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2009 Belmont Stakes Picks & Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd

belmont-picks-6409 Win: Mine That Bird 4/3 – The 2009 Kentucky Derby long shot winner followed up his memorable performance at Churchill Downs with a close second place finish in the Preakness Stakes to favorite Rachel Alexandra. With Rachel Alexandra not running in the the third leg of the Triple Crown, Mine That Bird has emerged as the race favorite, and I believe he will live up the hype. Mine That Bird has shown a finishing kick like I haven’t seen in quite some time, and the longer Belmont distance should give him adequate space to win with another strong finish. We can also expect a top notch ride from Calvin Borel, who jumped ship to ride Rachel Alexandra to the Preakness win after riding Mine That Bird in the Derby. He has a chance to do something special in winning his own version of the Triple Crown. Doing so would make him the first jockey since 1978 to win all three Triple Crown races in the same year. He’s already put himself on the map as the first jockey to win the Derby and then ride another horse in the next race. Chip Woolley will not impress those who figure the trainer in a great deal when handicapping a race. After all, He had just one win this year before the Derby, but Mine That Bird’s pedigree is sure to get anyone’s attention. He is the son of Birdstone, the famous long shot winner of the 2004 Belmont Stakes. He also has ties to Grindstone, the winner of the 1996 Kentucky Derby and Curlin, the 2007 Preakness Stakes, the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Classic, and the 2008 Dubai World Cup winner. He looks like the best horse in this field by far and he’ll get my nod on race day.

Place: Charitable Man 10/3 – Charitable Man ran as the 8/5 favorite in the Peter Pan Stakes here at Belmont Park the weekend after the Kentucky Derby and he did not disappoint, capturing a win by nearly four lengths. He’s won three of his four starts and is two-for-two on this track. At this price, he is worth a Win wager and will be a big player in my exotics. You have to like the fact that his jockey, Alan Garcia, rode Da’ Tara to a Belmont victory just last year, and you also have to like the track record that trainer Kiaran McLaughlin brings in, which includes a Belmont win with Jazil. This is the race that those in his corner have been gearing toward, and why not, when your sire is 1999 Belmont Stakes winner Lemon Drop Kid. While I don’t expect this to be the case, If Mine That Bird doesn’t have anything left after the first two legs of the Triple Crown, as was the case with Big Brown last year, Charitable Man can win this race.

Show: Chocolate Candy 10/1 – Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker. That old saying may be grounds for a name change if that’s what it takes to get Chocolate Candy in the top three. I like this horse a lot. I’m confident he will be at least a top five horse. He ran fifth place in the Kentucky Derby to get a piece of the purse in his debut on dirt, and he should be even better against a smaller and less talented field. He’ll get a good ride from Garrett Gomez, the nation’s top jockey. Gomez is about as good a jockey as I’ve ever seen, but somehow winning a Triple Crown race has eluded him. Perhaps he’s due. Chocolate Candy is sired by Candy Ride, who famously won all six of his career race before being retired. His dam was sired by Seattle Slew, who, of course, was the 1977 Triple Crown winner.

Longshot: Summer Bird 12/1

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