Endlessly Finally Returns to Turf in Belmont Derby

Things did not work out too well for Endlessly  in the Kentucky Derby (G1).

For the son of Oscar Performance  ‘s initial race on dirt, in the eyes of trainer Michael McCarthy it was a decent effort.

That next chapter comes July 6 when Endlessly will run in a Derby better suited for his talents. The multiple grade 3 winner will return to turf for the first time since November when he faces four rivals in the $750,000 Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct Racetrack.

“We’re looking forward to seeing him back on grass,” McCarthy said. “With turf racing becoming more popular, a race like this is a welcomed addition.”

A winner of five of seven starts, Endlessly suffered his first loss in his last turf race. After winning a pair of grade 3 California turf stakes at 2, he raced wide and finished eighth by just 3 1/2 lengths in the Nov. 3 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T).

He started his 3-year-old campaign on all-weather surfaces, winning the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields and then punched his ticket to the Kentucky Derby by drawing off to a four-length win in the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) at Turfway Park, picking up 100 qualifying points to secure his spot in the opening leg of the Triple Crown.

The Belmont Derby will ask the son of the Langfuhr mare Dream Fuhrever to navigate a mile-and-three-sixteenths distance, which McCarthy believes the 3-year-old will relish.

“I don’t think the distance will be an issue with him, based on the way he finished up in the Jeff Ruby Steaks and the way he was running at the end of the Kentucky Derby,” McCarthy said. “He’s come back from the Kentucky Derby and has trained well. You never know what the Kentucky Derby takes out of a horse, but it seems like he’s back to himself.”

The Belmont Derby also features a rematch of the top two finishers in the May 25 Pennine Ridge Stakes (G2T), the stepping stone prep for Saturday’s stakes.

Godolphin’s Legend of Time  prevailed in the final yards to beat White Palomino  by a head in the mile-and-an-eighth Pennine Ridge. Trained by Charlie Appleby, the son of Sea The Stars , who won four of five starts overseas, was coming off a fifth in the American Turf Stakes (G2T) at Churchill Downs in his May 4 United States debut.

James Bakke and Gerlad Isbister’s White Palomino turned in a strong effort in the Pennine Ridge for trainer Chad Brown, who has yet to win the Belmont Derby. Making his first start since a maiden win, the Kitten’s Joy ridgling led from the start and fell a head short of pulling off a graded stakes win in his just his third career start.