Parchment Party, drawn into the Belmont Gold Cup Stakes (G3) at the final hour when rain forced the race off the turf, splashed home a resounding 8 1/2-length winner June 6 at Saratoga Race Course.
As the skies opened over Saratoga Friday afternoon, the dynamics of the Belmont Gold Cup changed drastically when track management ruled the two-mile turf contest would be run at 1 3/4 miles over the main track. There were four late scratches, including race favorite Limited Liability, following the announcement.
Although German-trained horses had won two previous editions of the Belmont Gold Cup, a qualifier for the prestigious two-mile Melbourne Cup (G1) in Australia, the overseas invader Flatten the Curve would suddenly have to tackle the slop for the first time in his career.
Parchment Party’s stablemate, the Bill Mott-trained Timeout, who also drew into the field as a main-track-only contender, stepped into the gate as the 2-1 favorite. Parchment Party, not quite as accomplished as Timeout on the dirt, though still a first-level allowance winner on the main track at Churchill Downs, closed the betting at 7-1.
"At 1 o’clock in the afternoon it looked like we were not going to run. We gave the horses their regular lunch and put some water in for them, and all of a sudden I looked up and said we’d better change course here and get these horses ready to run," Mott said. "So we cleaned them up, put the bridles on them and brought them over ... It turned out they took the race off about an hour beforehand. We didn’t have much time."
Winning Move Stable's Yo Daddy, another MTO entrant, established the pace on the front end under jockey Kendrick Carmouche. The pair skipped through the mud, setting uncontested fractions of :48.71, 1:38.56, and 2:04.75.
As the field raced into the far turn, Parchment Party and John Velazquez, who picked up the mount last minute on the son of Constitution , found a new wind over the slop, cutting into Yo Daddy’s advantage with every stride. Turning for home, Parchment Party dueled the longtime leader into the lane before putting away that foe, streaking clear a dominant winner.
Padiddle, a last-out third in the Man o’War Stakes (G2T), edged out Flatten the Curve to complete the trifecta.
Pin Oak Stud's Parchment Party earned his first stakes win. The 4-year-old stopped the clock in 2:57.86 for the sparingly run 1 3/4-mile distance and returned $16 for a $2 win ticket.
"This is what Mr. Mott told me about this horse, 'He doesn’t like to be ridden the first part of the race, but he always gallops out.' He thought that this distance would be good for him," Velazquez said.
Bed in Kentucky by Bobby Flay, Parchment Party is out of the Tiznow mare Life Well Lived and is a half sibling to 2017 Maker's 46 Mile Stakes (G1T) winner and Darley Japan stallion American Patriot. Parchment Party is the third Northern Hemisphere graded stakes winner this year for Constitution, joining Mindframe and Pin Up Betty. Constitution stands for a $110,000 2025 fee at WinStar Farm in Kentucky.
Pin Oak's Dana Bernhard signed the ticket for Parchment Party for $450,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale from the Stone Farm consignment.
Because of the surface switch, the Belmont Gold Cup was downgraded from its advertised grade 2 level under American Graded Stakes Committee rules. The committee can review the race within five days and restore its prior grade if the race is deemed to have still offered a grade 2-caliber field.
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