Mott confirms Batten Down is pointed to Belmont Stakes

Batten Down is the latest addition to the prospective field for the Belmont Stakes as Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott confirmed the son of Tapit has his sights set on the 10-furlong test slated for June 8 at Saratoga.

“I am,” said Mott when asked if he is considering the Belmont Stakes for the Juddmonte homebred. “I don’t know if he’ll get in or not – he’s only broken his maiden.”

Batten Down was an eye-catching winner at fourth asking in an April 30 maiden special weight going the Belmont distance against elders at Churchill Downs. Ridden by Junior Alvarado, Batten Down went straight to the lead and never looked back, widening his advantage at every point of call to draw off to an 8 3/4-length victory in a final time of 2:02.49. He was awarded a 92 Beyer Speed Figure.

“It was a spectacular ride by Junior Alvarado,” said Mott. “We were pleased to find out he handled the distance good.”

Batten Down has improved with more ground in each start, as would be expected with his pedigree. Out of multiple Grade 1 winner and 2014 champion older mare Close Hatches, Batten Down is a full brother to the Mott-trained Tacitus, who finished second in the 2019 Belmont Stakes at its traditional 1 1/2-mile distance and won the 10-furlong Suburban (G2) as a 4-year-old.

Batten Down finished sixth on debut sprinting seven furlongs in January, but was defeated a neck in his next start when stretched out to nine furlongs. He then finished a close third with stalking tactics when traveling 1 1/16 miles ahead of his breakthrough score in his farthest test to date.

Mott said he expects another prominent trip in the Belmont.

“He’ll be in with a different group of horses, but the pace is usually different going a mile and a quarter than a mile and a sixteenth, so that leaves him closer (in longer routes) than the other types of races,” said Mott.

Batten Down worked Monday over Saratoga’s Oklahoma dirt training track, covering five-eighths in 1:02.55 with Alvarado at the helm.

“It was beautiful, and Junior worked him like poetry in motion. It was a beautiful piece of work,” said Mott.

In addition to Batten Down, among those currently under consideration for the Belmont Stakes are Antiquarian, Dornoch, Fierceness, Honor Marie, Seize the Grey, Sierra Leone, The Wine Steward and Tuscan Gold. Trainer Ken McPeek is considering entering Mystik Dan, but if he does not enter his Kentucky Derby winner, there is the possibility he could enter Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Thorpedo Anna instead.

Mott has plenty to look forward to at the Belmont Stakes racing festival, with at least four other trainees eyeing stakes engagements during the lucrative weekend. Champion 2-year-old filly Just F Y I will be nominated to the nine-furlong Acorn (G1) on June 7 after a game runner-up effort behind Thorpedo Anna in the Kentucky Oaks.

Just F Y I, who earned her champion honors for Grade 1 wins in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and Frizette last year, has finished second in both her outings this year, making one start before the Oaks when three lengths back of Leslie’s Rose in the Ashland (G1) in April at Keeneland. The Oaks saw her stalk 2 3/4 lengths off the pace under Alvarado and advance well in the final turn, but she was unable to reel in Thorpedo Anna late as she was defeated by 4 3/4 lengths over the sloppy and sealed footing.

“The other one was better on the day. I don’t know if that had to do with the condition of the racetrack, or if it would have evened out on a dry track,” said Mott.

Just F Y I had her first work back since the Oaks with a bullet half-mile solo in 47 seconds flat Monday.

“Yes, she was (sharp),” Mott said. “I think she’ll have a great year.”

Evergreen Casa Creed has contested the Jaipur (G1) for three straight years and won in 2022, but he will skip the 5 1/2-furlong race this year in favor of the Poker (G3) at one mile on June 8. The Jaipur was shortened by a half-furlong from its traditional six-furlong distance this year, leaving it at a distance the 8-year-old Jimmy Creed horse has contested only once in his 35-start career when he was ninth in the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

Casa Creed, who won the 2022 and 2023 Fourstardave Handicap (G1) going one mile, was last seen finishing sixth in the Al Quoz Sprint (G1) in March at Meydan Racecourse, where he raced in mid-pack and put in a mild bid to be defeated by 2 3/4 lengths behind the victorious California Spangle.

“It was probably a wasted trip,” said Mott. “We’re looking at the Poker.”

Although Casa Creed will not contest the Jaipur, Mott will likely still be represented in the lucrative turf sprint with stakes-winner Sosua Summer, who looks to rebound from a distant off-the-board finish last out in the Shakertown (G2) on April 6 at Keeneland.

“I can’t make any big excuses,” Mott said of the Shakertown. “He just didn’t really fire.”

Multiple Grade 1-winner War Like Goddess returned to the work tab on Friday for the first time since scratching from the Bewitch (G3) on April 26 at Keeneland, a race she had won for three consecutive years. The daughter of English Channel withdrew from the race because of a cut on her leg but returned to breeze a half-mile in 49.49 seconds Friday.

Mott said the 1 3/16-mile New York (G1) on June 7 is the likely next target, but expressed his concern that the distance might prove too short for the expert marathoner.

“She’s doing well,” said Mott. “I guess the New York. It’s not her distance. I wish we had a race at the proper distance for her.”