Belmont at the Big A Picks | Hudson Valley Stakes 2024

Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb and Richard Schermerhorn’s multiple stakes-winner Spirit of St Louis looks to notch his fifth consecutive stakes victory in Sunday’s $125,000 Hudson Valley, a one-mile inner turf test for older New York-breds, on Closing Day of the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet.

The Hudson Valley is slated as Race 2 on Sunday’s nine-race program, which co-features the $125,000 Port Washington in Race 5. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern. 

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Trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, Spirit of St Louis arrives from a dominant score in an off-the-turf edition of the Kingston going one-mile from the Wilson Chute on June 9 at Saratoga Race Course. There, he pounced from one length off the early pace to take an easy lead in the turn and draw clear to a 5 3/4-length victory over Disarmed.

The 5-year-old gelding began his win streak on October 6 going nine furlongs over the Big A green in the state-bred Ashley T. Cole, kicking clear late to claim the victory and earn a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure. He followed with a determined half-length score in the state-bred Mohawk over dual graded stakes-winner and reopposing City Man to duplicate his 97 figure and close out his 4-year-old campaign on October 29.

Spirit of St Louis showed no signs of rust when returning from a winter freshening in April to land his first open-company stakes score in the Listed Danger’s Hour in a course record time of 1:33.57 at the Big A ahead of the Kingston. His impressive win streak is part of a 7-5-2-0 record that included an 8 1/2-length romp on debut in a one-mile dirt route last February here.

Bred by Chester and Mary Broman, the Medaglia d’Oro dark bay is out of the graded stakes-winning Lemon Drop Kid mare Khancord Kid, making him a full-brother to the Bromans’ Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint victress Bar of Gold.

Regular pilot Manny Franco has the call from the inside post.

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing will have two chances in multiple stakes-winner Dakota Gold [post 4, Dylan Davis] and the aforementioned City Man [post 5, Joel Rosario], whom they co-own with Peter and Patty Searles.

Dakota Gold looks to defend his title after taking this event by three lengths last year. He arrives from a third-place effort behind Spirit of St Louis in the Danger’s Hour, where he also made his seasonal debut off a layoff that followed a fifth in the Mohawk for trainer Danny Gargan.

With Dylan Davis in the irons for the first time in the Danger’s Hour, Dakota Gold rallied from nine lengths off the pace to be eighth at the stretch call, but improved down the lane to land third three lengths back of his familiar rival.

“He’s doing really well and we expect him to run very well, but that’s a good horse,” Gargan said of the rematch with Spirit of St Louis. “My horse won’t run down inside of horses, so hopefully he goes to the outside and stays out there – don’t save ground, just be on the outside.”

Dakota Gold has banked nearly $750,000 in 15 lifetime starts, led by a strong juvenile campaign that saw him best open company in Monmouth Park’s $500,000 Nownownow and finish a close fifth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar. He has since captured two divisions of the New York Stallion Stakes Series at Belmont Park and Saratoga, and was a close third when defeated a half-length in last year’s Kingston won by City Man.

Gargan noted that Dakota Gold’s accomplishments all came when a bit unfocused, and that gelding him this winter could mean he’ll improve even more.

“This year, he’s better mentally and he had some gate issues last year, but we gelded him and I think that’s helped him,” said Gargan. “He’s acting better and isn’t as mean. He’s come around and hopefully he stays that way and is a little more relaxed. If we can get him to be a little better in the gate, maybe he can move up more.”

Dakota Gold was bred by Sequel Thoroughbreds and Ronald L. Bowden Living Trust.

City Man will make his first start since his narrow defeat to Spirit of St Louis in the Mohawk for trainer Christophe Clement. The Mucho Macho Man horse had been entered in the Kingston, but scratched after the race was taken off the turf.

Bred by Moonstar Farm, City Man boasts field-best earnings in excess of $1.2 million for a 32-11-6-5 record that included a pair of graded wins in 2022 in the Spa’s Grade 3 Forbidden Apple – where he notched a field-high 104 Beyer – and Gulfstream Park’s Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale. He has won an additional eight stakes, led by open-company triumphs at the Big A in the 2020 Gio Ponti and 2022 Listed Danger’s Hour.

Clement said the fan favorite is in good order coming into his 7-year-old season.

“It took a long time to bring him back,” said Clement. “He’s doing great. I’m very happy with him. The only issue is that he is one year older. So, I just hope for the best. They [the field] are younger than him, but he’s trained well. You have to try him in this spot and the race will tell us what to do. He has been very good to us over the years, so let’s just see what kind of race we get.”

Gay Smith’s Jerry the Nipper [post 2, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] was a last-out fourth in the Kingston and seeks his first win since taking an optional claimer last July at the Spa.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the 7-year-old Liam’s Map gelding has since placed in three state-bred stakes and picked up his first graded placing when a narrowly-defeated third in the Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale in December at Gulfstream. He makes his second start since returning from Barbados where he ran fourth in the Barbados Gold Cup in March. St. Elias Stable and Peta Ryan bred the bay gelding.

Completing the field is Hilly Fields Stable’s homebred Itsallcomintogetha [post 3, Jose Gomez], who enters from a local state-bred optional claiming score on May 24 for trainer Phil Serpe. The Weekend Hideaway colt vies for his second stakes conquest after taking last year’s Cab Calloway division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series at Saratoga.

Sheriff Bianco is entered for the main track-only.