Trained by Arnaud Delacour and patiently piloted by Trevor McCarthy, Magic Attitude saved ground at the back of the pack as graded stakes winner Antoinette led the field through splits of 25.27, 51.03 and 1:17.05 on the firm turf.

Mutamakina stalked from second position down the backstretch under Jose Lezcano but it was Always Shopping, with Joe Bravo up, who made the first run at the leader with a menacing move outside rivals into the final turn.

Antoinette was asked for more as pressure arrived from Always Shopping, and Mutamakina positioned off the rail to launch her bid. But it was Magic Attitude, angled off the rail inside of Orglandes and out to the center of the track, who saved her best run for last to pick off her rivals one-by-one for a powerful three-length score in a final time of 2:14.32.

Delacour said Belmont's inner turf course is ideal for Magic Attitude, who entered the Sheepshead Bay from a close seventh in the Grade 2 Hillsborough on March 6 at Tampa Bay Downs.

“They weren't going fast, but there's no other way to really ride her,” said Delacour. “She needs to be switched off behind, and she has an explosive turn-of-foot, so it's nice to train a filly of that caliber.

“She likes it at Belmont,” he added. “It's more like the European style for her. She can take her time, get balanced, and then produce acceleration. Last time nothing really worked out for her that day. She was really edgy in the post parade and in the paddock. Usually, she is really relaxed, like she was here. I knew that wasn't the best set up, but she probably needed that race.”

Magic Attitude launched her career in France with trainer Fabrice Chappet, capturing the Group 3 Prix Vanteaux at Longchamp last May and finishing second to Tawkeel in the Group 1 Prix Saint Alary at Chantilly in June.

Transferred to the care of Delacour in the fall, Magic Attitude made a winning North American debut under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational, part of NYRA's Turf Triple Series for fillies, on September 19. She completed her season with a third in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup in October at Keeneland.

Saturday's stylish score marked the fourth win on the card for McCarthy, who was full of praise for the talented filly.

“When Javier rode her, he didn't get aggressive with her,” said McCarthy. “In the stretch, he just gathered her, let her run and get into her rhythm, which is what she loves. She impressed me today.”

Mutamakina, who stalled in mid-stretch, re-rallied to earn place money by a half-length over Always Shopping and My Sister Nat. Rounding out the order of finish were Antoinette and Orglandes.

Lezcano, aboard the runner-up Mutamakina, felt the slow pace hampered his chances.

“She broke very well. No one wanted to go to the front, so I let her be where she was,” said Lezcano. “When [Always Shopping] came around the backside, I had to push a little early. I think if the race had set up better for her, she may have beat the other filly.”

Bred in Great Britain by Katsumi Yoshida, Magic Attitude banked $110,000 in victory while improving her record to 10-4-1-2. She returned $11 on a $2 win wager.

Victory in the Belmont Oaks qualified Magic Attitude for considerable bonus money should she win the Grade 2, $750,000 New York, going 1 ¼ miles on June 4 at Belmont; or the Grade 1, $600,000 Flower Bowl, at 1 3/8 miles on September 4 at Saratoga.

The “New York Stakes Turf Bonus” will provide $315,000 to the owner and $35,000 to the trainer of any previous winner of the filly Turf Triple series races – Belmont Oaks, Saratoga Oaks or Jockey Club Oaks – who captures the 2021 edition of the New York.

Additionally, the “Flower Bowl Bonus” will provide $300,000 to the owner and $30,000 to the trainer of any previous winner of a filly Turf Triple series race who wins the Flower Bowl, a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” event offering a berth in the Grade 1 Filly and Mare Turf in November at Del Mar.

Live racing continues Sunday at Belmont with a nine-race card and a 1 p.m. Eastern first post. The slate is highlighted by the Grade 2, $200,000 Ruffian for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up going one mile on the main track in Race 8 at 4:40 p.m.

Starting on May 1, Belmont Park re-opened to a limited number of spectators. All admission must be purchased in advance at nyra.com/belmont/tickets/.

For comprehensive information on health and safety protocols in effect for the Belmont Park spring/summer meet, please visit: https://www.nyra.com/belmont/visit/plan-your-visit.

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Trained by Arnaud Delacour, Magic Attitude is the lone Grade 1-winner in the six-horse field, capturing her North American debut in last year's Belmont Oaks Invitational in September.

The daughter of prolific international sire Galileo rallied from last-of-5 in that race, displaying a powerful turn of foot in mid-stretch, crossing the wire a 2 1/2-length winner. The same late-running strategy was utilized next out in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on October 10 at Keeneland, but she could not replicate the winning push of her prior start, finishing third, 1 1/4 lengths back to Harvey's Lil Goil.

Magic Attitude arrives at the Sheepshead Bay off her 2021 debut in the Grade 2 Hillsborough on March 6 at Tampa Bay Downs, where she rode the rail throughout most of the journey, lacked racing room in upper stretch and made a late bid in between horses to finish a close seventh.

