That being said, he does appear to be the lone speed here. There really are not any other speed oriented horses in this race. There are some stalkers to be sure, but no go to the front type horses like Flashpoint in the Preakness who dueled with Shackleford all the way down the backstretch.
Can he steal the race? Ordinarily I would say he could steal it from this field, were the distance just a little shorter, say even 1 ¼ miles. I expect him to have the lead turning into the stretch, but sometime in mid-stretch his stamina will give out and he will start to give way, albeit grudgingly.
Expect Nehro from post 6 and Mucho Macho Man from post 10 to track him in second or third.
Stay Thirsty and Ruler on Ice who drew posts 2 and 3, respectively, will drop back a bit off the pace, perhaps about 5 lengths, while Santiva who drew post 4, will move up a little closer, 2-3 lengths off Shackleford and to the inside of Nehro and Mucho Macho Man.
Brilliant Speed drew post 5 and he will drop back early securing a good running position, probably somewhere in the vicinity of Ruler on Ice.
Monzon fell far back in the Peter Pan, in which he recently finished sixth, but in his prior race, the Sam Davis, he lay much closer, so he may be only a few off the pace, or he could drop back to as much as 10 lengths off the leader ufabet
Prime Cut drew post 8, to the inside of Animal Kingdom, and you can expect him to be forwardly placed, 2-3 lengths off the leader, with Mucho Macho Man who drew post 10 either running evenly or just stalking him.
Animal Kingdom drew post 9 which is probably a good position to be in, as he will drop 5-7 lengths off the pace and let Prime Cut to his inside, and Mucho Macho Man to his outside go on with it, while he secures a good position, though perhaps he will go 3 wide around the turns.
Isn’t He Perfect drew post 10 and is a stalker to mid pack type horse, so he may run past Animal Kingdom and secure a closer position, maybe 4 lengths off the pace.
Many Belmont analysts over the years have noted that it is not a good idea to drop your horse too far back early, because you don’t want to have to expend too much energy catching up to the field – energy which the horse will need for the stretch drive. Horses that succeed in winning the Belmont generally lay anywhere from a stalking position to less than 7 or 8 lengths off the pace.