GI Preakness S. winner Exaggerator (Curlin) got his first feel for Belmont Park, galloping once around the 1 1/2-mile oval during a brief break in the rain Monday morning.
“He was really good,” said Julie Clark, assistant to trainer Keith Desormeaux. “The track is so big, it kind of looks like they're going slower than they are, but he went in a nice good pace. Not fast, not slow, just right in the middle. He seemed to handle it well. He came back barely blowing and then I passed him off to [his groom] Vic [Vargas] and made Vic walk him because he was a handful, like he always is.”
Of Exaggerator's training schedule leading up to the June 11 GI Belmont S., Clark said, “He's either going to gallop two [miles] or two-minute clip [a mile] tomorrow, Keith's waiting to make that decision. He might work on Saturday, or he may do a two-minute clip Saturday and breeze Tuesday. He's had a pretty easy week since the Preakness, plus Keith wanted to see how he handled the track, especially going a little further.”
Also expected for the Belmont are: Brody's Cause (Giant's Causeway), Cherry Wine (Paddy o'Prado), Destin (Giant's Causeway), Stradivari (Medaglia d'Oro), Governor Malibu (Malibu Moon), Creator (Tapit), Suddenbreakingnews (Mineshaft) and Lani (Tapit).
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