Belmont Park: Exotic plays for the Noble Damsel Stakes

A cast of 10, with one being a main-track only entrant, will contest Saturday’s $200,000 Noble Damsel S. (G3) at Belmont Park. The one-mile turf affair appears to be a good betting event with a well-matched field set to go postward.

Conditioner Shug McGaughey has two entered for the affair, including my top pick #2 Flower Point. By Point of Entry, the five-year-old homebred was unplaced in her first pair of stakes tries to date, but she has posted wins in two of her last three running this distance on the course, and the deep closer could receive a healthy pace to rally into on Saturday.

Flower Point is coming along nicely this season and shows a fine half-mile drill on the surface in advance of this affair. Strong turf pilot Jose Lezcano will get the mare to the rail early to save ground and let her do her best running down the lane at a fair price.

I could make a case for most of the contenders in the cast but will settle on a pair for the majority of my exotics plays. #9 Risky Mischief has proven to be a solid turf sprinter who seems ready to tackle the one-turn mile for Jeremiah Englehart. The Empire State-bred four-year-old owns a win and a close second from two races on the Belmont green, and her versatile running style will give pilot Dylan Davis options in the early stages of the tilt.

McGaughey’s #1 In A Hurry has won or placed in each of her trio of assignments since adding blinkers, which includes two fine efforts over the Belmont lawn as of late. The Blame four-year-old comes off a sharp allowance score here last time out, and she will relish saving ground from her cozy rail slot. She will track the tempo early on with Javier Castellano in the silks.

Chad Brown’s duo of #6 Love and Thunder and #10 Tamahere, as well as Ballston Spa S. (G2) second #3 High Opinion, will be included in the lower rungs of the exotics.

Noble Damsel Wagers

• $10 exacta 2 with 1, 9 ($20)
• $3 exacta box 1, 2, 9 ($18)
• 50-cent trifecta key 2 with 1, 3, 6, 9, 10 ($10)
• 50-cent trifecta 1, 3, 6, 9, 10 with 2 with 1, 3, 6, 9, 10 ($10)