SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – It was suggested to trainer Brad Cox that Commandment (Into Mischief) was a forgotten horse coming into the 158th running of the $2-million GI Belmont Stakes.“Not with me,” Cox said at his office on the Oklahoma Training Track.Then a pause and a smile.“But I know what you mean,” he said. “I don't know if he is or not (forgotten). All I know is that he is doing well. I have liked his works since the Derby; I liked how he shipped up here and how he has moved over the main track. I think we are going to get a big effort out of him.”Commandment was expected to be a major player in the GI Kentucky Derby as he was sent off at odds of 6.18-1, fourth choice behind stablemate Further Ado (Gun Runner), Renegade (Into Mischief) and So Happy (Runhappy).He finished seventh but beaten only 5 1/4 lengths. Cox had been expecting so much more from Commandment, owned by Waltham Racing.“He had a slow start, maybe rushed a little bit, raced a little wide,” Cox said. “He put himself into contention turning for home but just kind of did not have enough to finish up and get the job done.”Commandment had stamped himself as a bona fide Derby horse after a solid winter in Florida. Victories in the Mucho Macho Man, GII Fountain of Youth and GI Florida Derby made Commandment one of the ones heading to Louisville.And then it just did not work out.The graded stakes wins in Florida were by a neck (Fountain of Youth) and a nose (Florida Derby). Cox knew he had a horse that would fight.“He will probably be in one Saturday,” Cox said. “He has performed very well and has been courageous in some of his victories. He is doing well. We are going into this with confidence.”What's changed for the Belmont is who will be doing the driving. Hall of Famer John Velazquez will be the third different jockey in as many starts for Commandment. Flavien Prat rode him in the Florida Derby but committed to ride Emerging Market (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the Run for the Roses. He will rideLuis Saez was aboard Commandment in the Kentucky Derby, but Cox said ownership wanted to make a change for the Belmont. Velazquez, who rode Further Ado in the Derby, was available.“He knows how to get around the Saratoga oval pretty well,” Cox deadpanned about Johnny V., who has the most all-time wins at Saratoga (1,054 heading into Friday's card).Mott Expects a Rebound from Knightsbridge in Met MileHall of Fame trainer Bill Mott still has no idea what happened to Knightsbridge (Nyquist) the last time he ran. He can only hope things will be different for the 5-year-old horse in Saturday's GI, $1 million Met Mile at Saratoga Race Course.Knightsbridge, a Godolphin homebred, was all the rage over the winter when he dominated three races in Florida, winning three Grade III races by a combined 20 3/4 lengths.Knightsbridge | Sarah AndrewThen came the fall in the GI Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day. Sent off as the favorite – for the seventh time in his nine career starts — Knightsbridge laid an egg.He finished sixth, beaten 6 1/4 lengths. Mott left Churchill Downs that day confused and more than a little disappointed.“I don't know what went wrong,” Mott said. “He trained well into it, and he didn't run.”Mott got every inch of Knightsbridge checked out when he got him back to the barn. When he shipped him to his spring/summer base in Saratoga, he monitored Knightsbridge closely.The horse continued his training, looked good every time Mott sent him to the track.“He has worked well enough, and we have not found anything wrong with him,” Mott said. “There is nothing that we can see that is not in order with him.”Mott decided he had no choice but to draw a line though Knightsbridge's effort in the Churchill Downs and move forward.He will be ridden once again by Mott's main man, Junior Alvarado, and the Met Mile will certainly be the stiffest test of Knightsbridge's career, one that has seen him cross the finish line first in six of nine starts.And, for the first time in a while, Knightsbridge will not be the favorite. That honor will likely go to the Bob Baffert-trained Nysos (Nyquist), who is the 9-5 morning line choice. The popular Journalism (Curlin) is the 5-2 second choice.The Met Mile starts from the tricky Wilson Chute.“That always poses some challenges,” Mott said. “It's all in how they break. There is always the possibility that the horses on the inside – if the horses on the outside break really well they could squeeze them a little coming midway down the chute. It poses the possibility of a tough race the first eighth of a mile.”Knightsbridge breaks from post six, Journalism is next door in post six. Nysos has the rail.Belmont Stakes Could be a Wet OneAfter three picture-perfect days to start the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga, there is a chance for Saturday, Belmont Stakes Day, to be not so nice.Abbey Grant, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Albany, said there is the potential for severe thunderstorms in the Saratoga Springs area starting at 2 p.m. and lasting into the night.By the time the GI Belmont Stakes goes off (scheduled post time of 7:04 p.m.), it could be wet.“Unfortunately, some of the storms could reach severe strength,” Grant said. “There could be wind gusts of 58 miles per hour or more and there is potential for large hail as well.”Grant said there is a 50 percent chance of rain at 2 p.m. and it will go up to as high as 70 percent as the day moves on.“It could absolutely be raining,” she said when asked what the weather would be like at post time for the Belmont.”The good news is that the inclement weather is not supposed to include a consistent, hours long rain.She also said not to expect any sun in the area on Saturday. The day, Grant said, will start out cloudy and temperatures will soar into the upper 80s and that could fuel the expected thunderstorms.The post The First Commandment: Cox Says His Horse is Legit Belmont Threat appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.