War Like Goddess will be attempting to win the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes against her top male counterparts as the Belmont Park event moves to Aqueduct for this year.
The only mare in the 1 ½ mile Grade 1, she has had a productive year so far with two wins and a second in graded races, but all of which were for fillies and mares. She is the 2.50 favourite with William Hill, but can she and jockey Jose Lezcano beat the boys for trainer William I. Mott?
※ Current Odds Date & Time: October 7th, 2:00 PM (BST)
The 12.00 sixth favourite of the seven-horse field is last year’s champion Rockemperor.
Retaining his partnership with trainer Chad C. Brown and jockey Javier Castellano, he is attempting to be the first back-to-back winner of the 1 ½ mile Grade 1 since English Channel in 2007.
The 6-year-old’s form since last October has been patchy though with only one win in six outings. The victory was in the Grade 2 Bowling Green Stakes at Saratoga under the stewardship of Flavien Prat while the next best was fifth of ten runners in the Manhattan Stakes at Belmont Park.
Madaket Stables have two more runners in Saturday’s field with both two years younger than the reigning champion. Adhamo also has one win this season in the Grade 1 United Nations Stakes when favourite at Monmouth Park in July, but since then only has an eighth place in the Sword Dancer Stakes to his name.
Also trained by Brown, Adhamo, a 5.50 shot, will be ridden by Dylan Davis for the first time.
The other Madaket entry is Soldier Rising (7.50) who fared a little better in the Sword Dancer coming third with Jose L Ortiz on board. Ortiz also rode Soldier Rising to two wins and a second this summer in ungraded contests, but trainer Christophe Clement has also opted for a jockey change bringing in Manuel Franco.
Winner of the Sword Dancer and third in last year’s running behind Rockemperor was Gufo who comes into this edition as the 4.33 second favourite. In yet another change of a regular jockey, Junior Alvarado takes his first ride on the 5-year-old in two years ending a 12-race partnership with Joel Rosario.
Gufo backed up the Saratoga victory with a second place in the Grade 2 Kentucky Turf Cup last month.
Fergal Lynch has taken the ride on 10.00 chance Bye Bye Melvin. H. Graham Motion has only raced him once in the last 15 months, which was a win in a claiming race at Saratoga.
Astronaut will be hoping to soar for Thomas Albertrani and Kendrick Carmouche but three very poor runs since his last win 14 months ago suggest it will be unlikely, he’s at 51.00.