“She may have been a little short when we brought her back at Tampa,” Delacour said. “It didn't work out well as far as the trip was concerned. She was down and on the inside and never got relaxed. I'm also not sure she likes the tight turns at Tampa either. So, we just regrouped after that race and we wanted to go where she's been successful in the past to try and bring back her best form. We know she likes Belmont Park.”

Delacour noted that Belmont Park's wider turns could play to his filly's favor in the Belmont Oaks and hopes to see that play to her advantage on Saturday.

“She had a hard time with the tight turns. At Belmont, she had plenty of time to come gradually. She had balance and produced an explosive kick. We are looking for more stretch,” Delacour said. “The turns are wider at Belmont, and it was a slow pace when she won the Belmont Oaks, which gave her plenty of time to settle and come with a kick. We'll see what the pace scenario is like, but likely she'll take back and make one big run.”

Jockey Trevor McCarthy will pilot Magic Attitude from the inside post.

A victory in the Belmont Oaks qualified Magic Attitude for considerable bonus money should she win the Grade 2, $750,000 New York, going 1 ¼ miles on June 4 at Belmont; or the Grade 1, $600,000 Flower Bowl, at 1 3/8 miles on September 4 at Saratoga.

The “New York Stakes Turf Bonus” will provide $315,000 to the owner and $35,000 to the trainer of any previous winner of the filly Turf Triple series races – Belmont Oaks, Saratoga Oaks or Jockey Club Oaks – who captures the 2021 edition of the New York.

Additionally, the “Flower Bowl Bonus” will provide $300,000 to the owner and $30,000 to the trainer of any previous winner of a filly Turf Triple series race who wins the Flower Bowl, a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” event offering a berth in the Grade 1 Filly and Mare Turf in November at Del Mar.

“The bonus is something that is definitely in the back of our minds,” Delacour said. “With a filly like her the main thing is to bring her back where she can win, and we know she loves Belmont Park. We'll see how she does on Saturday.”

Trainer Chad Brown seeks a fifth Sheepshead Bay win when he sends out My Sister Nat and Orglandes for their respective seasonal debuts.

“I think they're both very classy fillies with a lot of potential. Both have very bright futures,” said Brown's Belmont-based assistant trainer Dan Stupp. “They both wintered well, came up in great condition. They've trained well since they've been here.”

Owned by Peter Brant, My Sister Nat seeks a second graded stakes win in North America after winning the Grade 3 Waya going 1 1/2 miles on August 8 at Saratoga. The half-sister to 2018 Champion Turf Mare Sistercharlie trailed the field early on, inched her way into contention along the hedge midway down the backstretch and swung four-wide in upper stretch for the win.

Following two graded stakes runner-up finishes to Civil Union, My Sister Nat finished ninth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf on November 6 at Keeneland in her last start.

Stupp recalled My Sister Nat's performance in the Grade 3 Long Island in November 2019 at the Big A, where she made up considerable ground only to miss a neck to Si Que Es Buena.

“When I first started working for Chad, she ran that huge race at Aqueduct where she just missed,” Stupp recalled. “After the race, we knew we were going to have a nice filly for next year. She continued to progress last year, just missing in the Grade 1 [Flower Bowl on October 3 at Belmont Park]. She's got a nice year ahead of her, she's just a late-blooming horse. She doesn't look like her sister. She's developed very nicely, it's just taken her awhile.”

While My Sister Nat seeks a return to winning form, Orglandes will look to pick back up where she left off after shipping to southern California for the Grade 3 Red Carpet on November 28 at Del Mar. The daughter of Le Havre made up considerable ground when traveling the 11-furlong distance to make a winning move in between horses in mid-stretch to win by a half-length.

A dual winner in her native France, Orglandes earned her first trip to the winner's circle in North America when travelling nine furlongs over the inner turf course on October 9 at Belmont Park.

“That race last year in California got us excited for the year ahead,” Stupp said. “She'll certainly be competing in the top stakes for older fillies on the grass throughout the year.”

Manny Franco has the call on My Sister Nat from the outermost post 6, while Orglandes will leave from post 3 under Eric Cancel.

Al Shira'aa Farms Mutamakina also will make her 2021 bow looking to build on her triumph in the Grade 3 Long Island on November 28 at Aqueduct.

The 5-year-old daughter of Nathaniel originally was campaigned in France by trainer Carlos Laffon-Parias, for whom she placed in two Group 2 events, including to eventual Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Sottsass. She made her North American debut on October 31 over a yielding outer turf course at Belmont Park in the 12-furlong Zagora, where she was a troubled third for trainer Christophe Clement.

Saving ground in third along the hedge, Mutamakina was shuffled back around the far turn in the Zagora but made up considerable ground in the stretch to finish third, beaten a half-length to winner Luck Money.

