; the first to do so in 23 years & a $20 million bet from Maximum Security’s owner Gary West. You can read more on the Kentucky Derby confusion here.

The Kentucky Derby decision was not a good one. It was a rough & tumble race on a wet and sloppy track, actually, a beautiful thing to watch. Only in these days of political correctness could such an overturn occur. The best horse did NOT win the Kentucky Derby – not even close!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2019

Gary West, owner of Maximum Security, was not happy about his runner being stripped of his 'win' in the Kentucky Derby.

He says he wants a rematch – bad!

If Country House, War of Will, Long Range Toddy, or Bodexpress beat his horse the next time they meet, he'll pay $5m each!

— My Racing Tips (@myracingtips) May 17, 2019

Preakness Stakes – The Preakness Stakes seemed to suffer considerably from the fall-out and aftermath of the Kentucky Derby with none of the first three making it to Middle Jewel in the Crown but that didn’t stop one of the horses at the centre of the controversy, War Of Will, coming to the fore. The War Front Colt was both highly lucky and at the same time unlucky in the Kentucky after losing all chance due to interference but was incredibly lucky to stay upright when he could have easily of lost balance. He travelled like an animal with something to prove in the Preakness and he really asserted his class with a dominant display travelling sweetly and picking up generously for pressure. He may take inspiration from a certain Meatloaf song this evening as he bids to take 2 out of 3 legs of the Triple Crown.

War Of Will wins the @PreaknessStakes! #Preakness144 pic.twitter.com/EHfjIVZEsO

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) May 18, 2019

Stacked Stakes Saturday

With no let-up in the top quality action we’ll follow Belmont’s lead and dive right in! The first Grade 1 of the day comes in the shape of the Just a Dream Stakes for 4YO+ Filles & Mares over a mile on the turf, in a smashing race with some familiar names from their European careers meeting with the gifted Rushing Fall who looks to add yet another win to her impressive CV, we’ve previewed that race and it looks like setting the bar high for the other top tier races to follow.

Next up comes the Ogden Phipps Stakes again for 4YO+ Fillies & Mares but this time on the dirt and over 8.5f. In a small but select field Midnight Bisou looks to continue her winning spree having scraped home by a nose in the G1 Apple Blossom last time, she now concedes even more weight to her victim that day, Escape Clause and must contend with the up and coming Come Dancing who is getting better with age and loves the track.

We keep with the theme of 4YO+ but we drop back to 6F and revert to Turf for the Jaipur Invitational. No prizes for spotting the star attraction in this race as World Of Trouble is likely to take the large majority of bets considering he’s still unexposed on turf having mixed it on dirt in the past. He’s G1 placed in the past, has gears both shorter and stamina for further, a seriously hot prospect.

After we see the speedy Colts & Geldings do battle the Fillies again take centre stage, this time 3YO only in the Acorn Stakes. Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress remarkably has only made second favourite on the US Morning Line. The lofty favourite tag falls on Chad Brown’s 15-length debut winner Guarana who looked like a superstar but takes a big rise in class.

Back to the sharper trips next as the 3YO Colts & Gelding race over 7F in the Woody Stephens’ Stakes. Mind Control was a G1 winner as a 2YO and looked very good in his last start when cutting back to 7F from a Mile, this could prove his optimum trip. But Complexity returns to the scene of his G1 Champagne Stakes win and it would be trademark Chad Brown to bring one back off a 6-month break to bag another G1 success.

A whole host of top quality horses set down to gain bragging rights in the Metropolitan Stakes over a mile for the 4YO+ horses. Coal Front & Thunder Snow who claimed success at Meydan on World Cup night meet here, the cut back in trip is an interesting angle for the Godolphin horse who went very close at this track in the Gold Cup last year. McKinzie & Mitole are other Grade 1 winners who will undoubtedly have their say on proceedings.

Back to the turf for what looks like a sizzling 10F contest for the 4YO+ horses, the Manhattan Stakes. A hugely exciting contest with some classy individuals coming to the fore, none more so than the Pegasus Turf winner Bricks And Mortar. Another smashing race we’ve previewed!

Finally, we come to the crown jewel and the main event of the evening the BELMONT STAKES over 1m4f for the 3YO Colts & Gelding. War Of Will bids to add another Classic to his Preakness Success and further enhance his claim as Best 3-Year-Old in the US. We’ve got a runner-by-runner preview for this gem too!