How to bet the 2024 Belmont Oaks
She Feels Pretty (Photo by Maryland Jockey Club/Jerry Dzierwinski)
July 5th, 2024
An excellent field of nine sophomore fillies will run 1 3/16 miles on the Aqueduct turf in Saturday’s $500,000 Belmont Oaks (G1). The field for the grassy affair has class from top to bottom, and the contest will undoubtedly be an exciting one.
#7 She Feels Pretty (2-1), who kicked off her three-year-old season with a dominant score in the Hilltop S. at Pimlico, is the one to beat. The classy Cherie Devaux trainee has a ton of class and could surely be the one, but she runs beyond a mile for the first time and is hard to fully trust at the distance, especially at a short price in a deep field. While I’m a big fan of the daughter of Karakontie in general, she could potentially be vulnerable.
I believe that each of the three European imports is well meant for the race and I will use all of them. Godolphin homebred #8 Cinderella’s Dream (9-2) rolled home to victory in her first four lifetime assignments prior to finishing a respectable seventh in the 1000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket in May. By Shamardal, the once-beaten bay has put in a pair of drills in the Empire State in advance of Saturday, and conditioner Charlie Appleby is a sensational 46 perfect with shippers coming to the U. S. for the initial time. William Buick riding adds to her appeal.
#3 Fun With Flags (10-1) suffered her first setback when a solid runner-up in the Prix Cleopatre (G3) at Saint-Cloud in her most recent endeavor. The Zoffany filly, who brought in excess of $677,000 at auction recently, is proven at the distance and could be almost any kind in her stateside bow. The Jerome Reynier trainee will have Manny Franco in the stirrups.
Group 3 heroine #5 Secret Satire (8-1) gets Frankie Dettori to ride for her initial try on U. S. sod. The Andrew Balding pupil was outrun at Epsom in her latest venture, but she will have little problem enduring the voyage on Saturday and has to be given a chance from a well-respected barn. She has been prominent in the early going in her most recent races and will likely be forcing the issue on this occasion, too. The affair lacks pace and she could be on top early at a nice number.
