Colloquial brings unmatched speed to G1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun

Boasting a field-high 106 Beyer Speed Figure, the lightly-raced Colloquial looks to prove his talents at the Grade 1 level in Saturday’s $500,000 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomores at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course.

The Woody Stephens [Race 11] is one of eight graded stakes slated for Saturday’s loaded 14-race card headlined by the Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets in Race 13. First post is 10:45 a.m. Eastern. 

Harrell Ventures and Starlight Racing’s Colloquial makes his graded bow for conditioner George Weaver off a strong pacesetting win in the Listed Lafayette going this distance on April 7 at Keeneland. Dueling with Smoken Wicked through splits of 22.62 seconds and 44.96 over the fast footing, he edged clear of his rival in the turn and powered home to a 2 1/4-length score in a final time of 1:23.92.

“He’s doing good, and we’re going to run,” Weaver said. “He’s just a talented horse and we’re looking forward to each race that we go into.”

The effort was awarded an 88 Beyer, equaling the number he received for a nose second on debut last June behind subsequent graded stakes-winner Mentee, who set a new track record [56.97] for five-furlongs at Aqueduct Racetrack. Those two figures surrounded his eye-catching 106 Beyer earned for a triumphant return to the races in February off a nearly eight-month respite to graduate at second asking.

The seven-length trouncing, in a different stalking style than his Lafayette win, saw him bobble at the start of the 6 1/2-furlong maiden and track in fifth-of-8 early under regular pilot Manny Franco. He improved steadily to be within 1 1/2 lengths of the lead at the half-mile call and drew off into the stretch to win easily in a final time of 1:16.89.

The chestnut colt has already proven to be a special one for the Weaver team, who also conditioned his sire, Vekoma, to Grade 1 wins in the Carter Handicap and Metropolitan Handicap in 2020.

“Vekoma has been exciting as a sire and this is one of his eye-catching runners,” Weaver said.

Colloquial has now demonstrated his ability both stalking and on the lead, leaving only a question of what Weaver would like to see from the colt on Saturday.

“I’d like to see him win, that’s what I want to see,” he quipped.

Franco rides from post 7.

While Colloquial makes just his fourth career start, a pair of contenders for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert are both well-traveled and well-seasoned as Citizen Bull [post 5, Mike Smith, blinkers OFF] and Madaket Road [post 2, John Velazquez, blinkers ON] make their eighth and seventh starts, respectively.

Citizen Bull, the reigning Champion 2-Year-Old Colt, cuts back from a pacesetting 15th in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 3 at Churchill Downs. Breaking out sharply from the inside post in the field of 19, he led through splits of 22.81 seconds and 46.23 over the sloppy and sealed main track before fading and finishing well behind the victorious Sovereignty.

“Just draw a line through the Derby. It was disastrous and too far,” said a pragmatic Baffert, who has won this event three times with Bayern [2014], American Anthem [2017] and Arabian Lion [2023].

Along with the cutback in distance, Citizen Bull will also race with blinkers off. He has worn them in each of his seven previous starts, including Grade 1 wins as a juvenile in the American Pharoah at Santa Anita Park and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar en route to his Champion honors. This year, he won the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis and finished fourth in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby ahead of the Kentucky Derby.

Madaket Road looks to improve from a last-out second as the favorite in the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile on May 3 at Churchill when 3 1/4 lengths in arrears of returning rival Macho Music. Converse to Citizen Bull, Madaket Road will add blinkers on Saturday, as he did for his second-out graduation in December at Santa Anita and for on-the-board efforts in the aforementioned Lewis and the Grade 2 Rebel in February at Oaklawn Park.

“Madaket Road ran well in the Pat Day Mile, but he needs blinkers,” Baffert said. “I think they – and shortening up – will help him."

Both colts are owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert Masterson, Tom Ryan, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan. Stonestreet Stables is also part of the ownership group of Citizen Bull.

Like Citizen Bull, the Saffie Joseph, Jr.-trained Neoequos [post 9, Jose Ortiz] is cutting back from a prominent effort in the Kentucky Derby, where he dueled early with Citizen Bull and tired to finish off-the-board and well back of Sovereignty, whom he finished a close third to in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth in March at Gulfstream Park.

“No regression from him [since the Derby], and I feel like this is what he wants to do – one turn,” Joseph, Jr. said. “We’ll see if he’s one-turn at the Grade 1 level. He’s run well enough to Sovereignty [this spring] and now we get him back to one-turn. It’s a very competitive race and he needs to step up, but he’s shown good signs that he could.”

Owned by C Two Racing Stable, Ian Parsard, Shining Stables, Stefania Farms, Ken Reimer, Paul Braverman and Timothy Pinch, Neoequos looks for his first graded win after thirds in the Fountain of Youth and Grade 1 Florida Derby this spring.

Flanagan Racing’s Chancer McPatrick [post 10, Flavien Prat, blinkers OFF] holds a perfect 3-for-3 record around one turn, and a 0-for-3 record around two turns in his last three outings. Five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown said the colt’s record speaks for itself. 

“He’s undefeated around one turn and is winless around two. I’m just going back to the basics here,” Brown said of the cutback.

The son of McKinzie was impressive through his first three starts, graduating on debut sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs in July here ahead of a pair of Grade 1 wins in the Hopeful over course and distance and the one-mile Champagne at Belmont at the Big A. He went on to finish an even sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in his two-turn debut before beginning this campaign with a second in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby and a sixth in the Grade 1 Blue Grass at Keeneland.

Brown said he was especially pleased with Chancer McPatrick’s half-mile breeze in 48.55 seconds on Friday over the Spa main track.

“He has really come forward the last couple weeks and his last breeze this weekend on the main track was the best I’ve seen this year from him,” Brown said.

Chancer McPatrick was a $725,000 purchase at the 2024 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and is out of the winning Bernardini mare Bernadreamy. His second dam is Grade 1-winner Dream Empress.

Dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox sends out a pair of last-out optional-claiming winners in Patch Adams [post 4, Luis Saez] and Gunmetal [post 8, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] for owners CHC, Inc. and WinStar Farm.

Patch Adams, a son of Into Mischief, was last seen earning a 96 Beyer for a 2 1/4-length win sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs on May 3 at Churchill, two points off a career-best 98 for a visually-impressive 10 1/2-length graduation going this distance in November there. The bay colt has gone off favored in each of his five starts, including when fourth in both the Grade 3 Southwest at Oaklawn and Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby.

Gunmetal, third to returning rival Gate to Wire in the seven-furlong Listed Swale in February at Gulfstream, graduated on debut in December at Fair Grounds and was last seen posting a tidy 3 3/4-length victory under Flavien Prat sprinting six furlongs on April 8 at Keeneland. The Gun Runner chestnut was a $410,000 purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale is out of the dual stakes-placed Speightstown mare Classy Dancer.

Completing the competitive field are Grade 2 Pat Day Mile-winner Macho Music [post 3, Javier Castellano] for trainer Rohan Crichton, stakes-winner T Kraft [post 6, Jose Lezcano] for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, Grade 3-placed stakes-winner Gate to Wire [post 11, Dylan Davis, blinkers OFF] for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, and maiden-winner Big Truzz [post 1, Joel Rosario] for trainer Brian Lynch.

Television coverage of Belmont Stakes Day will air across the FOX Sports family of networks beginning at 10:30 a.m. Eastern [FS1] prior to national broadcast coverage on FOX beginning at 2:30 p.m. For the complete Belmont Stakes Racing Festival television schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont-stakes/event-info/tv-schedule/.

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