Mutamakina's Long Island effort again displayed stalking tactics, where she maintained position around the far turn and confronted pacesetting stablemate Traipsing in the final strides to secure her first stakes win in North America by three-quarters of a length.

“She's a very top class mare,” said four-time Sheepshead Bay winner Clement. “It's ambitious running her there first time out, but she's been doing very well. She ran a very good race in her North American debut, even though she got beat.”

Jockey Jose Lezcano will ride Mutamakina from post 2.

Repole Stables' Always Shopping will attempt to parlay her newfound affinity for turf marathon events when breaking from post 4 with Joe Bravo in the irons.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, the daughter of Awesome Again out of graded stakes winner Stopshoppingmaria won the Grade 3 Gazelle on dirt at Aqueduct during her sophomore campaign in 2019, but a decline in winning form prompted her connections to give turf a try.

After a three-length win in the 1 1/8-mile Via Borghese in December at Gulfstream Park, she successfully stretched out to 1 ½ miles in the Grade 3 La Prevoyante at Gulfstream in January, winning by the same margin. Always Shopping arrives off a close second place finish in the Grade 3 Orchid on March 28 at Gulfstream.

“She always breezed well on the dirt and when her progression sort of plateaued, we made the change to turf and it appears to have paid off,” said Pletcher's Belmont-based assistant Byron Hughes.

Rounding out the field is Godolphin's Antoinette, for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

The homebred daughter of Hard Spun made her 2021 debut a triumphant one when maintaining command the whole way around and drawing off to a 2 ¼ length win in the Grade 3 The Very One on February 27 at Gulfstream Park going 1 3/16 miles. Antoinette displayed similar frontrunning tactics when capturing the Saratoga Oaks Invitational on August 8 at the Spa, which she won by a half-length.

Through an 11-4-1-4 record, Antoinette boasts the field's highest bankroll with earnings of $608,750.

Like fellow Sheepshead Bay contender Magic Attitude, Antoinette also qualifies for both the “New York Turf Bonus” and the “Flower Bowl Bonus.”

Breaking from post 5, Antoinette will be piloted by Edgard Zayas.

The Sheepshead Bay is slated as Race 10 on Belmont's 11-race Saturday program, which also features the Grade 3, $200,000 Westchester at one mile over the main track and the Grade 2, $200,000 Fort Marcy for older horses going nine furlongs over the inner turf. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the spring/summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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Ridden for the first time by Luis Saez and trained by Michael Stidham, the 4-year-old filly by Bernardini out of the multiple G1 winning Include mare Panty Raid, was clocked in 1:47.19 for 1 1/8 miles on firm turf. She paid $11.20 for the victory.

Morning Molly finished second, with New York Girl third and La Signore and Miss Teheran dead-heating for fourth in the field of 10. Magic Attitude, the 3-1 favorite, breaking from the inside post, had some early traffic troubles, didn't get untracked until late and was never a factor.

Myhartblongstodady went to the front under Daniel Centeno, setting fractions of :24.23, :48.80 and 1:12.41 for the first six furlongs. Morning Molly raced in second, with Micheline, who broke from the outside post position, just behind the top pair and in the clear to the outside.

Approaching the stretch, Morning Molly turned up the heat on the front runner, but Saez and Micheline had them both measured, swinging to the outside and moving to the lead in the stretch. Passing the mile marker in 1:35.74, they cruised to the victory, Micheline's fifth in 13 starts.

“That was the spot I was trying to get, and we got lucky,” said Saez. “She broke good and we were right there. At the half-mile pole, when I started asking her, she started to pick it up, and when we got to the straight everything was about battling, and she did that pretty well. She gave me her kick and it was super. Watching her replays, I knew she could win this race, and it's great when everything comes together so well.”

Micheline broke her maiden in Monmouth Park's Sorority Stakes at 2 in 2019, adding a late December allowance victory at Tampa Bay Downs. As a 3-year-old she won Gulfstream's Honey Ryder and the Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs.

“She is definitely a fighter,” Stidham's assistant, Ben Trask, said after the Hillsborough. “She is kind of a silly filly – she's a bad stall walker, so she lives in a little tent behind the barn. She is definitely a unique filly with a lot of talent. I was a little concerned with the outside post and whether she would overcome it. Luis put her in a great spot the whole time and when he called on her, she was there.”

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The daughter of renowned sire Galileo, out of Group 1-winning Margot Did, did not disappoint, notching her first stakes score by 2 lengths. Soon after, owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson purchased Magic Attitude privately on Delacour's recommendation, with the intention of sending her to the conditioner's stable in the United States to compete under their Lael Stables banner.

What transpired was indeed magical: a Grade 1 victory in her first North American start on Sept. 19 in the Belmont Oaks Invitational on the grass.

