Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott has his eyes set on a repeat victory in the Belmont Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.
Last year, eventual horse of the year Sovereignty powered home to score in the Belmont by 3 lengths, becoming the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby (G1), intentionally skip the Preakness Stakes (G1), and then go on to win the Belmont Stakes.
This year, Mott has entered Chief Wallabee, who finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby in his last start.
"That would be nice, I'd like that. It'd be fun," Mott said of the idea of scoring his third Belmont Stakes victory, and his second in a row.
Mott earned his first Belmont Stakes victory in 2010 when Drosselmeyer crossed the line first at the race's usual venue, Belmont Park. Because of renovation, the race has been temporarily moved to Saratoga. For the third and final year, the Belmont will be run upstate at 1 1/4 miles instead of its usual 1 1/2 miles.
A trainer has not gone back-to-back in a Belmont in 30 years. The last time it was done, the late D. Wayne Lukas scored three in a row from 1994-96 with Tabasco Cat, Thunder Gulch, and Editor's Note.
Chief Wallabee, the lightly raced son of Constitution , will be making just his fifth career start in the Belmont Stakes. His lone win came in his first start when he broke his maiden Jan. 10 at Gulfstream Park. He went straight to the Derby trail after that victory, finishing second in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) to fellow Belmont entrant Commandment, and third in the Florida Derby (G1), earning his way into the Kentucky Derby starting gate. Mott chose to add blinkers in the Derby, and the colt finished a fast-closing fourth, his only off-the-board finish to date.
"I think we learned that the blinkers seem to keep him a little more focused," Mott said. "He's a pretty laid-back individual. He's not someone that ducks and dodges or anything like that, but he's just kind of curious. I think he's done quite well for a horse that lacks the experience he does."
A homebred for his owners, Michael and Katherine Ball, Chief Wallabee went straight to Saratoga after his effort in the Derby and has been training over the Oklahoma surface since.
"Our horse seems to be doing well," Mott said. "I think he doesn't seem to have taken a step backwards since the Derby. It seems like he's been on an upward progression, and hopefully he's able to get a good position in the race and take it from there."
Chief Wallabee will break from post 3 under his normal rider, jockey Junior Alvarado, who also piloted Sovereignty to victory last year. He's listed on the board at morning-line odds of 3-1, the second choice behind 2-1 Renegade.
