Ballad enjoys Belmont spin

Moon Ballad warmed up for his tilt at the one million Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on Saturday with a workout at the track on Monday.

The Dubai World Cup winner jogged over a mile and then cantered over the same distance, it was revealed on the Godolphin website.

Moon Ballad arrived in New York from England in the early hours of Saturday morning and after completing quarantine at Aqueduct racecourse, he was taken to Godolphin’s Belmont Park barn on Sunday afternoon.

Moon Ballad, who may have an easy workout on Wednesday or Thursday, will face tough opposition in the Grade One contest with the likes of Belmont Stakes winner Empire Maker and Mineshaft, the leading handicap horse in North America, set to line up on Saturday.

Evening Attire, last year’s Jockey Club Gold Cup winner, has been listed as a possible.

Moon Ballad, who has not won since the Dubai World Cup, will be racing on dirt for the first time in the 10-furlong event since trouncing Harlan’s Holiday by five lengths at Nad Al Sheba in March.

The four-year-old’s main target is the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on October 25.