ELMONT, N.Y. – In a fairly competitive renewal of the $700,000 Man o’ War Stakes, about the only thing for certain is that Gufo is going to run his race. It’s just a matter of whether it will be good enough off a layoff to win the 1 3/8-mile turf test, the first Grade 1 to be run at the Belmont Park spring/summer meet. The Man o’ War tops a solid 11-race program that includes four Grade 3 stakes – the Peter Pan for 3-year-olds, the Beaugay for female turf runners, the Runhappy for sprinters, and the Vagrancy for female sprinters. First post is 1 p.m. :: Enhance your handicapping with DRF’s Belmont Park Clocker Report Gufo, a 4-year-old son of Declaration of War trained by Christophe Clement, has won five races from eight career starts. After losing his debut by 1 1/2 lengths, his two other defeats have come by a head in the Saratoga Derby last summer and a neck in last November’s Grade 1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar. “He finished as strong as anybody else, if not stronger,” Clement said of Gufo in the Hollywood Derby. “He was in front a stride after the wire, just no racing luck.” Following that race, Gufo was given a brief freshening at Payson Park in Florida. Clement opted to bring Gufo back in the Man o’ War at 1 3/8 miles rather than last Saturday’s Fort Marcy at 1 1/16 miles. “It was a very fastly run race,” Clement said of the Fort Marcy. “Sometimes, going a mile and three-eighths gives you a chance to settle the first part and finish. It might be an easier race on a horse coming back than a fastly run, shorter race.” Gufo has a series of five-furlong works on the turf at Payson and, most recently, at Belmont to prepare him for his return. “His last two or three works were more aggressive than usual for us, and I think he’s pretty fit,” Clement said. Gufo is the 124-pound highweight, conceding 4 to 6 pounds to the remainder of the field. Joel Rosario rides Gufo from post 8. Ziyad, a 6-year-old Great Britain-bred gelding by Rock of Gibraltar, was a Group 2 winner in France before coming to the U.S. last fall. Ziyad finished third, beaten two lengths in the Grade 3 Sycamore at Keeneland before finishing third again, beaten just a half-length, in the Grade 3 Red Smith at Aqueduct. In the Red Smith, Ziyad inherited the lead in midstretch only to get passed late by North Dakota and Red Knight. This past winter, trainer Graham Motion kept Ziyad at the Fair Hill training center in Maryland, where he had a solid string of stamina-building works over that facility’s all-weather training track. “I hope I have enough miles in him – I think I have,” Motion said. “He runs well fresh and I didn’t want to waste a race.” Manny Franco rides Ziyad from post 3. Sovereign, the Group 1 Irish Derby winner in 2019 when trained by Aidan O’Brien, makes his U.S. debut and first start for trainer Chad Brown in the Man o’ War. Sovereign, a son of Galileo, was a forwardly placed runner in Ireland, and shows solid works over the turf at Payson Park before coming to Belmont, where he worked five furlongs in 1:02.40 on the turf Sunday. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Sovereign from the rail. :: Bet horse racing on DRF Bets. Double Your First Deposit Up to $250. Join Now. Field Pass, a Maryland-bred son of Lemon Drop Kid trained by Mike Maker, has won over four different turf courses and two different synthetic surfaces. He has won from a mile to a 1 1/8 miles and is attempting 1 3/8 miles for the first time in the Man o’ War. Distance won’t be an issue for Channel Cat, who won the Grade 2 Bowling Green going 1 3/8 miles at Saratoga in 2019 and previously won stakes at 1 1/2 miles and 1 7/16 miles. He came off a three-month layoff to finish second to Say the Word in the Grade 2 Elkhorn on April 17 at Keeneland. John Velazquez rides Channel Cat for Calumet Farm and trainer Jack Sisterson from post 5. Moon Over Miami, trained by Bill Mott, has a second and a third in a pair of marathon turf stakes at Gulfstream this past winter. Shamrocket has three seconds in as many starts this year, all against lesser company. He is trained by Todd Pletcher. So High looks overmatched in this spot.