DuPont Hoping for Best Of Luck in Belmont

The gray-and-yellow silks of Allaire duPont’s Bohemia Stable were a familiar sight at New York tracks in the early 1960s, when her durable gelding Kelso was carving out an unprecedented five consecutive horse-of-the-year titles.

Kelso would have been a tough act for any horse to follow, and the DuPont stable has had only mild success in New York in the ensuing years. Now, however, DuPont will be running her first horse in the Belmont Stakes, and Best Of Luck, the colt that won Sunday’s Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park with a dramatic stretch run, will be an intriguing rival when Charismatic shoots for a Triple Crown sweep on June 5.

Winner of only two of 10 starts and second in both of his stakes outings, Best Of Luck came from 14 1/2 lengths behind to beat Treasure Island by one length in the 1 1/8-mile Peter Pan, which is sometimes an effective prep for the 1 1/2-mile Belmont. Of added importance is that Best Of Luck’s win came over a muddy track, a surface he’d never tried before. In the 1990s, three of the Belmonts have been run on off tracks.

Ridden by Jean-Luc Samyn, Best Of Luck was timed in 1:47 4/5. The son of Broad Brush and Crowned, a Chief’s Crown mare, paid $9.20 to win as the favorite. Treasure Island was 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Lemon Drop Kid at the wire, with David, the pace-setter, running fourth.

Despite Charismatic’s victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, a field of 14 or more for the Belmont is possible. However, Badge--third in the Preakness--has a bone chip in his left knee and is not expected to run in the Belmont.

Horse Racing Notes

Sweet Ludy, winless in three U.S. starts after arriving from Italy last fall, was a narrow, last-jump winner in the $108,600 Honeymoon Handicap at Hollywood Park. . . . Champ’s Star ended a winless streak at six with a one-length victory in the $91,000 Radar Ahead Handicap.