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Starting of in the US at Saratoga.
Friday's card has 6 graded stakes starting with the Gr 2 Bed o' Roses over 1400m for f&m with a field of 7 and Ways and Means on top at 6/5 for Brown-Prat with Scylla Mott-Rosario the obvious danger.
The Ogden Phipps is Gr 1 over 1800m for f&m and 7 runners headed by La Troienne winner Raging Sea o 5/2 for Brown-Prat and Candied a daughter of Candy Ride, on 3/1 for Pletcher-Franco.
The Belmont Gold Cup is over 3200m turf so one would have expected a few more raiders but there is only one – Flatten The Curve- for Grewe- T H Hansen and they are ob 3/1 with local Limited Liability on 2/1 for McCaughey -Dettori. There's actually 10 runners with 3 emergencies here and they include Anglophile on 9/2 Lynch-Castellano and Grand Sonata 6/1 for Pletcher- I Ortiz.
The Acorn sees Oaks star Good Cheer going for her 8th win in as many starts and she's on 1/2 for Cox-Saez and Shred the Gnar next best on 3/1 with Lynch-J L Ortiz.
The New York Stakes is over 1900m for f&m with 8 to run headed by She Feels Pretty who is after her fourth consecutive win and is on 3/5. Gimme A Nother, a South African bred now with Motion and we like Bellezza 8/1 for Miguel Clement-Prat.
The Just A Game is Gr 1 over 1600m turf for f&m with 11 starters. The 1-2-3 in the Jenny Wiley reoppose here with Excellent Truth on 5/1, Choisya 4/1 for Crisford-Saez and 9/2 for Kehoe Beach.
Saturday has the Woody Stephens Gr 1 over 1400m for the 3yo and 11 will run headed by Chancer McPatrick, a McKinzie colt with Brown and Prat rides. Patch Adams and Citizen Bull are both on 5/1 and both by Into Mischief, the former with Cox-Saez and the latter Baffert-Smith.
The Manhattan is Gr 1 over 1900m turf and Miguel Clement will saddle two possibles – Far Bridge on 3/1 with Rosario riding and Deterministic on 9/2 with Carmouche on board. Current favourite is Spirit of St Lousi on 5/2 for Brown-Franco.
And then we come to the Belmont itself and the big re-match between Journalism and Sovereignty. Both are very good horses indeed and it's hard to split them but Journalism did some brilliant trackwork earlier in the week and so gets our nod. Journalism is on 8/5, Sovereignty 2/1. Next in the market is Baeza on 4/1 and Rodriguez comes in on 6/1 and take a sharp pin if you fancy any other runner.
