Suburban to mark return home for Alpha

 

The Sports Network

Travers Stakes co-winner Alpha will return to action in the United States next Saturday in the $350,000 Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park. It will be the 4-year-old's first race this year after two starts in Dubai.

Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin for Godolphin Stable, Alpha was 12th and fifth, respectively, in a pair of stakes in Dubai to begin 2013.

"His last race was OK," said McLaughlin. "Better. He looks great. He came back looking great. In the past we've had horses really mature from 3 to 4, whether we gave them time off or didn't give them time off. He's still maturing and looks great."

Last year, the colt finished in a dead heat with Golden Ticket in the Travers at Saratoga. He was sixth as the 7-10 favorite in the Pennsylvania Derby and 12th to Fort Larned in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Alpha has won five of 13 career starts for $1.3 million.

Among the other runners expected to start the 1 1/8-mile Suburban is Flat Out, winner of the last two editions of the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Trained by Bill Mott, Flat Out had his four-race win streak at Belmont Park ended with a third-place finish in the Met Mile on Memorial Day.

Read more Horse Racing stories from the Miami Herald

  • Up the Backstretch: Two for the turf Saturday from Romans

    Eclipse Award-winning trainer Dale Romans suffered an unexpected defeat in the United Nations Handicap last week when 8-5 favorite Little Mike faded down the stretch to finish fourth after setting most of the pace.

  • Top three from Penn Mile highlight Virginia Derby

    The first three under the wire from last month's Penn Mile lead a field of 10 3-year-olds into Saturday's $500,000 Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs.

  • Dullahan back for Arlington Handicap

    Pacific Classic winner Dullahan makes his first start in the United States this year on Saturday in the $200,000 Arlington Handicap at Arlington Park. The 4-year-old colt will take on seven rivals in the 1 1/4-mile turf event.

Get your Miami Heat Fan Gear!

Join the
Discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

The Miami Herald uses Facebook's commenting system. You need to log in with a Facebook account in order to comment. If you have questions about commenting with your Facebook account, click here.

Have a news tip? You can send it anonymously. Click here to send us your tip - or - consider joining the Public Insight Network and become a source for The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald.

Hide Comments

This affects comments on all stories.

Cancel OK

  • Videos

  • Quick Job Search

Enter Keyword(s) Enter City Select a State Select a Category