A field of six line up in the $100,000 Beaugay (G3) on opening day of the Belmont Park meeting. (Photo credit: Bigstock.com)
Belmont Park is back in action with a compact field of six fillies and mares lining up in the $100,000 Beaugay (G3) on opening day including three mares that are millionaires.
For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic shut down racing in New York on March 15, racing is back. Racing returns in the Big Apple with no fans in attendance. The meeting lasts until July 12.
The highlight of the meeting will be the Belmont Stakes (G1), which will be run on Saturday, June 20, the first Triple Crown race in 2020.
Trainer Chad Brown sends out two major players in the Beaugay in Rushing Fall and Fifth Five, who combined have won 9 of their 13 career starts over the Belmont Park turf.
Rushing Fall is the 6-5 morning line favorite. She has won 8 of her 11 career starts including the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1). Javier Castellano has the call as she makes her first start since a fourth in the First Lady (G1) at Keeneland last October.
Brown Has Rushing Fall Ready
“This seems like a good starting point. She’s only run one bad race in her life and that was her last start,” said Brown. “She had to overcome some things. She had a mini-layoff and she had gotten really sick at Saratoga. I thought we had her ready [for the First Lady]. She loves Keeneland, but it didn’t work out.”
Brown’s other runner is Fifty Five, who is making her first start since last October. She won four of her six starts last year, all against state breds.
Got Stormy is a major threat for the Mark Casse barn. The mare took on males three times last year including winning the Fourstadave Handicap (G1) at Saratoga last summer.
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Things heat up on Saturday with an outstanding card with four graded stakes highlighted by the $250,000 Runhappy Carter Handicap (G1) which is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” race.
Let’s head out to Belmont Park for Wednesday’s featured race of the day:
Belmont Park Race 9 The Beaugay (G3) Post time 5:36 ET
3 Got Stormy 7-5
1 Rushing Fall 6-5
2 Fifty Five 5-1
5 Passing Out 15-1
Got Stormy
The Casse trainee has to take on two Chad Brown runners in here, no easy ask but she is battled tested. She took on the boys three tis last year, winning the Fourstardave ‘Cap (G1) at Saratoga and then running second in the Woodbine Mile (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1). In her last effort she took on males in the Frank Kilroe (G1) where she prompted the early pace and battled on gamely to miss by just a neck, The winner Rover Boyne came back to finish fourth in the Shoemaker Mile (G1). Her win over the turf here came back in ’18 in the Wild Applause. She should get a good trip tracking Rushing Fall and Gaffalione needs to make sure that foe does not shake loose early.
Rushing Fall
The brilliant mare makes her first start since the worst outing of her career, a fourth in the First Lady (G1) at Keeneland last October. The winner Uni came back to win the Breeders’ Cup Mile in her next outing. The mare was second in the Diana (G1) two back at Saratoga, which snapped a four race winning streak. The winner of that race was her stablemate Sistercharlie, who came back to win the Beverly D (G1) and Flower Bowl (G1) and then run third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1). She has worked well for her return for Brown who is 28% winners with runners coming back off a +180-day layoff. Drawing the rail and coming off the bench she figures to be sent by Castellano who has been on the icy side at Churchill Downs going 2 for 29. She is perfect in her two trips here on turf including a career top speed fig three back winning the Just a Game (G1) at a mile.
Fifty Five
This mare is the other Brown trainee and she has won 7 of her 11 trips here. The mare has done her best work against New York breds, winning her last five against state breds. She came up short in her last five stars in graded stakes company. Her lone win in a graded stake came in the 2017 Florida Oaks (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs. This is her first start since last October and her best shot of pulling off an upset here is to see a pace battle in front of her and with just six in here that does not seem likely to happen.
