Saturday Races At Belmont Park
Trainer Chad Brown could saddle as many as three runners in Saturday, Sept. 15’s graded stakes at Belmont Park, with the British-bred Samitar expected to make her debut for Brown in the Grade 1, $300,000 Garden City Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on the inner turf, and French-breds Kya One and Whipsaw City both under consideration for the Grade 3, $150,000 Noble Damsel Stakes run at a mile over the Widener course.
Samitar, a Group 1 winner in Ireland, was previously trained by Mick Channon, who sent the filly out for her North American debut in the Grade 2 Lake George Stakes on July 25 at Saratoga Race Course, a race Brown watched with interest. The three-year-old Rock of Gibraltar filly endured an eventful trip and was third in a blanket finish where less than 1 1/2 lengths separated the top five.
“It wasn’t for me, though I did watch the race,” Brown said. “She got bumped around, and it was kind of a weirdly run race because she had no cover. I thought she fought well. Now, we’ve had her in our care and we’re getting to know her a little bit. She seems to be training well.”
Samitar is owned by Martin Schwartz, as is Whipsaw City, one of two fillies Brown is considering for the Grade 3 Noble Damsel. The fouryear old daughter of Elusive City has not raced since finishing second by a half-length to Blue Maiden in the Glowing Honor overnight stakes on June 28 at Belmont.
“She had shed a frog and missed one race in Saratoga in the first book,” Brown said. “Then I put her in a sprint stake in the last book, and the race didn’t fill. So now I’m kind of looking for a race for her. She’s been training super, so we might take a shot at the one-turn mile here.”
Both of Whipsaw City’s North American victories came at a mile on turf at Gulfstream Park earlier this year. She was fifth over the artificial surface at Keeneland in the Grade 1, seven-furlong Vinery Madison Stakes on April 12 and sixth in the Grade 3, 1 1/16-mile Violet Stakes on the grass on Memorial Day at Monmouth Park.
The Noble Damsel Stakes could be the North American debut for Mackie Racing’s Kya One, a stakes winner in France who has been in Brown’s care since late July.
“I maybe haven’t had her quite as long as I would like before debuting her here, but she’s doing well and I might put her in there and take a look,” Brown said. “We’ll see. It seems like she might be better at further distances, but in her works she seems like she has some turn of foot and it might be a good spot to get her started in. I’m still kind of learning a few things about her, but she is training well. It might be a good spot to get a race into her and see where we are.”
A four-year-old One Cool Cat filly, Kya One was sixth, beaten 2 1/2 lengths, in the Group 2 Prix Corrida at Saint-Cloud Racecourse outside Paris on May 28, her most recent start. That race was against fillies, but she competed against colts in her three previous starts, winning the Prix Jacques Laffitte Stakes at Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse on April 5.
“She’s got some decent running lines,” Brown said. “She kept good company over there and she’s been running with boys. The last one was against fillies, beat two [and a half] lengths, steadied repeatedly. She’s a pretty nice horse. Like I said, she might be better suited going longer though, so she’s not a definite for the race.”
Trainer Christophe Clement is likely to have two runners in Saturday’s Grade 3 Noble Damsel Stakes, with British-bred Federation and Naples Bay both looking for their first stakes victories.
Owned by Guy Roxburghe, Federation dead-heated for victory with PrizeCatchina11/16-mileturfoptional claimer on Aug. 27 at Saratoga, her first win since posting back-toback scores at Tampa Bay Downs after arriving in the U.S. late last year. Edward Cox Jr.’s Naples Bay alsoexitsa11/16-mileturfoptional claimer, having drawn clear to win by 4 3/4 lengths on Aug. 17 at Monmouth Park.
“Both are doing well. It’s a little bit quick for Federation, but she’s doing well and we don’t have another race until mid-October,” Clement said. “Naples Bay had a very nice allowance win at Monmouth and deserves a shot in a stakes. [Joel] Rosario will be riding Federation and [Jose] Lezcano will be riding Naples Bay.”
According to NYRA stakes coordinator Andrew Byrnes, likely for the Garden City Stakes are Grade 1 Ashland Stakes winner Karlovy Vary, third as the beaten favorite in the Nani Rose at the Spa last time out; Open Water, most recently third in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks Stakes; Samitar, who finished third, beaten a neck, in the Grade 2 Lake George Stakes in her American debut on July 25; Somali Lemonade, who was sixth in the Lake George Stakes and third in the Grade 2 Lake Placid Stakes, and the Irish filly Tannery, winner of the Group 3 Kilboy Estate Stakes at the Curragh on July 22. Angegreen, Assateague, Gathering, and Pianist are questionable.
Among those expected for the Noble Damsel Stakes are De La Rose winner Julie’s Love, 2-0-2 in four American starts for trainer H. Graham Motion; the Christophe Clement-trained pair of Federation and Naples Bay; Embarr, winner of an optional claimer at Monmouth Park last time out; La Cloche, fifth in the De La Rose Stakes; Law of the Range, sixth in her stateside debut in the Grade 1 Diana Stakes; Silver Screamer, most recently fifth in the Grade 3 Matchmaker; Spooky Kitten, unraced since a second-place finish in the Wonder Where Stakes at Woodbine 14 months ago, and the Chad Brown duo of Kya One and Whipsaw City. Thundering Emilia is questionable.
