2012 Belmont Juvenile Championships: Results and news

Dreaming of Julia came into the Grade 1 Frizette off of two ridiculously easy victories against over-matched competition. In her debut, she won by 10 1/2 lengths and barely had to break a sweat. In her last race in the ungraded Meadow Start Stakes, she won by 16 1/4 lengths with jockey John Velazquez hardly asking her to run a step. In Saturday’s Frizette, Dreaming of Julia found herself in the first real race of her career.

Three pre-race scratches (two of which came after Roveing Patrol threw a fit in the starting gate), left the Frizette field with just four contenders and appeared to set up another Dreaming of Julia romp. My Happy Face broke well from the gate and established the lead along the rail with the heavy favorite stalking her every move. At the top of the stretch it looked like Dreaming of Julia would roll by the leader on her way to another glorified workout, but My Happy Face dug in gamely and extended the race all the way to the wire. At the end, Dreaming of Julia remained undefeated after her first real challenge.

Shanghai Bobby kept his perfect record intact with an easy victory in the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park on Saturday, October 6th. The Todd Pletcher trainee is now four-for-four in his brief career with victories in the Grade 2 Hopeful and now the Grade 1 Champagne.

The Champagne results came back strong in terms of speed figures; Shanghai Bobby earned a 94 Beyer Speed Figure and a 103 Equibase figure, the highest numbers for a juvenile colt in a graded stakes race this fall. The Brisnet figure will be released in the near future.

Facing just a field of three other rivals, Dreaming of Julia won a long stretch duel with My Happy Face to win the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes by a head at Belmont Park.

Prior to the start of the race, 3-Roveing Patrol threw a fit in the starting gate, unseating jockey Frankie Dettori and causing a delay and an eventual scratch of 5-Sweet Shirley Mae and Roveing Patrol. 4-Carameaway was a morning scratch.

With just four weeks until the 2012 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita, time is running out for horses to make a case for inclusion in the biggest racing weekend of the year. On Saturday, Belmont Park will card three Grade 1 races including a pair of juvenile championships: the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes and Grade 1 Frizette Stakes.

Let’s take a look at the Champagne and the Frizette.