Trainer Chad Brown said he plans for Tuscan Gold, fourth in a muddy Preakness Stakes (G1), to join stablemate and Kentucky Derby (G1) runner-up Sierra Leone in the June 8 Belmont Stakes (G1) if Tuscan Gold works to his satisfaction this weekend.
"Right now, I'm planning on entering him," Brown said during a National Thoroughbred Racing Association teleconference.
Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan and others considered for the Belmont are also having their final works scrutinized before they are fully committed by their trainers to the race. Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Seize the Grey is another headliner for the final leg of the Triple Crown, which will take place this year at Saratoga Race Course over 1 1/4 miles due to construction at Belmont Park.
Tuscan Gold, third in the Louisiana Derby (G2) a start before the Preakness, is 1-0-1 in four starts with earnings of $267,100 for owners William Lawrence, Walmac Farm, and Stonestreet Stables.
Brown said he did not feel the Preakness was a fair representation of his colt's potential, owing to the muddy track. He noted his colt came under early encouragement from Preakness rider Tyler Gaffalione to maintain contact with the field when in sixth early.
"In the second half of the race, he got him engaged, and he made a little run there," he said of the 8 1/4-length defeat.