On Saturday, a freshened, more mature filly will try to launch an even better 4-year-old campaign in the Grade 2, $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes at a mile-and-an-eighth on the Oldsmar turf course at Tampa Bay Downs.

The Hillsborough is one of five stakes on Saturday's $1-million Festival Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South card, headed by the Grade 2, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby for 3-year-old Triple Crown hopefuls.

Magic Attitude is one of two Lael Stables-owned and Delacour-trained fillies set to compete on Festival Day 41. The other, 3-year-old filly Be Sneaky, will make her turf debut in the Grade 3, $200,000 Florida Oaks at a mile-and-a-sixteenth.

Entries were taken and post positions drawn today for all five of Saturday's stakes races.

Delacour says Magic Attitude, who will be ridden for the first time by Julien Leparoux, is approaching the Hillsborough in top condition.

“She breezed a half-mile Tuesday (in 49 3/5 seconds), and I'm very happy how she came out of the work,” Delacour said. “We're excited about running her Saturday, but we still have to play it by ear because she is better on firmer turf (there is a possibility of rain Saturday).”

After racing twice against Group 1 competition under the Jackson colors in France while trained by Fabrice Chappet, with a second-place finish in the Prix Saint-Alary, Magic Attitude arrived in Delacour's barn in late July. The timing couldn't have been better: the Belmont Oaks Invitational, normally run in July, had been pushed back to Sept. 19 because of COVID-19, giving the conditioner time to sharpen Magic Attitude's edge.

After trailing early, the Great Britain-bred Magic Attitude took off in the stretch, sweeping to victory against her four rivals under Javier Castellano to earn the coveted Grade 1 victory – the third of Delacour's career, and his first for the Jacksons. Magic Attitude followed that up with a strong third-place performance in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes Presented by Dixiana, also for 3-year-old fillies, on Oct. 10 on good turf at Keeneland.

Magic Attitude received a well-deserved rest before Delacour returned her to training in mid-December at Classic Mile Park in Ocala, where she got in a couple of breezes on Classic Mile's turf before shipping to Tampa Bay Downs in mid-February.

Delacour can't be sure how Magic Attitude will respond to running against older horses for the first time, but he is optimistic.

“She needs to step up, but I think she'll be ready,” he said. “She has an explosive turn of foot and great acceleration for about a sixteenth of a mile, which you like to see from a turf filly.”

Florida Oaks entrant Be Sneaky is a homebred for the Jacksons, by top U.S. sire Into Mischief out of their turf stakes-winning mare Bella Castani. Yet to race on grass, Be Sneaky is 1-for-3, with a second-place finish here in the Suncoast Stakes on Feb. 6 in her most recent start.

Hector Diaz, Jr., will ride Be Sneaky.

“We've always had it in the back of our minds to run this filly on the turf, but at this stage, it's a guessing game,” Delacour said. “She was a little aggressive (in the Suncoast), and we hope she can settle better on the grass and track the speed rather than setting the pace.”

The 45-year-old Delacour was successful switching surfaces at Tampa Bay Downs last year with another Lael Stables homebred, (then)-5-year-old mare Jehozacat. After winning the Wayward Lass Stakes on dirt, she returned three weeks later to win the Grade 3 Lambholm South Endeavour on the grass.

Delacour is seeking his first triumphs in both the Hillsborough and Florida Oaks, but his record of achievement with Lael Stables horses is enviable. He has trained such homebred standouts for the Jacksons as Jehozacat and Grade 3 winners Divining Rod and No Dozing, as well as Grade 2 winner Hawksmoor, also the 2019 Lambholm South Endeavour winner; 2018 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint runner-up Chalon; and multiple-Grade 3 winner Ageless.

“I'm very privileged to train for the Jacksons because of the quality of their stock and their confidence in our training program,” said Delacour, who has been with the couple almost 10 years. “They are great ambassadors for our sport, and they have put together a wonderful team of people that works together for one common goal.

“They take a progressive, step-by-step approach and never rush their horses. It doesn't matter what kind of race you're shooting for – you're trying to get them fit enough to compete, move on and use the race as a stepping stone for the rest of the season.”

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“She's doing well,” said Delacour of the 4-year-old Galileo filly, who worked a half-mile in 50.60 seconds on the Tampa Bay Downs dirt on Feb. 17. “She had a little break and has been breezing well. I'm considering running her in the Hillsborough and then take it from there.”

Magic Attitude made a victorious North American debut in September in the 1 1/4-mile Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational, part of the Turf Triple series implemented by NYRA in 2019 to showcase the best 3-year-old turf runners in the country.

The Belmont Oaks win has Magic Attitude eligible for significant bonus money should she win the Grade 2, $750,000 New York, a 10-furlong turf test for older fillies and mares to be held June 4 at Belmont; or the Grade 1, $600,000 Flower Bowl, an 11-furlong test for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up on Sept. 4 at Saratoga.

