Belmont: Broadway Run looks to hit mark in Thursday’s G3 Intercontinental

By Brian Bohl —-

ELMONT, N.Y. – Curragh Stables’ Broadway Run will look to build on her success in taking a step up in class as she makes her graded stakes debut in the Grade 3, $200,000 Intercontinental for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up on Thursday at Belmont Park.

The sixth running of the Intercontinental is one of three stakes on Thursday’s card, including the Grade 2, $200,000 Wonder Again and the $150,000 Astoria, kicking off the three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival that culminates with the 151st running of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on Saturday, June 8.

Broadway Run has never finished off the board in her first seven starts, going 2-4-1, including a win and three runner-up efforts in four starts at Belmont. The 4-year-old Prospective filly will run at seven furlongs on the grass for the first time since running second in an optional claimer in her second career start in May 2018 at Belmont. Broadway Run will take aim at the Widener turf, where she ran second to fellow Intercontinental contender Fire Key by a nose in the six-furlong License Fee over yielding turf on April 29.

“She’s doing great and I don’t think the seven-eighths will be an issue,” trainer John Terranova said. “She has speed but she can sit off if she needs to. She’s really just a smart filly and very crafty. Hopefully, we’ll get some good weather finally.”

Broadway Run is coming off back-to-back close seconds, including losing by a neck to Silver Bay in her main track debut on December 15 at Tampa Bay Downs. Returning to turf in the License Fee, Broadway Run stayed off the pace before challenging Fire Key in deep stretch. That effort earned her a personal-best 88 Beyer Speed Figure.

“We really liked her going into the last race and she didn’t get away from the gate too well. The turf was on the soft side; she tolerates it, but it’s not her best surface,” Terranova said. “She prefers a little firmer ground, which hopefully she’ll get this week. I think that would have made the difference. She lost in a photo to that really nice mare in Fire Key.”

Broadway Run, whose third dam, Pretty Discreet, produced Grade 1-winners Discreetly Mine and Discreet Cat, is 1-3-1 in in five career stakes start as she faces graded stakes company for the first time.

“Right from the start, we gave her a little break and wanted to get her ready for the season. We had this race in mind in looking at a graded stakes spot for her,” Terranova said. “She has a great mind. I don’t know how far she’ll want to go, but she’s done nothing wrong to this point.”

Luis Saez will ride from post 9.

Backwards Stable’s Fire Key bested a six-horse License Fee field in her first start since James Ryerson took over the training duties. The veteran 6-year-old Friesan Fire mare will be making her 29th career start and has four wins and a pair of runner-up efforts in eight starts at Belmont.

Jose Ortiz, aboard for the License Fee, will have the return call from post 8.
Trainer Chad Brown will saddle three contenders, including graded stakes-winner Significant Form, who will make her 4-year-old debut in her first appearance since running fourth in the Winter Memories in November at Aqueduct.

As a juvenile, Significant Form won the 2017 Grade 3 Miss Grillo before running fourth in that year’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar. Owned by Stephanie Seymour Brant, Significant Form will be cutting back to under a mile for the first time in her ninth career start.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will be in the irons from post 2.

The Irish-bred Stella di Camelot won her U.S. debut after winning twice in seven starts in France. With Brown taking over the training duties, the Camelot filly won the Pebbles by 2 ¾ lengths on October 13 and capped her sophomore year with a fifth-place finish in the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere in November at Churchill Downs.
Following a layoff of more than six months, Stella di Camelot will return to racing, breaking from post 5 in tandem with Manny Franco.

The French-bred Zonza ran fourth in her first start in the United States. A three-time winner in her native country, including the 2017 Group 3 Prix du Bois at Deauville, Zonza will make her first Belmont start, drawing post 4 with Hall of Famer Javier Castellano picking up the mount.

The Intercontinental lives up to its moniker, with the English-bred Raven’s Lady making her third consecutive graded stakes appearance since arriving from Great Britain. Under trainer James Cassidy, who took over for Marco Botti, Raven’s Lady ran ninth in the Grade 2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile in May after running fourth in her first North American start in the Grade 2 Royal Heroine on April 6 at Santa Anita.

Hall of Famer Mike Smith will ride from post 7.

Binti Al Nar, a Group 3 winner in her native Germany, will make her second start in the United States, following a sixth-place finish in the Grade 3 Beaugay on May 11 at Belmont.

Trained by Peter Schiergen, Binti Al Nar will pick up the services of jockey Junior Alvarado from post 6.

Rounding out the field is Enthusiastic Gal, conditioned by Steve Klesaris, from post 1; Jc’s Shooting Star, trained by David Donk, from post 3; and Fear No Evil, a Tom Albertrani trainee, from post 10.