June 12 Insights

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency

BLUEBLOODS APLENTY IN BELMONT MSW
2nd-BEL, $90K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1m, 1:31p.m.
Five of the six horses set to line up in Belmont's second race Saturday are sophomore colts with big pedigrees and/or price tags. Vindictive (Uncle Mo) is the only one of that quintet making his career bow in this test for trainer Todd Pletcher. The $200,000 KEESEP purchase is out of MSW & GSP Exotic Bloom (Montbrook), who is also the dam of MGISW Stopchargingmaria (Tale of the Cat). Winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff for Pletcher, Stopchargingmaria summoned $4.4-million from Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm at the 2018 FTKNOV sale carrying a foal by Tapit. That colt, now named Fifty Chevy, debuts Sunday at Tokyo Racecourse. The deserving morning-line favorite in this affair is Summer Wind homebred Southern Flag (Union Rags), who missed by a neck in his track-and-trip debut May 14. The chestnut is out of a daughter of the farm's matriarch, SW Misty Hour (Miswaki). She is responsible for two more blue-hens in MGSW India (Hennessy), dam of MG1SW Mozu Ascot (Frankel {GB}) and SW 'TDN Rising Star' Kareena (Medaglia d'Oro); and SW Pilfer (Deputy Minister), dam of Grade I winners To Honor and Serve (Bernardini) and Angela Renee (Bernardini), as well as SW & GISP Elnaawi (Street Sense). Chad Brown saddles a pair of expensive colts in $2.1-million KEESEP buy Beatbox (Pioneerof the Nile) and $470,000 KEESEP purchase Miles D (Curlin). Beatbox checked in seventh in his seven-panel unveiling at Keeneland last October and receives Lasix for the first time here. The dark bay is a half to a pair of \fs21f1'TDN Rising Stars' in MGISW Guarana (Ghostzapper) and SW & GSP Magic Dance (More Than Ready). Their second dam is Distaff winner Pleasant Home (Seeking the Gold). Miles D also gets Lasix for the first time here after finishing fourth first out at this oval last October. He is out of an unraced daughter of MGISW My Flag (Easy Goer), dam of champion Storm Flag Flying (Storm Cat). Courtlandt Farms' $800,000 KEESEP acquisition Absolute Courage (Into Mischief) adds blinkers for this third start. Fourth on debut sprinting at Aqueduct Apr. 9, the bay was third last out in a six-furlong event at this oval May 7. TJCIS PPs

SEVEN-FIGURE MEDAG COLT DEBUTS IN NJ
11th-MTH, $45K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1 1/16mT, 4:58p.m.
About 3 1/2 hours after his year-younger half-brother and stablemate Vindictive (Uncle Mo) makes his career bow at Belmont, $2.1-million KEESEP buy Lumino (Medaglia d'Oro) makes his first trip to the post at the Jersey Shore. Their half-sister is three-time Grade I winner and multi-millionaire Stopchargingmaria (Tale of the Cat), who summoned six figures in the auction ring twice as a broodmare. TJCIS PPs