“We'll definitely keep in the back of our mind that the New York could be a very good spot for her with the bonus,” said Delacour. “It's very appealing because she's won at the course and going the distance, so that's definitely something we're thinking about.”

The “New York Stakes Turf Bonus” will provide $315,000 to the owner and $35,000 to the trainer of any previous winner of the filly Turf Triple Series races – Belmont Oaks, Saratoga Oaks or Jockey Club Oaks – who captures the 2021 edition of the New York.

Delacour and Lael Stables combined to win the 2017 New York with Hawksmoor.

In addition, the “Flower Bowl Bonus” will provide $300,000 to the owner and $30,000 to the trainer of any previous winner of a filly Turf Triple series race who wins the Flower Bowl, a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” event offering a berth in the Grade 1 Filly and Mare Turf in November at Del Mar.

Magic Attitude launched her career in France with conditioner Fabrice Chappet, capturing the Group 3 Prix Vanteaux at Longchamp in May. Following a fifth in the Group 1 Prix de Diane in July at Chantilly, Magic Attitude was sent to Delacour and promptly bested 2020 Saratoga Oaks-winner Antoinette in the Belmont Oaks Invitational.

Magic Attitude completed her sophomore season with a third in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup in October over good turf at Keeneland and Delacour said the talented bay would have benefited from more time between starts.

“It was probably a combination of a few things. She was coming back three weeks after the Belmont Oaks and it would have been nice to give her more time,” said Delacour. “Some horses run well right away and then it takes them awhile to acclimate well. We were at the back of the pack and a stronger pace would have helped her to close, but I think she will probably run better on firmer turf anyway.”

Delacour said Magic Attitude has maintained her good form.

“She's on the small side but well put together,” said Delacour. “I haven't seen a tremendous change in her physically. She looks good and carries good weight.”

Bred in Great Britain by Katsumi Yoshida, Magic Attitude is out of the Exceed And Excel mare Margot Did, who captured the 2011 Group 1 Nunthorpe at York.

Following a trio of dirt starts, Delacour said Lael Stables' homebred Be Sneaky, a 3-year-old daughter of Into Mischief, could consider the Grade 3 Florida Oaks, a 1 1/16-mile turf test on March 6 at Tampa Bay Downs.

A maiden winner at first asking sprinting seven furlongs at Laurel Park in October, Be Sneaky followed with a third in the six-furlong Smart Halo in November at the Maryland oval. She stretched out to one mile and 40 yards in her seasonal debut when second to Curlin's Catch in the Suncoast on February 6 at Tampa Bay Downs.

Be Sneaky is out of the Big Brown mare Bella Castani, who won the 2013 Tweedside on the Belmont turf.

“The Suncoast was her first time going two turns so it was a bit testing for her, but I think we saw what we wanted to see,” said Delacour. “I had planned to run her on the turf and I couldn't find a race that I thought was the right fit, so we just took a shot in the Suncoast and she ran very well.

“The dam was a good turf filly,” continued Delacour. “I always had it in the back of my mind to try her on turf at least one time. The Into Mischiefs can run on any surface so I'd like to try her on turf at least once. The Florida Oaks on March 6 would be a good race to try her in.”

Delacour said Lael Stables' Arrest Me Red, who won the six-furlong Atlantic Beach in November on the Big A turf, is pointing to a return in late spring.

“We gave him a break and then he had a little setback,” said Delacour. “He hurt himself in the paddock. I don't expect to see him run before the end of the spring, beginning of summer.”

The sophomore son of Pioneerof the Nile finished fifth in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Bourbon at Keeneland in October and was fifth last out on dirt in the Inaugural on December 5 at Tampa Bay Downs.

Delacour said the bay colt will likely target one-turn races on his return.

“I tried to run him at Keeneland going a mile and a sixteenth and that is clearly not his thing,” said Delacour. “He came back and ran very well going six furlongs at Aqueduct, so I think between six furlongs and a mile is what we should consider for him.”

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It takes a special kind of relationship for a couple to successfully run a business together, but anyone that’s trying should take notes from the Delacours. In just over a decade, they’ve taken hundreds of trips to the winner’s circle and made several Grade I headlines. But if anyone asks, they will say they owe much of their success to a Frenchman and an Englishman who took the time to develop them into the horsemen they have become.

Arnaud grew up on a farm in Normandy and quickly realized his dream of one day becoming a successful trainer. He started out at Chantilly, becoming the assistant trainer to Alain de Royer Dupré. After testing the waters in France, England and Argentina, he eventually ended up in the States with fellow Frenchman Christophe Clement.

“Christophe was a very good teacher,” Arnaud said. “He’s very intense in the way he trains, but I guess that’s the French way so it doesn’t really bother me. He’s really hands on, is there every day and really puts young people on the right path.”

At the same time, Leigh was learning the tricks of the trade from British-born Graham Motion.

