Essential Quality will be looking to atone for his disappointing performance at last month’s Kentucky Derby when he returns to action on Saturday afternoon at the Belmont Stakes as a +225 favourite on the horse racing odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Brad Cox-trained colt saw a run of five straight victories to start his career come to an end with a fourth-place finish in the Run for the Roses but will try to take advantage of the short field expected to line up at the post for Saturday afternoon’s 153rd running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park.
The list of races won by Essential Quality is impressive, and includes the Blue Grass Stakes, the Southwest Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. However, his struggles last month at Churchill Downs raises concerns about his ability to keep pace over a lengthy 1 ½-mile run. Set to start from the No. 2 post, Essential Quality can expect to face challenges from Preakness Stakes winner Rombauer, who sits second on the Belmont Stakes odds at +375, followed by Hot Rod Charlie at +400, and Rock Your World at +425.
Set to start alongside Essential Quality in the No. 3 post, Rombauer’s victory at Pimlico Race Course marked his second win in three outings. He claimed his first career stakes race victory at the El Camino Real Derby. Rombauer was subsequently forced to settle for third place in the Blue Grass Stakes before returning to the winner’s circle at the Preakness Stakes, but will have a new mount on Saturday. Jockey Flavian Plat elected to go with Hot Rod Charlie, whom he rode to a third-place finish at the Kentucky Derby, turning Rombauer’s reins over to two-time Belmont Stakes winner John Velazquez.
Rock Your World has a lot to prove following his 17th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. But with that dismal performance stemming from a poor start caused by jockey Joel Rosario’s foot slipping out of a stirrup, the John Sadler-trained colt is well positioned to rebound after drawing into a starting position close to the outside, from the No. 7 post.
This year’s race is expected to be hard fought, with +105 odds at sports betting sites favouring the winner claiming victory by 1 to 2.75 lengths on the Belmont Stakes props. The odds of the winning time going OVER or UNDER 2:29:00 are both set at -120. In addition, the odds of this year’s winning horse clocking a better time than 2019 winner Sir Winston sit at +100.
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