LIKE MONEY IN THE ‘BANK’
TODAY’S 10-race July 4 holiday feast at Belmont Park serves up a pair of juicy stakes, the $150,000 Tom Fool at seven furlongs and the $250,000 New York at a mile-and-a-quarter on turf for fillies and mares.
Carded as the eighth and ninth races, these Grade 2 handicaps are the meat of a pick 4 sandwich (races 7-10) that should take plenty of action. We’ll invest $30 on a ticket built around two horses trained by Todd Pletcher, tied for the lead at the Belmont spring-summer meet with 22 wins, who holds a strong hand in both main events.
In the Tom Fool, Pletcher saddles Left Bank, who is coming off a surprisingly poor effort when fifth, beaten 13 lengths, in the May 27 Metropolitan Handicap here. But the 5-year-old son of French Deputy has a ton of class and talent. He closed out last year with victories in the Grade 1 Vosburgh and Cigar Mile, and won the Grade 3 Bold Ruler first time out this campaign. He’s ready to rebound over a track (5-for-8) and distance (5-for-7) he adores.
“We missed a lot of time with Left Bank down in Florida (over the winter) because of a foot problem,” Pletcher said. “It was not our plan to run in the Bold Ruler and then come back in the Met Mile 16 days later, but that was the hand that was dealt us.
“In the Met, he was a touch too rank, and it would be hard for him to carry those fractions (:44.3) for a mile. But he’s trained forwardly since then (five furlongs in :59.4 and 1:00.3) and I think he might be back on his game.”
Left Bank found himself on the early lead in the Met Mile, but he does his best racing from just off the pace and finds a favorable scenario in the Tom Fool. Appealing Danger and Summer Note figure to come flying from the gate, setting up a speed duel that will allow Left Bank and jockey John Velazquez to sit back and relax before making their move.
In the New York Handicap, Pletcher sends out the distance-loving Tweedside, last-out winner of the mile-and-three-eighths Sheepshead Bay over this course under Velazquez. The Irish-bred Volga (trained by Christophe Clement, ridden by Jose Santos) and French filly Five Fishes (Niall O’Callaghan, Jorge Chavez), both stakes winner in Europe, loom the main dangers.
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FOUR-TUNE TELLER
Here’s our Fourth of July $1 pick-4 ticket for $30 ($1x2x1x3x5):
RACE 7: Use the Bobby Frankel-trained entry of Langoureuse (Edgar Prado) and Bel Baie (Jorge chavez) with Bill Mott and Jerry Bailey’s Misty Sixes
RACE 8: Single Left Bank
RACE 9: Tweedside, Volga, Five Fishes
RACE 10: Spread with Cold Blow Lane (Phil Serpe, Mike Luzzi), Preferred Guest (Leo O’Brien, Jose Santos), Daredevil Adam (Scott Schwartz, Chavez), Motives (Mott Bailey) and Robyns Gold Charm (Dennis Manning, Davis).


