Belmont: Friday Stakes Previews

NYRA —-

Talented field of nine set for G2 New York

ELMONT, N.Y. – Already a stakes winner in France, the British-bred Esquisse looks to notch her first such stateside victory in Friday’s Grade 2, $600,000 New York presented by NYRA Bets at Belmont Park, one of six stakes on the second day of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.

The Dansili filly will be stretching out to 1 ¼ miles in the New York, having finished third going a mile at Keeneland in her American debut and second at the same distance in an optional claimer on May 18 at Belmont.

“Her races here have been very good,” said trainer Graham Motion of Esquisse, bred and owned by Wertheiner et Frere. “Perhaps she’s showing more in the morning than in the afternoons. Her mother [the Rahy mare Legerate] ran 1 ½ miles, so perhaps the difference might be the extra quarter-mile.”
Esquisse drew post 7 under Flavien Pratt.

Among those lining up for the New York will be the streaking Holy Helena, who is 3-for-3 this year since trainer Jimmy Jerkens transferred her to turf.

The Ontario-bred Ghostzapper filly made her grass debut a winning one, taking an optional claimer on February 4 at Gulfstream Park, and followed that with a victory in the Grade 3 The Very One, also at Gulfstream. Most recently she scored by a half-length in the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay on May 5 at Belmont.

“Her first race on turf was an allowance, and it was only a mile, but she was relentless until she got there,” said Jerkens. “This is going to be a lot tougher race than her last one … but she’s three-for-three on the turf and each succeeding race has had a little better quality horses in it and she’s been able to handle it. I hope she does it this time.”

The Stronach Stables’ color-bearer, who captured the Woodbine Oaks and the Queens’ Plate over the synthetic surface at Woodbine, tuned up for the New York with a half-mile breeze in 49.45 seconds on Sunday.
Manny Franco will ride Holy Helena from post 2.

Trainer Chad Brown, who won the 2016 New York with Dacita, returns with two entrants: Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stables and Gary Aisquith’s graded stakes winner Fourstar Crook, runner-up in the Jenny Wiley last time out behind her stablemate, Peter Brant’s Irish-bred Sistercharlie.

The pair breezed a half-mile on the inner turf at Belmont Sunday, with the 6-year-old Fourstar Crook caught in 49.44 and the 4-year-old Sistercharlie clocked in 49.52.

“I’m pleased with the way both of them are coming into the race,” said Brown, who will give a leg up to Irad Ortiz, Jr. on Fourstar Crook (post position 8), while Hall of Famer John Velazquez will pilot Sistercharlie from post 5.

The well-traveled Daddys Lil Darling returns to Belmont for the first time since July 2017, when she placed fourth in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational for trainer Ken McPeek and Normandy Farm. Having closed out her sophomore campaign with a game win in the Grade 1 American Oaks at Santa Anita Park, the Pioneerof the Nile filly this year finished fourth in the Grade 2 Hillsborough at Tampa Bay Downs and most recently second in the Grade 3 Bewitch on April 27 at Keeneland.
Daddys Lil Darlin will leave from post 6 under Hall of Famer Mike Smith.

William Clifton, Jr.’s Empressof the Nile (post 4, Jose Ortiz) will be seeking her first stakes victory in the New York, as will BranJam Stable and David Clark’s Fahan Mura, who drew the rail under Edwin Maldonado.

Rounding out the field are English import Snowy Winter, making her American debut from post position 3 under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano) and the Joe Sharp-trained Mom’s On Strike (post 9, Adam Beschizza), shortening up after taking the Grade 3 Bewitch at 1 ½ miles at Keeneland.

By Anthony Affrunti

Sprinters look to avoid thorny trips in G3 Bed o’ Roses

Kaleem Shah’s multiple Grade 1 winner American Gal will be looking for her second straight graded stakes victory as part of a strong eight-horse field in the Grade 3, $250,000 Bed o’ Roses Invitational for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up on Friday at Belmont Park.

The seven-furlong sprint is one of five stakes on the second day of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, which offers $9.4 million in purses through 18 stakes races over the three-day event highlighted by the 150th running of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes, presented by NYRA Bets, on June 9.

American Gal, a two-length winner of the Grade 1 Humana Distaff at Churchill Downs on the May 5 Kentucky Derby undercard, is making her third start of the year in the Bed o’ Roses. She made her 4-year-old debut in the Grade 1 Madison on April 7 at Keeneland, and caught late by three others at the wire.

“She’s doing really good,” trainer Simon Callaghan said. “Were happy with the way she’s coming into the race. She ran a good first race at Keeneland, not beaten far there, and then came back and won the Grade 1 at Churchill.”

American Gal had only two races under her belt as a 3-year-old, winning the Grade 3 Victory Ride at Belmont Park in her first start for Callaghan. She then went on to win the Grade 1 Test at Saratoga after she charged four-wide and closed through the stretch to draw off by four lengths.

“We gave her some time off [earlier in the year],” said Callaghan. “It was just a real minor thing. Then we decided to give her more time off and bring her back as a 4-year-old, but it seems she’s come back as good as ever.”

