Both of the maiden races at the center of this card appear to be loaded with talent. Whereas the 2-year-old event that goes as the 7th is primarily a guessing game, there is a bit more form to go on in this race. Business Cycle (5) has to be considered the horse to beat off his fast runner-up finish last fall at Aqueduct. He earned the fastest speed figure of any horse in this race, and he faced some talented runners in that initial start, including eventual stakes winner Westwood. The questions surrounding him are fairly obvious. Where has he been for 9 months since that effort, and do you really want to take a 5-year-old maiden in a field of up and comers? This gelding has apparently been working very forwardly for his comeback, so I’m not exactly against him at a short price.

I am interested in the horses exiting the 6th race on July 6 at Belmont. That appeared to be a loaded field of maidens and it came up a very fast race in terms of speed figures. I was highly intrigued by HERSH (4) that day as he made his debut for new trainer Dermot Magner, and he did not disappoint with a very encouraging second-place finish. He was a bit slow into stride as Joel Rosario let him settle at the back of the pack. He quickly advanced into contention on the turn as the pace started to come back, but he then had to wait for running room while losing some momentum at the quarter pole. I liked the way he regathered himself in the lane to fight off a few others, including today’s rival Illudere (8), for the place. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him show a bit more speed this time and I think he’s primed to break his maiden today.

Among the others, I would also give a look to Todd Pletcher’s second time starter, Dark N Cloudy (3). He had a ton of trouble in his debut at Gulfstream Park and has reportedly been working well for his second start. However, he is stepping way up in class.