“I started out by loving horses as a child, and that took me to Graham Motion’s barn at Laurel,” she recalled. “Working with Graham was the epitome of horse racing childhood. It was the Harvard education of racing.”

Leigh said that while she worked with Motion for over 10 years, the top-class trainer pushed her to graduate from college and take other opportunities in the industry, including a stint working under Barclay Tagg and with several other trainers.

While working with Graham and Anita Motion, she was introduced to Clement’s assistant trainer at the time–Arnaud Delacour.

“Graham and Anita set us up on our first date,” Leigh said with a grin. “In fact, I give more of the credit to Anita. She’s the one that said, ‘That’s the one you want. You should go there.’ Graham would never say anything like that. He’s too proper.”

It was a match perhaps made by the racing gods, because while they were compatible on a personal level, their racing ideology aligned as well.

“When we compared notes and talked about how we wanted to train, we looked at our playbooks and laid them on top of each other and realized they were nearly identical,” Leigh said.

When the duo went out on their own in 2007, they decided to base their operation at the picturesque Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Maryland.

“We chose Fair Hill because we thought it was a wonderful place,” Arnaud said. “There’s a lot of opportunity as far as horse placement. We’re in the middle of a lot of racetracks, so it was a little easier to be less stuck and try to place horses well to win races.”

Another major plus for planting roots at Fair Hill was the proximity to their matchmaking neighbors and close friends, Graham and Anita Motion.

“That was no small part of our decision to be here–my experience with them and wishing to emulate something like what they have,” Leigh said.

Both Arnaud and Leigh say they strongly believe that the lessons they learned from Motion and Clement were essential in getting their stable on its feet.

“Everything we do on a daily basis came from the methodology and thorough horsemanship that Arnaud and I learned from Graham and Clement,” Leigh said. “Their methods and ethics were something that we wanted to make sure we were ambassadors of going forward, hoping to be the next generation of what they were able to do.”

“When I first started with Clement I was at Payson Park, where it was the same kind of setup [as Fair Hill] with paddocks and round pens,” Arnaud said. “So a lot of the things we do are in more of a farm setting than a racetrack. I got used to Christophe’s methods and the way he does things, and Graham is really similar to Christophe.”

Leigh continued, “We would do anything for them. They went out of their way to get us started and we’re the competition. Of course, we weren’t when we began. We weren’t at that level then. But we still look up to them now.”

Since first starting out, the Delacours have collected dozens of stakes win and developed several graded stakes winners–most notably A.P. Indian (Indian Charlie), who went on a six-race stakes-winning streak in 2016, raking in four graded stakes titles including two Grade I wins at Saratoga.

“Any win is important,” Arnaud said. “But when A.P. Indian won the GI Forego S. that was pretty special. Actually, no, even when he won the GI Vanderbilt H., because winning a Grade I at Saratoga is great, but winning two in three weeks is even better.”

The Arnaud family enjoys the tranquil setting of Fair Hill | Anita Motion

A.P. Indian was reminiscent of many of the Delacour’s trainees in that he raced at 11 different tracks over his six-year career.

Other top horses include GIII Lexington S. winner and 2015 Preakness S. third-place finisher Divining Rod (Tapit), three-time MGSW Hawksmoor (Ire) {Amamour (Ire)} and near-millionaire earner and Breeders’ Cup runner-up Chalon (Dialed In).

Most recently, their sophomore filly Magic Attitude (GB) {Galileo (Ire)} made her Stateside debut a winning one with a late effort in the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. this September. In her next start, she ran in the money in the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. at Keeneland.

When Arnaud and Leigh are not busy tending to Grade I performers, they can be found entertaining their three young son.

“They’re all healthy and smart and funny,” Leigh said. “With the pandemic, we’re also homeschooling right now. Our goals are to raise our sons and enjoy horse racing, wherever and however that meshes together.”

Leigh cites Fair Hill as the perfect setting for introducing their children to the horse world.

“It’s kind of nice to stop by at night with the kids in their pajamas and walk down the shed row to give everyone peppermints. When we go home the kids smell like the barn and usually have dirty hands, but that’s okay.”

Both Arnaud and Leigh stress the essentiality of their unwavering teamwork.

“It’s a partnership,” Arnaud explained. “She keeps me on the right path. We decide everything together pretty much. She’s really good at what she does. So I think it’s a great partnership that works really well.”

“Arnaud and I working together has never been a problem,” Leigh said. “I think Anita chose well for me. He seeks my opinion on a lot of things pertaining to the racehorses and I seek his about the children and the finance side of the barn. There’s a joke with the staff that if we ever divorce, some of the guys are going to work for me and some are going to work for Arnaud. They’ve already chosen sides. But it’s easy for us to work together and I realize it’s not for some people, but the way our relationship works is very mellow.”

For Leigh, she says that her greatest achievement has been helping Arnaud fulfill the dream he had as a young boy on a small farm in France.

