NEW YORK (AP) -- There's a cough going around Bobby Frankel's barn and Sightseek became the latest
NEW YORK (AP) -- There's a cough going around Bobby Frankel's barn and Sightseek became the latest to catch it.
The 4-year-old filly would have been the favorite for Saturday's $300,000 Ruffian Handicap at Belmont Park, but won't run because of the ailment. However, Frankel will still send out two fillies in the Grade 1 race, Wild Spirit and You.
Also entered in the six-horse field: Passing Shot, who upset Wild Spirit in the Personal Ensign at Saratoga on Aug. 22; Devon Rose, Nonsuch Bay and She's Got the Beat.
Three other stakes are on the card for the second big weekend of races at Belmont in the run-up to the Breeders' Cup Thoroughbred World Championships at Santa Anita on Oct. 25.
* Volponi, winner of last year's BC Classic, returns to the turf in the $200,000 Belmont Breeders' Cup, taking on seven challengers going 1 1/8 miles. Volponi has finished fifth in all five starts this year, all on the dirt.
* The $150,000 Jerome Handicap for 3-year-olds drew a competitive field of nine, including During, trained by Bob Baffert; Pretty Wild, Tafaseel and Inamorato.
* The $100,000 Floral Park Handicap features Shine Again and either Raging Fever or Gold Mover -- both trained by Mark Hennig -- in a six-horse field. Only one of Hennig's horses will run in the six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares.
On Sunday, the 2-year-olds hit the track in the $200,000 Futurity, expected to include trainer Todd Pletcher's Cuvee and Value Plus, and the $200,000 Matron for fillies, with 2-for-2 Whoopi Cat expected to top the field.
The 1 1/16th-mile Ruffian was set to showcase Sightseek, winner of three consecutive Grade 1s, including a runaway win in the Go For Wand on July 27.
Frankel, though, is confident Wild Spirit will be able to turn the tables on Passing Shot, trained by Allen Jerkens.
"I just don't think she ran her race that day," Frankel said of Wild Spirit. "The way it shaped up didn't help her. She's doing great now."
You, runner-up in last year's Ruffian, has won two races this year, both at 1 1-16 miles. She was seventh in her last start, the seven-furlong Ballerina.
"I think she'll be tough," Frankel said. "She does well at a mile and a sixteenth over this track."
Volponi returns to the turf for the first time since finishing second in last year's Belmont BC Handicap. The horse was second to Mineshaft in the Suburban on July 5 and second to Medaglia d'Oro on the Whitney on Aug. 2.
At Turfway Park on Saturday, Congaree is the 4-5 morning line favorite for the 1 1-8-mile Kentucky Cup Classic, with Perfect Drift the 6-5 second choice in a field of five.
Congaree, trained by Baffert, is coming off a win in the Hollywood Gold Cup and has four wins in six races this year for owner Bob McNair, who also owns the NFL's Houston Texans.
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