We’re in the last stretch of the Triple Crown, ladies and gentlemen. With the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes over and done, it’s time to turn out attention to the 2021 Belmont Stakes. Have you made your picks yet? The favorites are surely going to get most of the attention, but don’t forget about some of the horses with longer odds but have the potential to give you a huge payout. Check three of these Belmont Stakes sleepers below.
Rebel’s Romance did not race in either of the first two Triple Crown events, but he’s coming into the 2021 Belmont Stakes with a ton of momentum. Rebel’s Romance has won four of its five career starts, including the UAE Derby (Grade 2). Bred in Ireland then transported to the Middle East for his 3-year-old phase, Rebel’s Romance is busy training for the Belmont Stakes, and so far he’s showing inspiring performances in his workouts with stablemate Desert Peace.
“The plan was to make him work a little bit harder and push to the line to really get that strong piece of work,” Sophie Chretien, traveling assistant for Appleby, told the NYRA communications team. “I’m very happy with the horse. He’s progressing very well. It’s 10 days before the race, so this was the big work for him, and he’s going forward. They are moving well on the surface and they’ve been eating great.”
Here’s what we said about Bourbonic in our preview of the 2021 Belmont Stakes:
“Hopes were high on Bourbonic to make large waves in the 2021 Kentucky Derby, but instead, all it could muster was a forgettable 13th-place finish at Churchill Downs. Bourbonic had built a nice momentum going into that race, as it’s won three of his previous four races, including the Wood Memorial (Grade 1 stakes) back in April. It was a shocking win for Bourbonic, as it entered that race as a 72-1 long shot. It’s also worth noting that the sire of Bourbonic’s dam, Afleet Alex, had won both the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes back in 2005.”
No one got a glimpse of Overtook in the previous two Triple Crown races because it had not raced in either the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness Stakes. However, Overtook has shown in each of its last four starts, including a runner-up finish in the Withers (Grade 3 stakes) in February and a third-place finish in the Peter Pan (Grade 3 stakes) in early May. Overtook is trained by Todd Pletcher and owned by St. Elias Stable LLC.
