Outstanding Field For JC Invitational

The 2013 Kentucky Derby winner, the 2013 Belmont Stakes winner, a two-time defending race champ and two recent major Grade I stakes winners will all be settling into the Belmont Park gate on Saturday for the Jockey Club Gold Cup Invitational. The $1,000,000 Grade I race will go 1 ¼ miles on the dirt, and even though it’s a 'Win and You’re In’ race for entry to the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Classic, it’s likely some of the runners who don’t finish on top will still be in the mix for the Classic title on November 2.

Triple Crown contenders renew their battle

The field includes Orb, who won this year’s Kentucky Derby, and Palace Malice, who won the Belmont. Since winning the Derby, Orb has had trouble finding the winner’s circle again, finishing fourth in the Preakness, and third in both the Belmont and Grade I Travers. Palace Malice, after taking the Belmont, came back to win the Grade II Jim Dandy and finished just behind Orb in the Travers. As three-year-olds, those two will carry low weight of 122 lbs in the Gold Cup, while all others in the eight-horse field will carry 126.

Most of the rest are graded-stakes winners

Joining them will be Flat Out, who the last two versions of the Gold Cup and ran third in the 2012 BC Classic. He’s been in the money his last four starts, including a win in the Grade II Suburban and a second in the Grade I Woodward. He finished that one just behind Alpha, who is also in the Gold Cup field. Also set to start are Last Gunfighter, winner of four of five this year, Ron the Greek, with two Grade I wins on his resume, Grade I Whitney winner Cross Traffic, and Brazilian invader Vitoria Olimpica.