Cozmic One in Tough Belmont Maiden Race

Cozmic One in Tough Belmont Maiden Race: Famous maiden Cozmic One makes his second start on Wednesday at Belmont Park in Race 7, as the son of Zenyatta takes on eight other horses. As explained in an earlier article featuring Cozmic One, maidens racing for the second time are dangerous and Cozmic One is no different. He has a legendary mother in his blood and top connections to give him every chance at improving. The task will not be easy though.

Other horses in this maiden event make their second career start, and out of those contenders, Indian Trail is the most likely winner. A full brother to the precocious Uncle Mo, who won the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI) in a blazing time, Indian Trail certainly possesses the right breeding to win early. On top of that, he gets Uncle Mo’s win-early trainer Todd Pletcher.

For some reason, Indian Trail missed his entire two-year-old season. That could be a sign of an earlier injury, or maybe Pletcher took his time. Indian Trail eventually started last month and ran well in his debut on this racetrack. Bumped at the start, he closed from eight lengths back to place fourth by just over two lengths. It is unclear whether he wants to close from that deep, or if the bump forced his hand. This time, he breaks from post position nine with no horses to his outside. Pletcher’s main rider John Velazquez takes the call again.

For those wanting a less obvious selection, Securitiz breaks from post position three and he lost by 11 lengths in his career debut from a closing position. But, as with Cozmic One and Indian Trail, Securitiz deserves another chance. This three-year-old son of Tiznow cost $350k at auction, which means something about his appearance or workouts dazzled the eye. With James Jerkens training and Jose Lezcano on board, he also has the right people on his side.

The next two maidens that can win include Ice Cutter from post position two and Abdaar three positions to his right. Both colts showed speed last time, with Ice Cutter fading to sixth and Abdaar losing by a neck in second. It is unclear whether Ice Cutter runs with early speed naturally, or if the jockey made a tactical error. In his previous three races, he ran as a closer and managed to finish second twice. Joel Rosario rode Ice Cutter two starts ago and picks up the call again.

Abdaar began from well back in his debut too, although judging a horse’s preferred style from his first start is difficult. Jockey Javier Castellano tends to judge the pace correctly at least. Both Ice Cutter and Abdaar hold a reasonable chance and bettors must consider them.

Those wishing for a bomb to include underneath might think about River Date. The plodding son of Pioneerof The Nile likes to sit near the back and make one wide run turning for home. For less talented horses, that kind of move will be good enough to hit the board. Unfortunately, winning races while running wide at Belmont is difficult.

Going back to Cozmic One, there is no doubt he can win. For his stalking or closing style, post position eight is fine. Several fans online pointed out his recent two bullet workouts. Before anyone gets too excited, how does anyone know how hard Cozmic One was pressed to make those workouts appear faster? Regardless, maybe trainer John Shirreffs injected some needed tactical speed into his horse. Zenyatta always won from the back during the synthetic era, when coming from behind helped. On dirt, keeping up with the leaders will put the horse into position when the front pack begins to separate on the far turn.

Of course, looking at races from a betting standpoint is a completely different situation and Cozmic One will be bet hard because of his mother. Fans might disregard this warning and put their money on Cozmic One anyway, and that is completely understandable. Sometimes thinking about races from an analytical standpoint takes away the fun and it would be wrong to write that betting from one’s heart never works. Do what is best and, if he loses again, try to stay positive.

Race 7 4:26 PM ET
1 To Dare Franco/Morley
2 Ice Cutter Rosario/Clement
3 Securitiz Lezcano/Jerkens
4 Lieutenant Dale Ortiz/Zito
5 Abdaar Castellano/Brown
6 Chase the Love Rodriguez/DeMola
7 River Date Carmouche/Cannizzo
8 Cozmic One Maragh/Shirreffs
9 Indian Trail Velazquez/Pletcher
*odds updated upon release