The 2022 Triple Crown season is about to wrap up this coming Sunday at the 2022 Belmont Stakes. There will not be a Triple Crown winner this year, but Rich Strike, the winner of the 2022 Kentucky Derby, is returning in hopes of securing another win. Will there be a sleeper horse who’d pull off a Rich Strike this weekend?
Todd Pletcher has more than one horse racing at the upcoming 2022 Belmont Stakes. Apart from favorite Mo Donegal, Pletcher also has Nest, who’s got longer odds than Mo Donegal, but should be an attractive horse for those looking to lay action on a sleeper. The 3-year-old filly has produced some sensational results since she started racing in 2021. Nest broke maiden in her very first race and then won two graded stakes races, namely the Grade 2 Demoiselle and the Grade 1 Ashland. In between those wins was another victory at the Suncoast Stakes. The last time Nest galloped was at the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs where he placed runner-up.
Although Barber Road finished just sixth at the 2022 Kentucky Derby, that was actually a quality run from the John A. Ortiz-trained 3-year-old colt, considering the odds he was given. In any case, Barber Road does seem to have the chops to make noise at the 2022 Belmont Stakes. For one, he has shown in seven of nine overall starts. His best finishes to date were a win in a maiden claiming race at Keeneland and a victory at a stakes trial race at Churchill Downs. Then Barber Road also shown in three consecutive graded stakes races prior to the 2022 Kentucky Derby, placing second at the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes, third at Grade 2 Rebel Stakes, and runner-up at Grade 1 Arkansas Derby.
Skippylongstocking will be up against tough competition at the 2022 Belmont Stakes, but what makes him an intriguing sleeper is his endurance, which is a key factor in the third leg of the Triple Crown. Not known to be the type of horse that burns his boosters for an early shot at the lead, Skippylongstocking instead is one that would rather keep its race steady before unloading everything it’s got in the final stretch. Trained by Saffie A. Joseph Jr., Skippylongstocking finished third at the Grade 2 Wood Memorial behind Belmont Stakes winner Mo Donegal and Early Voting. Skippylongstocking also finished fifth at the 2022 Preakness Stakes.
