Mo Donegal wins 2022 Belmont Stakes, Rich Strike finishes sixth

ELMONT, N.Y. – It had been three years since the roar of a sizeable Belmont Park crowd greeted the field as it rounded the far turn due to the pandemic.

But Mo Donegal certainly gave the 46,103 fans in attendance something to cheer about as the Belmont Stakes played out Saturday .

A closer sent postward as the 5/2 favorite, Mo Donegal rallied as the field rounded the turn and took charge down the stretch, rolling to an impressive victory over the filly Nest in the final leg of the Triple Crown, as trainer Todd Pletcher swept the top two spots.

Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike, who won that classic at 80-1, trailed for much of the race and ended up sixth in the eight-horse field.

Five weeks after coming from the back of the pack to grab fifth in the Kentucky Derby after racing wide the entire way around, Mo Donegal was in much better position Saturday. Sitting closer to a slow pace, the Uncle Mo colt, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., was able to get to the front quickly when asked to run, winning by three lengths while  covering the 1 1/2 mile distance in 2:28.28.

Pletcher has been one of the most successful trainers ever in the Belmont Stakes, winning it for the fourth time, to go with a handful of near misses.

"The one thing I told Irad is be patient, I think you’ve got the best last quarter of any horse in the race,” Pletcher said.

Mo Donegal earned the $800,000 winner’s share from the $1.5 million purse, bringing his career earnings to more than $1.5 million, including a victory in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. He paid $7.20 to win.

“It’s very special," said Ortiz of his second Belmont Stakes winner. "Every time I get on him I like him a little more, a little more - they’ve been very positive about the horse since Day One.”

Mo Donegal is owned by Donegal Racing, a partnership of owners founded by Jerry Crawford in 2008, with the winner's circle packed with part-owners afterwards.

"I want to thanks all the partners in Donegal Racing. They have believed and today they were rewarded," Crawford said. "I think this victory today shows that the sport is more accessible to folks than they may realize. You don’t have to spend millions and millions on racehorses. I can’t say enough about Todd Pletcher and Irad Ortiz for the great job they have done with this horses."

Nest was looking to become the first filly to win the race since Pletcher won it with Rags to Riches in 2007.

"We were really pleased with the way both horses were training," Pletcher noted.

For Rich Strike, it was a disappointing finish for the former claimer, who carried jockey Sonny Leon, trainer Eric Reed and owner Rick Dawson’s Red TR-Racing into the national spotlight for the first time with a stirring rally from the back of the field to chase down Epicenter deep in the stretch in the Kentucky Derby.

“We were hoping we could be a little closer and the pace was slow,” said Reed. “Our biggest change today was we decided to stay a little out of the rail and try to give him a good open run when he would take off – this is the first time he’s not been on the inside rail.

“(Leon) said he wanted down on the rail the whole way and he was not aggressive running in the middle of the track and when he started to make his run he had to make it out there because we put him out there, so I think we just made a tactical error and we’ll have to teach him to run around horses.”

We the People went postward as the second choice at 7/2, but the front-runner was unable to win for the second time at Belmont Park in three weeks. After capturing the Peter Pan Stakes by more than 10 lengths, We the People, trained by Rodolphe Brisset, led the field through the first 10 furlongs, but was unable to hang on, finishing fourth.

Takeaways from Belmont undercard

There were plenty of highlights from a card that included eight Grade 1 races, and here’s a few of the most important:

► The most impressive performance of the afternoon goes to the Chad Brown-trained 3-year-old Jack Christopher, who annihilated the field in the Woody Stephens, winning the seven-furlong test by 10 lengths, with Jose Ortiz in the saddle. The Munnings colt is now unbeaten in four career starts.

“I’m so proud of this colt,” Brown said. “He’s brilliant, he’s smart, he’s doing everything you want him to do.”

► The most anticipated effort of the day surrounded California invader Flightline, who had won his first three career starts by a combined 37.5 lengths. And the 4-year-old, coming off a layoff of more than five months, didn’t disappoint.

After sitting just off the pace, the 4-year-old Tapit colt, trained by John Sadler, put away Speaker’s Corner rounding the turn before drawing off for a six-length victory in the $1 million Metropolitan Mile. After going 1:08.54 for six furlongs, Flightline covered the distance in a quick 1:33.59.

The tensest moment of the undercard came when Echo Zulu, last year’s champion 2-year-old filly, was scratched on the advice of the trackside veterinarian just moments before the start of the $500,000 Acorn Stakes.

“The filly was lame in her left front,” said Anthony Verderosa, NYRA’s Director of Veterinarians.

That left Matareya as the heavy 1-5 choice, and the 3-year-old filly came through with a dominating 6 1/4 length victory, winning for the fourth time in as many starts this year. Trained by Brad Cox, Matareya, ridden by Flavien Prat, led every step of the way to secure her first Grade 1 win.

► It was a big afternoon for Brown, who won the $500,000 What a Game for the fifth time when 6-year-old Regal Glory got to the wire first in the one mile turf event for older fillies and mares.  Ridden by Jose Ortiz, it was the third win in three starts this year for Regal Glory, including the second straight Grade 1 victory.

Brown then won his third Grade 1 race of the day when Tribhuvan opened up a big lead in the $750,000 Manhattan, with jockey Manny Franco guiding the 6-year-old gelding to victory in the 1 1/4-mile turf race.

► After races in Riyadh and Dubai in his first two starts of the year, Casa Creed returned to the United States and defended his title by winning the $400,000 Jaipur Stakes. Trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Luis Saez, Casa Creed got to the wire ahead of Arrest Me Red, coming off a win in the Grade 2 Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Mo Donegal wins Belmont Stakes 2022, Rich Strike finishes sixth