Belmont Contender Heart Of Honor Stretches Legs At Saratoga
Belmont Contender Heart Of Honor Stretches Legs At Saratoga originally appeared on Paulick Report.
Jim And Claire Limited's Heart of Honor (GB), a last-out fifth in the Grade 1 Preakness, in his first U.S. start, visited the Saratoga main track Sunday under traveling assistant Jimmy McCarthy to stretch his legs for a start in Saturday's Grade 1, $2-million Belmont Stakes.
Trained by Jamie Osborne, the Honor A. P. colt finished a close second in all three legs of the UAE Triple Crown—the Grade 3 UAE 2000 Guineas, Al Bastakiya (L), and Grade 2 UAE Derby -- including a nose second in the UAE Derby to Admire Daytona (JPN), who was subsequently unplaced in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby.
'He went a mile, building up into a three-quarter pace,' Osborne said. 'He didn't break any land-speed records, but that was never our intention. He looked to move well, and Jimmy McCarthy was pleased with the feel he gave him.'
The British-bred $172,341 purchase at the 2024 Arqana Two-Year-Old Breeze Up Sale has banked $400,919 through a 2-4-0 record from seven starts. He will be piloted by Osborne's daughter, Saffie Osborne, in the Belmont Stakes.
This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Jun 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
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Third, when looking at the race results, it doesn't seem to matter how he starts. Here's where he was in his three 3-year-old races at the three-quarter pole: 17th out of 19, fifth out of 10 and sixth out of six. He finished first, second and first in those races, respectively. He ruled the front stretch! 👑 Watch Sovereignty and Junior Alvarado win the 151st Kentucky Derby ⤵️ — Kentucky Derby (@KentuckyDerby) May 3, 2025 Career points per race: 12.57 Races in 2025: 4 Result on last start: Preakness Stakes, May 17 (won) The Preakness champ has raced seven times and won five of those races. He finished second to Sovereignty at the Kentucky Derby and third in his very first race as a 2-year-old. His race results prove he's got speed. Just take a look at the gear he found to come back and win the Preakness. Incredible recovery from Journalism to win the Preakness Stakes! — Kentucky Derby (@KentuckyDerby) May 17, 2025 Career points per race: 6.6 Races in 2025: 4 Result on last start: Wood Memorial Stakes, April 5 (won) Rodriguez was scratched from both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness due to a foot injury. But based on the results of his five career starts, he deserves this spot in the rankings. He owns two first-place finishes, beating Baeza (third in the Derby) in one and Grande (scratched from the Derby) in another. Advertisement He has two second-place finishes, one of which saw him come up short to Citizen Bull (who led the field for a majority of the Kentucky Derby). His worst finish was third in a race that was won by Preakness champ, Journalism. It's worth noting that his jockey in the most recent win, and his last race, was Mike Smith, who's also scheduled to be his jockey in the Belmont. Career points per race: 7.3 Races in 2025: 3 Result on last start: Sir Barton Stakes, May 17 (won) Crudo has raced three times, all as a 3-year-old, and won twice. In both of those victories, he led wire-to-wire. His worst finish, fourth place, came in his first race. Despite having a higher points average than Rodriguez, he drops a spot in the rankings as Rodriguez has slightly tougher competition with Triple Crown participants on his rivalry resume. It's all (4) Crudo in race 2! (2) Dixie Devil checks in second, (1) Night Agent takes third. — Keeneland Racing (@keenelandracing) April 19, 2025 Points per race: 5.8 Races in 2025: 4 Result on last start: Kentucky Derby, May 3 (third) It wouldn't be hard to make the case that Baeza should be ranked higher. In his most recent starts, the Kentucky Derby and the Santa Anita Derby, he finished just behind Journalism both times — third and second, respectively. Putting it another way, he's only finished behind the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winners his last two times out. He has raced four times this year (five in all). He owns one win and, aside from his previously mentioned derby performances, has a second-place finish to fellow Belmont participant Rodriguez. Points per race: 6.43 Races in 2025: 5 Result on last start: Preakness Stakes, May 17 (fifth) Heart of Honor made his U.S. debut at the Preakness with a fifth-place finish. Prior to that, he raced four times as a 3-year-old, winning once and finishing second three times. However, in two of those second-place finishes, he came up short by just a nose. One of those near wins was in the UAE Derby, where he was bested by Kentucky Derby participant Admire Daytona. Absolute thriller! 🙃 HEART OF HONOR lunged late in the @Jumeirah UAE Derby but 𝐀𝐃𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐀 takes the spoils for 🇯🇵#DWC25 | @emirates — Dubai Racing Club (@RacingDubai) April 5, 2025 Had he been able to pull out those victories, he'd likely have been slotted higher in these rankings. Points per race: 5.2 average Races in 2025: 2 Result on last start: Peter Pan Stakes, May 10 (won) This colt has raced five times in all. He's won twice, finished third two times and seventh once. He's only raced twice this year, but claims this spot in our rankings because his most recent start was a win over a field that included fellow Belmont contestant Uncaged. What a finish! HILL ROAD comes flying late to earn his first stakes win in the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes with Flavien Prat aboard for trainer Chad Brown! — NYRA (🗽) (@TheNYRA) May 10, 2025 Points per race: 5.5 Races in 2025: 3 Result on last start: Peter Pan Stakes, May 10 (sixth) Uncaged owns two wins in his four career races. It's worth noting that both of those victories came on muddy tracks. His other finishes were fourth and sixth. (Photo of Sovereignty and Journalism: Grace Bradley / Getty Images)
