A field of seven will square off in Saturday's $400,000 Suburban H. (G1) and last year's runner-up, TAP DAY (Pleasant Tap), will be seeking his first Grade 1 victory. The Mark Hennig trainee enters this event in encouraging form and runs well over the main track at Belmont Park.
Following his effort in the Suburban, Tap Day finished third in the Saratoga Breeders' Cup H. (G2) and then easily captured the Meadowlands Breeders' Cup (G2). He didn't run well when shipping overseas for The Japan Cup Dirt (Jpn-G1) in late November and didn't fire when returning from a layoff in March, but the five-year-old turned things around when making his second start this year in an off-the-turf allowance/optional claiming event last out. Rating just off the pace at Belmont, Tap Day closed boldly to win going away in the 1 1/8-mile event, registering a 103 BRIS Speed and Late Pace rating for the three-length score and improving his mark over the track to 3-2-1-0. He showed glimpses of top-class ability last year, and we expect Tap Day to move forward off his last race. We'll look for a winning bid from just off the pace.
INVASOR (Arg) (Candy Stripes) enters off a sharp 1 1/4-length victory in the Pimlico Special H. (G1). A winner of his first five career starts in South America, the four-year-old suffered his first setback with a fourth in the U.A.E. Derby (UAE-G2) in late March. He quickly rebounded with a much-improved performance at Pimlico, earning a 112 Speed rating that certainly looks very formidable in this spot, but Invasor remains a threat to regress off that career-best effort. Fernando Jara will take over in the irons for conditioner Kiaran McLaughlin.
WILD DESERT (Wild Rush) is a good-looking Richard Dutrow runner who could improve off a second in his seasonal debut in the Alysheba S. at Churchill Downs. Last year's Queen's Plate winner entered that event off a near 10-month layoff and grabbed the lead in the stretch before grudgingly giving way by a head, registering a career-best 104 Speed figure in the process. Dutrow has really been high on the colt's chances this year, and Wild Desert appears to be training superbly for his return off a brief freshening. There isn't much pace to aid the late runner in this field, but we'll include Wild Desert on the bottom of the exotics.
ANDROMEDA'S HERO (Fusaichi Pegasus) ran well when second in last year's Belmont S. (G1) and is eligible to grab a share here. We like the way he's been training at Saratoga for Nick Zito in preparation for this appearance, and the four-year-old should have no difficulty with the distance. The chestnut doesn't like to win, but he will hit the board often.
RATHOR (Ire) (Machiavellian) also offers some appeal for the top three with his speed. We have our doubts about him at 1 1/4 miles, but he's reeled off three straight victories since arriving in the United States and is trained by the ever-dangerous Bobby Frankel. Rathor will be tested for class, but he'll likely go right to the lead with Eibar Coa and will take his rivals as far as he can.
Grade 1 winner WILKO (Awesome Again) owns plenty of class, placing in both the Santa Anita H. (G1) and Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) this season, but we question whether 10 furlongs is his best distance. The four-year-old lacked a response last time in the Met Mile (G1), and we'll just watch to see how he fares here. NOBLE CAUSEWAY (Giant's Causeway) probably needs an easier spot to be effective.
1st-TAP DAY
2nd-INVASOR (Arg)
3rd-WILD DESERT
