The Grade 1, $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup, to be run for the 93rd time on Saturday at Belmont Park, has long been a stepping stone to Horse of the Year. And while there is a major Horse of the Year contender running at Belmont this “Super Saturday” — an 11-race card featuring five Grade 1 stakes and a Grade 2 that are final “win and you’re in” preps for the Nov. 4-5 Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs — she won’t be in the Gold Cup.
Instead, the 4-year-old filly Havre de Grace, who beat the boys in the Sept. 3 Woodward, will go in the Grade 1, $350,000 Beldame as the 3-5 favorite facing four other fillies and mares.
The other marquee name of the Super Saturday show (ESPN Classic, 4:30-6 p.m.) is Uncle Mo, who’ll be going a mile in the Grade 2, $200,000 Kelso.
The star of the Gold Cup is Uncle Mo’s less-heralded stablemate Stay Thirsty, coming off his first Grade 1 victory in the Travers. He will vie for favoritism in a field of seven with the 5-year-old Flat Out, last seen at Belmont winning the July 2 Suburban by 6½ lengths before finishing second in the Whitney and Woodward at Saratoga. Flat Out will be coupled in the wagering with Birdrun, winner of the Brooklyn here in June.