Really interesting race early in the card at Belmont today that could easily pass as a G3 if not a G2 race looking at the participants.
Profiteer: Pretty solid 4YO that knocks on the door a lot. 9 for 12 in the money in his career, and comes in off of 4 solid efforts. No shame in losing to Frostmourne 2 back or Ring Weekend 3 back, but he really had no excuse for not winning his last as he gave it up late. Thinking this field is likely too tough for him today.
Kurilov: Take away his last race, and he very well might have been an odds on favorite. His neck loss to Heart to Heart 2 back in which he also defeated Hi Happy is pretty damn solid. A must include in horizontals that looks like he is the one to beat if he runs anything near his prior form to his last out.
Messi: This battle tested 8YO has been a Graded Stakes mainstay for a number of years. He has a solid 4-2-0-2 Belmont record and Johnny V is killing it this Belmont meet. However, his last victory was at Woodbine back in August of '16 and he hasn't raced since November. Looking back to last year, he rolled in off of a very similar layoff and ran a decent 3rd in the G3 Marcy. Tough call either way, but looks to be exotics bound for me.
Memories of Peter: Doubt the connections were expecting this field to be this tough, especially with only 7 entrants. Can easily see the scenario in which they push for the lead and try to hold on much like he did 3 back in the G3 Red Smith. Junior is very familiar with this guy, but he just seems a bit short of others in here.
Highland Sky: Recent form isn't very pretty, and his only win in the last 2 years doesn't beat this field. Looks to be in pretty tough here.
Silverwave: The other Brown entry is a very interesting one. Not often do we see near $600K purchased Euros running in the States. His running lines are a near Who's Who of turf racing as well with Enable, Cloth of Stars, Ulysses, Found, Highland Reel, and Talismanic. Just last June he beat last years eventual BC Turf champ Talismanic in a 12 panel affair. His first try in the States wasn't anything to write home about as he split the field in the G3 Marcy and did little late running. Looks to be an absolute must include in horizontals and I think he will be the race time favorite.
Watershed: First question you have to ask is "Turf"? His recent form is pretty ugly as he was well beaten by double digit lengths in his last two which included the
Kurilov 2 back. His lone turf race last year wasn't as bad as the 9th place finish shows. He was gaining ground, and the winner (Wake Forest) was running huge at that time last year. He would need a massive form reversal, but does have some races that show him to be more than competitive in here. If you are reaching for a bomb early in the card, this might be your guy.
