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Bingo:jjjj:
Peter Pan winner Casino Drive had a vigorous gallop at Belmont Park Wednesday morning after the break, and Nobutaka Tada, racing manager for owner Hidetoshi Yamamoto, seemed pleased with the colt’s progress as he points for the 140th running of the Belmont Stakes on June 7.
“At the moment, we are pleased with him and we will not go any faster in the mornings,” Tada said. “We walk him fast one hour before he goes to the track, warming up muscle and tendon; it’s good. Then, we go to the track. Then, he walks again nearly one hour to cool down. That’s what we do in Japan, and we will do it here.”
Wednesday afternoon, Tada said that Edgar Prado was confirmed to ride Casino Drive in the Belmont Stakes.
“We have a commitment with Edgar Prado for the Belmont Stakes, and on behalf of the owner (Hidetoshi Yamamoto) and the trainer (Kazuo Fujisawa), we appreciate the interest from all of the jockeys from all over the country in riding him in the Belmont Stakes. The fact that so many jockeys were interested in riding him encouraged us even more to run in the Belmont. There are so many good jockeys here and it was a very difficult decision to pick up the right one.
“The reason we decided on Edgar was his experience in the Belmont Stakes. I think he is the best choice for the Belmont Stakes.”
Edgar Prado
Prado has ridden in eight Belmont Stakes, winning in 2002 with Sarava and in 2004 with Birdstone, ruining the respective Triple Crown bids of War Emblem and Smarty Jones. Sarava, who paid $142.50, remains the highest $2 win payoff in Belmont Stakes history.
If Prado wins the Belmont, he will be tied with Braulio Baeza, Pat Day, Laffitt Pincay Jr., Gary Stevens and James Stout. Earle Sande and Bill Shoemaker won five Belmont Stakes, and the only two jockeys to win six Belmonts are James McLaughlin and Eddie Arcaro.
Casino Drive will head into the Belmont with only two races under his belt, including a maiden victory in Japan in February. Tada said he was not concerned with the colt’s slim resume. Casino Drive is undefeated, as is Triple Crown contender Big Brown. Seattle Slew (1977) is the only horse to win the Triple Crown while undefeated.
“We wish he could race once or twice more, but he did very well in the Peter Pan,” Tada said. “He’s not too experienced but he’s fine. Experience is needed, but you don’t need too many races.”
Casino Drive was purchased in September, 2006, after his half-brother Jazil’s victory in the Belmont Stakes but before his three-quarter sister, Rags to Riches, became the first filly in 102 years to win the 1 ½ mile race.
“We didn’t bring him here, his pedigree brought him here,” said Tada. “He was a nice, big, leggy, tall colt [when we bought him] and we thought he could race on the turf, too.”
Tada said trainer Kazuo Fujisawa, who this weekend will saddle Crystal Wing in the Japan Derby, would be arriving in New York on Tuesday, June 3.
Tada said all of Casino Drive’s connections, particularly his owner, have a great deal of respect for Triple Crown hopeful Big Brown and are looking forward to competing against him in the Belmont.
“As a sportsman [Mr. Yamamoto] is very happy to have a horse like Big Brown in the race,” said Tada.
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