ELMONT, N.Y. — After 1,167 days of heavy machinery, architectural transformation, and quiet grandstands, live racing makes its triumphant return to Long Island this Friday (Sept 18). Reopening the gates of the newly overhauled Belmont Park, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) has staged a opening-day feature fit for the moment: the Grade 1, US$1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Headlining the 1¼-mile autumn showcase is Japanese sensation Forever Young (JPN), the reigning Breeders' Cup Classic champion and one of the highest-earning thoroughbreds in turf history. Trained by Yoshito Yahagi and ridden by regular pilot Ryusei Sakai, the five-year-old globe-trotter enters off a storied campaign across four countries, boasting over US$31.7 million in career bankroll.
The Gold Cup, inaugurated in 1919 and won by legendary icons ranging from Man o' War and Kelso to Cigar and Curlin, carries its traditional "Win and You're In" berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic.
Originally assembled with seven entrants, the main-track feature tightened up following Tuesday morning scratches of mid-pack contenders Banishing and Chunk of Gold. The resulting five-horse gate leaves the heavy favourite with clear operational room from post seven.
Post Horse Jockey Trainer Morning Line
1 Baeza Junior Alvarado Bill Mott 9-2
2 Stars and Stripes John Velazquez Bill Mott 15-1
3 Chunk of Gold -- -- SCRATCHED
4 Phileas Fogg Kendrick Carmouche Gustavo Rodriguez 4-1
5 Banishing -- -- SCRATCHED
6 Render Judgment Manny Franco Kenny McPeek 20-1
7 Forever Young Ryusei Sakai Yoshito Yahagi 3-5
With Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott’s primary contender—reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty—forced out due to a foot abscess, the domestic defence rests largely on Phileas Fogg and Mott’s late-closing Baeza.
Phileas Fogg, a $55,000 bargain claim turned $1.1 million earner for trainer Gustavo Rodriguez, enters off a career-best 10-length runaway performance in the Grade 2 Suburban Stakes over this same 10-furlong distance. Front-running and sharp, the six-year-old gelding projects as the early pacesetter under Kendrick Carmouche.
Mott sends out Baeza (9-2), a Grade 1-placed late charger who gets blinkers removed after spotty starts cost him momentum in the Alysheba and Stephen Foster Stakes earlier this summer. Mott’s second entry, long-distance winner Stars and Stripes (15-1), picks up veteran reinsman John Velazquez. Rounding out the field is Kenny McPeek's longshot candidate, Render Judgment (20-1).
While the action on the dirt oval commands the racing form, the facility itself shares centre stage. The $455 million transformation replaces the sprawling 1968 grandstand with a state-of-the-art five-story building, four modernized racing surfaces (including an all-weather synthetic track), and expansive green space through the infield.
