Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin is not one to disrespect a racehorse, especially one that has shown the toughness that Grasshopper had displayed in his career.

McLaughlin, however, did not believe Grasshopper to be a one-mile horse, and that meant that he felt his own charge, James J. Berry’s Divine Park, had a better than average chance of pulling off an upset in Wednesday afternoon’s 80th running of the Grade 3, $109,100 Westchester Handicap to open Belmont Park’s 59-day Spring/Summer meet.

Divine Park proved McLaughlin right.

Under a confident ride by jockey Alan Garcia, Divine Park was allowed to sit off Saint Daimon’s pace of 22.45; 44.65 and 1:09.14, before taking charge to win by five lengths in 1:32.74 on the fast main track

“He really wanted to go that fast,” Garcia said. “In the early part, he was so relaxed and I was so confident. When I asked him, he was just perfect.”

It was the fifth win in seven starts for the 4-year-old Chester House colt, who had excuses in his two losses, the Grade 1 Malibu at Santa Anita last December and the Grade 2 General George at Laurel on Feb. 18.

“He’s a very nice horse,” said winning trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, as Divine Park paid $7.90 to win. “We’ve always liked him a lot. In the Malibu, he was coming off an eight-month layoff and drew the 14-hole and it wasn’t that bad of a race. In Laurel, he broke through gate. The next two races, however, are great!”

McLaughlin has tentatively set the Grade 1, $600,000 Metropolitan Handicap at a mile here on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, as the next stop for Divine Park.

“The Met Mile is a little quick back for us,” McLaughlin said, “but it is hard to pass off a race like this.”

Grasshopper, the favorite of the Opening Day crowd of 5,451, finished three-quarters of a length ahead of Sightseeing, with Miner’s Lamp Mr. Umphrey and Saint Daimon completing the order of finish.

Grasshopper has now run second in four of his last five starts, a string that started with a half-length loss to Street Sense at Saratoga in last August’s Grade 1 Travers.

“I thought he ran okay his first time going a mile,” said trainer Neil Howard. “I thought he ran well.

Added jockey Robby Albarado: “He just stopped. They ran 1:32 – he’s not that fast, today.”

Also on the day, trainer Billy Turner saddled three winners in a row winning the fourth with Cloud Nine ($18.60); the fifth with Drift King ($66) and the sixth with Just Zip It ($7.80). Jockey Jose Espinoza rode Cloud Nine and Just Zip It, while newcomer Luca Panici rode Drift King.

Espinoza got his third winner of the day in the last race with Mighty Morris ($18) for trainer Richard Schosberg.