“Arnaud’s dream from childhood was to be a horse trainer,” she said. “Every winner is rewarding for us, for the mentality of our barn employees and for all the time, money and energy that each of the owners invests in their horses and in us. We try to do our best every day and it’s a privilege for us to get to come out every morning and do that.”

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The 1 1/8-mile grass test will go as the ninth race on Saturday's 10-race program with a 5:30 p.m. ET post time. First post Saturday is 1:05 p.m.

Trained by Arnaud Delacour, Magic Attitude comes to Keeneland off a 2¼-length victory over Antoinette in the Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1) in her U.S. debut.

Javier Castellano, a three-time winner of the QE II, retains the mount on Magic Attitude and will break from post position four.

Antoinette, owned and bred by Godolphin, won the Saratoga Oaks in her start prior to the Belmont Oaks. Trained by Bill Mott, who won the QE II in 2014 with Crown Queen, Antoinette will be ridden by James Graham and break from post position three.

Godolphin will have another homebred in the gate in Micheline. Trained by Mike Stidham, who won the QE II in 2015 with Her Emmynency, Micheline won the Exacta System Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs in her most recent start. She will be ridden by Florent Geroux and break from post position seven.

Mott will have a second starter in Harvey's Lil Goil. Second to Micheline in the Dueling Grounds Oaks, Harvey's Lil Goil races for the Estate of Harvey Clarke and Paul Braverman. Martin Garcia has the mount and will break from post position one.

One other trainer with past success in the QE II will be represented Saturday.

Mark Casse, trainer of 2017 winner La Coronel, will send out Stonestreet Stables' homebred Hendy Woods. Second to Sharing in the Edgewood (G2) Presented by Forcht Bank in her most recent start, Hendy Woods will be ridden by Julien Leparoux and break from post position six.

The lone entrant to have run on the Keeneland turf course is Robert and Lawana Low's Sweet Melania. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Sweet Melania won last year's JPMorgan Chase Jessamine (G2) by 5½ lengths and finished third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) at Santa Anita in her next start.

Winner of the Wonder Again (G3) in her 2020 debut and second beaten a nose in the Lake George (G3), Sweet Melania will be ridden by Flavien Prat and break from post position two.

Invading from California are the 1-2 finishers from the Del Mar Oaks (G1): Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Red Lark (IRE) and Wachtel Stable and Gary Barber's homebred California Kook.

Trained by Paddy Gallagher, Red Lark notched her first stakes win with the 19-1 upset in the Del Mar Oaks. Drayden Van Dyke will have the mount and break from post position nine.

Following her runner-up effort at 27-1 in the Del Mar Oaks, California Kook came back two weeks later to run fourth against the boys in the Del Mar Derby (G2). Trained by Peter Miller, California Kook will break from post position eight and be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione.

The field for the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, with riders from the inside, is: Harvey's Lil Goil (Garcia), Sweet Melania (Prat), Antoinette (Graham), Magic Attitude (GB) (Castellano), Lucky Betty (Declan Cannon), Hendy Woods (Leparoux), Micheline (Geroux), California Kook (Gaffalione) and Red Lark (IRE) (Van Dyke). All starters will carry 121 pounds.

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A Group 3 winner as well as a Group 1 runner-up this year in France, Magic Attitude dazzled in her U.S. debut, winning the Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1) on Sept. 19 by 2¼ lengths with a last-to-first move in the stretch.

“I was thinking they are going slow and they are all going to kick,” trainer Arnaud Delacour said of the 1¼-mile race. “It was a good effort from her and I think she appreciated the firm ground.”

The 1 1/8-mile Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup comes three weeks after the victory at Belmont, repeating a time frame Magic Attitude had this summer between her runner-up finish at Chantilly in France in the Saxon Warrior Coolmore Prix Saint Alary (G1) and fifth-place finish in the Prix de Diane (G1).

“It probably will be her last race of the year, and the question is the three weeks (between races),” Delacour said. “Will she bounce back well? So far, she has been showing all the right things, and she had a nice maintenance move the other day (a half-mile in :51 on the dirt at Fair Hill).”

Also arriving Tuesday morning was Lael Stables' Chalon, who is entered in Friday's 24th running of the $150,000 Buffalo Trace Franklin County (G3) going 5½ furlongs on the Keeneland turf course.

The 6-year-old mare, who has compiled a 22-9-8-1 record for earnings of $991,895, will be making her turf debut in the Buffalo Trace Franklin County.

At Keeneland, Chalon has three runner-up finishes in four Grade 2 races on Keeneland's main track in her career. She was scratched from Saturday's Skipat (L) at Pimlico.

“We have always wanted to try her on the grass and there is no better place to try than here at Keeneland,” Delacour said.

