Sunday Stakes Selections for Belmont Park June 11

A quartet of black-type events will highlight a fine Sunday afternoon of racing at Belmont Park. In this piece, I will turn my focus to the trio of listed sprint events on the main surface.

Race 2 – Astoria S.

Juvenile fillies will run 5 1/2 furlongs in the initial stakes tilt of the day. Of the six entered in the heat, I am most intrigued by the Steve Asmussen-trained #6 Closing Act. The daughter of Munnings broke slowly on debut beneath the Twin Spires but put in a strong late run to get up late in game fashion. The Texas-bred shows a trio of morning moves in the interim, and I think that she will surely benefit from drawing on the outside in her stakes and local bow. Irad Ortiz Jr. taking the reins is an obvious plus.

Race 5 – Jersey Girl S.

A total of five three-year-old fillies will vie in the six-furlong affair. #2 Aunt Becca ran on the dirt for the initial time at Keeneland most recently and looked like a star en route to a 6 1/4-length victory while facing allowance foes. The Uncle Mo homebred has been freshened up for this heat, and I like that she received a draw inside of the other major pace players in the group. The dark bay filly will be a menacing foe with a repeat of her most recent showing, with John Velazquez accepting the mount for Cherie DeVaux.

Race 9 – Tremont S.

The juvenile boys will sprint 5 1/2 furlongs on the main strip with seven signed on for the event. A total of five in the field are coming off of debut tallies, including #1 Vitement, who proved to be a stubborn foe in graduating at Churchill Downs at first asking. Now in the barn of Eddie Kenneally, the chestnut son of Mizzen Mast will appreciate the added ground in the tilt and might be the one to catch if sent hard from the break by Flavien Prat. The Kentucky-bred colt could be of good value in the well-matched cast.