A rematch between Preakness Stakes winner Journalism and Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty could be in the offing at the Belmont Stakes on June 7.
Sovereignty, who beat Journalism by 1 1/2 lengths in the Derby on May 3, didn’t race at the Preakness in Baltimore last Saturday, with his handlers instead choosing to ready him for the Belmont.
He is in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., training for the final leg of the Triple Crown. The race will be held at the upstate Saratoga Race Course for a second consecutive year as reconstruction continue at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
No decision has been made yet about Journalism’s status for the Belmont, but owners are considering a run.
‘We have the utmost respect for Sovereignty. He beat us on the square in the Kentucky Derby,’ Aron Wellman, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners president and founder, told the New York Racing Association. ‘As much as we would love to square off again with Sovereignty, it doesn’t factor into our ultimate determination of whether Journalism runs in the Belmont or not.
‘We would like to be in position to run in the Belmont, but it will all be contingent on Journalism and what signs he’s showing us and (trainer) Michael McCarthy. It will totally be deferred to Michael McCarthy on whether or not he feels comfortable coming back on another three-week turnaround.’
Other horses that could compete in the Grade 1, $2 million Belmont include Rodriguez, winner of the Wood Memorial; Preakness runner-up Gosger; Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Baeza; Peter Pan winner Hill Road; and Heart of Honor, who finished fifth in the Preakness.
–Field Level Media