With five victories from eight career starts with a $904,980 bankroll, American Gal will break from post 2 and be ridden by Jose Ortiz.

Corms Racing Stable’s Divine Miss Grey will face American Gal for the second time, having settled for seventh in the Test.

She kicked off her 4-year-old year with a front-running 3 ¼-length in the Interborough on January 15 at Aqueduct and followed with a 6 ¾-ength win the Heavenly Prize at a mile on March 10. The Divine Park filly stepped up in the Grade 3 Distaff Handicap at Aqueduct to finish third but was moved up to second via a disqualification.

“She’s doing really good,” trainer Danny Gargan said. “Her last race was really tough. She went in, shuffled, and didn’t get the best of trips. I backed off her a little bit because I gave her four hard races in a row, so I gave her a little time but she’s doing really, really well. It’s going to be a small field here, and I’m trying to get a race in her now. My goal is to stretch her out but it’s tough to find anything right now. Not much options. Her numbers are good and competitive.”

Divine Miss Grey drew post 5 and gets Kendrick Carmouche in the saddle.

Alpha Delta Stables’ Lewis Bay is a multiple graded stakes winner who brings her own impressive resume with her. Still seeking a victory this year, the daughter of Bernardini was second in the Grade 3 Royal Delta, third in the Grade 1 Madison and third in the Humana Distaff.

“She’s doing well,” trainer Chad Brown said. “She emerged from the Humana Distaff with a quarter crack that we had to repair, so she did miss a little bit of time. She’s come back with a couple of easy breezes. She seems to be moving fine.”
Lewis Bay owns victories in the Grade 2 Gazelle at Aqueduct, Grade 3 Turn Back the Alarm at Belmont, and Grade 3 Rampart at Gulfstream Park and has earnings of $964,560 with a 5-5-3 record from 14 starts.
Lewis Bay will be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr. from post 6.
Others entered to run in the Bed o’ Roses is Madaket Stables Ivy Bell for trainer Todd Pletcher withHall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano from the rail; Lael Stables Chalon for trainer Arnaud Delacour and jockey Paco Lopez from post 3; Union Strike for owner and trainer Mick Luis and jockey Corey Nakatani from post 4; Heider Family Stable’s Cairenn for trainer Graham Motion and jockey Jorge Vargas Jr., from post 7 and Chester Broman’s Highway Star for trainer Rodrigo Ubillo and jockey Luis Saez from post 8.

By Najja Thompson —-

Pletcher enters trio for Tremont

Always a dominating force in juvenile races, trainer Todd Pletcher will saddle a talented trio in Friday’s $150,000 Tremont for 2-year-olds going 5 ½ furlongs at Belmont Park on the second day of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.

Leading the charge for Pletcher’s contingent is Outshine. Purchased for $625,000 as a yearling at the Keeneland September sale for owners Let’s Go Stable and Richard Schibell, the son of Malibu Moon won his debut on an off track on May 17 at Belmont, besting a field of six to win by 2 ¾ lengths.

Social Fan – sired by multiple graded stakes winner Overanalyze, a multiple graded stakes winner for Pletcher – will be making his third start in the Tremont. Adding blinkers in his second start, Social Fan won wire-to-wire against a field of seven on May 4 at Belmont.

Completing the Pletcher triumvirate is Sombeyay, purchased for $230,000 as a yearling at the Keeneland September sale. He enters the Tremont off an impressive 6 ¼-length debut win on April 27 at Gulfstream Park.

“All three are doing well coming into this race,” said Pletcher. “Like a lot of these 2-year-old races, everybody’s sort of in the same boat coming from a maiden win into a stake race, but they each seemed to break their maidens the way you want to see and we’ll see how they’ve continued to develop.”

Pletcher – who has won the Tremont five times, most recently in 2016 with Silver Mission – is a big supporter of the NYRA juvenile stakes series.

“I think New York has developed a really good 2-year-old program,” said Pletcher. “With the early maiden races, it gives you the opportunity if you have some really precocious runners, but to me the most important thing was that they brought back the Tremont and Astoria [filly division]. For a while there, if you broke your maiden early it was almost a disadvantage. You didn’t have anywhere to run until Saratoga, so to have these two races here really helps the 2-year-old program.”

Outshine, will leave from post 4 with Hall of Famer John Velazquez aboard. Social Fan will depart from post 3 with Manny Franco in the irons, and Sombeyay will leave from post 2 with Luis Saez in the irons.

Shipping in from Churchill and expected to arrive at Belmont on Tuesday for owner Whispering Oaks Farm and Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen is Sir Truebadour. Purchased for $300,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale, the son of More Than Ready won his debut on May 17 at Churchill by four lengths, recording a field-high 70 Beyer Speed Figure.

Sir Truebadour will leave from post 6 with Ricardo Santana, Jr. in the irons.

Rounding out the field are Girls Love Me for trainer Anthony Farrior and owner Michael Coombs, Our Braintrust for trainer Cathal Lynch and owner Stanton Smith, Jr., and filly Mae Never No for trainer Wesley Ward and owner Ice Wine Stable.