The 8th race at Belmont on Saturday is the highlight of the early meet with the running of the Grade 1 Garden City Stakes. This is always one of the year’s classiest events and is a premier race for fillies. The $300,000 purse is nothing to sneeze at either.
My early tip was Gozzip Girl and I also stand by that. He’s at 2/1 in the morning line and I expect him to take a bit of a dip. I think this is good value on one of the country’s best fillies- although we should acknowlegde that the words “best” and “filly” have taken on a bit of a different meaning during the 2009 summer session. I think Gozzip Girl just has so much working in her favour that you can’t pass her up, especially with Kent Desmormeaux on top.
The only real competition I see comes from Maram at 3/1 and Graham Motion’s Shared Account at 4/1. Shared Account bested Keertana, who runs in this race, at the Grade 2 Lake Placid at Saratoga in late August. That was her only victory of the season, but she did put in a tough 2nd place to Blind Date in the Grade 3 Virginia Oaks. They will have Ramon Dominguez aboard for the first time and that’s an interesting variable.
Maram is a classy competitor who is 3 from 3 lifetime with wins at Santa Anita in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf Race, the Miss Grillo Stakes at Belmont and scored in her first race which was a maiden claimer at Saratoga. The only thing keeping me from backing this horse is that she hasn’t run this season and I don’t think she’s helped by the long layoff against quality competition.
Pull Dancer is an interesting selection and the 6/1 price is still a bit short for my likings. This horse isn’t out of the question for a win, but it will take her best to pull this one off. This could be an each-way for the adventurous.
Other notables include Keertana and Miss World at 10/1. Katara sits at 12/1 with Many Kisses the long shot at 30/1.
My selection for the 2009 Garden City Stakes at Belmont Park is Gozzip Girl.
Exacta: Gozzip Girl/Shared Account
Triactor: Gozzip Girl/Shared Account/Maram
Superfecta: Gozzip Girl/Shared Account/Maram/Miss World
