Belmont Futurity Preview

by Patricia Woo | Sep 14 2009

Our race of the week is the 120th running of the $250,000 Gr. 2 Belmont Futurity on Saturday, Sept. 12. It is a 7-furlong race for 2-year-olds held at Belmont Park in Elmont, NY, and is an important prep race on the road to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita in November.

One of the 2-year-olds with the most impressive pedigree is Discreetly Mine, a Kentucky-bred son of Mineshaft and half-brother to Discreet Cat. Trained by Stanley Hough for E. Paul Robsham Stables, Discreetly Mine finally broke his maiden with a 6 ¼-length victory at Saratoga Race Course on Aug. 22 after two previous tries - including a runner-up finish by a neck at Belmont on July 2. Discreetly Mine has a 2009 record of 2-1-1-0 and career earnings of $53,640. With a front-running style, the ability to win on a muddy-good track and with rain threatening the week leading up to the Belmont Futurity, Discreetly Mine should turn in another good performance on Saturday.

Another contender to watch out for, both now and in the short weeks leading up to the Breeders' Cup, is D'Funnybone. This 2-year-old son of D'Wildcat is already a graded stakes winner with the $150,000 Gr. 2 Saratoga Special under his belt, a 6 ½-furlong race run on Aug. 20 at the Spa. The race was a breakthrough for the Florida-bred colt, who routed his fellow 2-year-old rivals by 10 ½ lengths. Prior to that, D'Funnybone broke his maiden with a commanding 7 ½-length win in May and then finished runner-up in the Frank Gomez Memorial in July, both at Calder Race Course. D'Funnybone has earned $128,000 in 2009 and is owned by Paul Pompa and trained by Rick Dutrow, Jr., two figures with connections to 2008 Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown. With speed and stamina in his pedigree, D'Funnybone should be among the frontrunners for the Belmont Futurity.

Another notable nominee is Fearless Cowboy, a Kiaran McLaughlin trainee who has had an eventful 2009 thus far. He finished third behind D'Funnybone in the Saratoga Special in his first graded stakes try (and his first race on dirt), but is no stranger to stakes winning, having captured the $150,000 Colin Stakes at Woodbine in July. He has a win record of 5-2-1-0 and winnings of $156,097. The Barclay Tagg-trained Insightful, who has come up just short against Discreetly Mine, D'Funnybone and Fearless Cowboy, has also been nominated. Two others - Citrus Kid and Grand Slam Andre - have winning connections to the Belmont Futurity: Both their sires have won this race - Lemon Drop Kid in 1998 and Grand Slam in 1997, respectively.

The Belmont Futurity has a star-studded list of past winners, including Holy Bull (1993), Affirmed (1977) and Secretariat (1972). Will this year's Belmont Futurity winner be another future champion?

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