Horses to single in Belmont's $39,561 Pick 6 carryover

A stakes-packed Saturday card at Belmont Park has been further enhanced by a $39,561 carryover in the $1 Pick 6.

Looking for singles to build tickets around? We’ve analyzed the sequence and identified a couple of viable possibilities:

Race 8: Man o’ War S. (G1, 1 3/8 miles on turf): #1 Yibir (1-1)

Only six horses will face the starter in the most prestigious of the afternoon stakes, and Yibir looks like a standout while shipping in from Europe for trainer Charlie Appleby.

Yibir was a force to reckon with in two U.S. starts last season. His first foray came at Belmont Park, where he unleashed a powerful last-to-first surge to dominate the Jockey Club Derby against three-year-olds. Then Yibir stepped up against older rivals in the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), where he produced a jaw-dropping rally to gain five lengths in the final furlong and prevail by half a length.

Yibir’s Breeders’ Cup triumph capped off a sensational year for Appleby’s North American raiders, who went 9-for-18 (50%) while picking up eight Grade 1 wins. Yibir remains in encouraging form, finishing second in the Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) in Dubai and Jockey Club S. (G2) in England to kick off 2022, and returning to North America figures to provide Yibir with another Grade 1 tally.

Race 10: Beaugay S. (G3, 1 1/16 miles on turf): #1 Rougir (1-1)

Yibir isn’t the only formidable favorite in the entries on Saturday. The Beaugay for fillies and mares appears ripe for conquest by Rougir, who is making her 2022 debut for new trainer Chad Brown.

Rougir showed plenty of talent as a three-year-old in France, counting a victory in the Prix de l’Opera (G1) and a close fourth in the Prix Rothschild (G1) among her season highlights. She wrapped up the year with a seventh-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1), where she endured a trouble trip against a remarkably deep field.

Rougir has been firing off bullet workouts over the Payson Park turf course, and Brown wins at a 28% rate with horses returning from long layoffs, so Rougir should be ready to produce her A-game in the Beaugay. The competition is easier than Rougir encountered in the Breeders’ Cup, and hot jockey Flavien Prat is named to ride, so all signs suggest Rougir is a viable single in the Beaugay.

Good luck!