Check out my Thursday (10-1-26) Belmont Park Race 8 analysis below.
BEL 8 (G2 Flower Bowl, 10f inner turf) – Post Time 5:48 PM ET
Primary – #9 KATHYNMARISSA
Secondary – #10 Cathedral, #1 Evershed
Horse Comments:
#9 Kathynmarissa (7-5) moved to the Chad Brown barn and was strong in a 9T OC win at SAR August 2025 (runner-up next-out winner). She returned from a long layoff and rallied to win in the G3 Modesty at 9T May 1, and she stalked wide and was best of the rest in third in the G1 New York at 9.5T June 5 (slow early/fast late). I made her my top choice in the G1 Diana at 9T on yielding ground July 18 and she rallied to win that event by a half-length as the favorite. Her winning pilot Jose Ortiz will probably keep her within hailing distance of the early leaders and his late kick might be too much for this group. The versatile mare is 0-for-4 with two runner-up finishes and a show finish at or near this trip.
#10 Cathedral (9-2) won her all-weather bow last year and is 0-for-11 with three runner-up finishes and a show finish since. She was second in a pair of Group 3 races this year, and was an even 4th of 11 as a 90-1 longshot in the G1 BC F&M Turf at DMR last fall. She was clearly second best in a Group 2 at 9T in May, and she was an okay 4th of 7 in the G1 Diana at 9T July 18. Chad Brown is her new trainer and Prat takes the call, and she fired a half-mile turf bullet for this Sept. 18.
#1 Evershed (12-1) showed promise last year with a pair of stakes placings including a runner-up finish in the local G2 Saratoga Oaks at 9.5T. Something went wrong in the G3 JC Oaks and she went to the sidelines after that. She returned from a layoff of 8+ months and rallied wide from the outside post to finish a close third in a prep for this at CNL July 19. She got back on the winning track when stalking below par splits and winning the G3 Waya at 11T Aug. 28. This is her third start of the year and Saturday’s pilot Dylan Davis guided her to a place finish in the G2 Saratoga Oaks last summer.
Wagers:
#9 to win
Trifecta key 9/1-10
Trifecta 9/1-10/all
Trifecta 9/all/1-10
September 2026 Bettor Bet$ Free Pick Winners
Sept. 3 – Unbinding/Hey Lil Lady/Nikolina Trifecta ($77.60)
Sept. 4 – Daytona Diamond ($3.00), Trifecta ($32.60)
Sept. 5 – Magnificat ($4.80), Quinella ($17.40)
Sept. 7 – Medoro ($8.60), Exacta ($20.40), Trifecta ($182.00)
Sept. 8 – Jesse/Bonafide Exacta ($18.80)
Sept. 13 – Dustem Too ($7.20)
Sept. 14 – Duration ($8.20), Exacta ($21.60)
Sept. 16 – Bob’s Carrot ($6.98)
Sept. 19 – San Siro ($8.60), Exacta ($18.00)
Sept. 20 – Jasmina ($4.00)
Sept. 23 – Memory/Pagode Exacta ($39.28)
Sept. 28 – Sealand/Kid Rich/Frenchman James Trifecta ($54.40)
Sept. 29 – Calvin’s Ride ($2.20)
*All winning wagers based on $2 payoffs unless noted otherwise.
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