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But in her North American debut, the sophomore Galileo filly showed that her talents translate across the world, rallying from last-of-five for a 2 1/4-length victory in the 42nd running of the Belmont Oaks going 1 1/4 miles on the inner turf.

Magic Attitude earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure in her first race since being transferred to the care of trainer Arnaud Delacour, who said she traveled well to her base back at Fair Hill in Maryland, where she recorded all four of her works before her Belmont Oaks triumph.

“It looks like she came out of the race very well and she went back to Fair Hill and looked great this morning,” Delacour said. “I was very happy with her. Yesterday, even the horse to her inside [Setting the Mood] was a little bit fractious in the gate and was rattling a little bit, and it didn't bother her even a little bit.”

Bred in Great Britain by Katsumi Yoshida, Lael Stable's Magic Attitude is a full-sister to 2018 Group 2 Prix de Sandringham winner Mission Impassible, who is also multiple Grade/Group 1-placed. She came to North America with experience running against high caliber competition, winning the Group 3 Prix Vanteaux in May at France's famed Longchamp course when racing off a nearly eight-month layoff for former conditioner Fabrice Chappet.

Magic Attitude, out of Group 1-winner Margot Did, then ran second in the 10-furlong Group 1 Prix Saint Alary in June at Chantilly in a race won by the undefeated Tawkeel, who then captured the Group 2 Prix de la Nonette at Deauville.

In her previous effort before her Belmont Oaks victory, she competed in the Group 1 Prix de Diane at Chantilly, where she ran a strong fifth, defeated three lengths to Fancy Blue in the 1 5/16-miles test known as the French Oaks.

“She came with very precise and accurate instructions for her training and the way she runs,” Delacour said. “Fabrice knew her well and gave us the right instructions and everything has gone according to plan already.”

Magic Attitude could potentially make a start in the in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf on November 7 at Keeneland, with Delacour saying the Grade 1, $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on October 10 at Keeneland could be a potential prep if she continues to train forwardly.

“The Queen Elizabeth could be a spot to bring her back in, but it's coming back a little quick, so everything would have to go right between now and then, but we'll definitely look at the race,” Delacour said.

Delacour won his third career Grade 1 race, with his previous two both coming in 2016 with A.P. Indian, who won the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap and the Forego during that campaign's summer meet at Saratoga Race Course.

“It's great and means a lot, because it's our first Grade 1 for Lael Stables and we've had a lot of seconds,” said Delacour, referring to 2018 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint runner-up Chalon and 2017 Grade 1 First Lady runner-up Hawksmoor. “It means a lot to win a Grade 1.”

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But, it turns out, Delacour needn't have worried. Magic Attitude, the Lael Stables runner he sent out for her U.S. debut as an even-money favorite, easily ran down Antoinette with a powerful stretch run to win going away by 2 1/4 lengths with Javier Castellano in the saddle.

Antoinette held second, with Neige Blanche third, Setting the Mood fourth and Key Biscayne the trailer in the field of five.

Magic Attitude, a daughter of leading sire Galileo bred in England by Katsumi Yoshida, covered the distance in 2:01.14 on a firm inner turf course. The victory was her third in seven career starts, the first six of which came in France under the tutelage of Fabrice Chappet. Produced by the Exceed and Excel mare Margot Did – winner of the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes in England – Magic Attitude paid $4.30 for the win and earned $137,500 from the Belmont Oaks $242,500 purse.

Antoinette, coming off a front-running victory in the Saratoga Oaks Invitational, went straight to the front, getting the opening quarter-mile in :24.89 and the half in :49.99 while racing off the rail. Setting the Mood, along the inside, Neige Blanche between horses, and Key Biscayne to the outside, raced as a team just behind the front-runner, who passed the six-furlong marker in 1:14.17.

Put under an early hold by Castellano, Magic Attitude rated patiently in last until reaching the quarter pole after Antoinette clocked the opening mile in 1:37.91, swung out at the top of the stretch and quickly ran past her rivals on the far outside, hitting the front with an eighth of a mile to go and winning easily.

“I really like the way she did it,” said Casellano. “Watching the replays, it seemed like she could be a little bit keen. She always seemed to break well out of the gate and get good forward position in Europe. Today, she broke OK. I tried to cover up a little bit. It was her first time in the country and a mile and a quarter and you always have to save something for the end. She sat beautifully behind the speed. She had a nice rhythm. When I asked her turning for home at the quarter pole, she just took off really well. I was very excited to see the way she did it today.”

Delacour said Magic Attitude came out of quarantine with a fever and missed some training after traveling from France to the U.S. Winner in one of three starts last year at 2, the bay filly won the Group 3 Prix Vanteaux in her 3-year-old debut at Longchamp, then finished second to Tawkeel in the G1 Prix Saint Alary and fifth, beaten three lengths by winner Fancy Blue, in the G1 Prix de Diane (French Oaks) at Chantilly on July 5.

“The pace was a little bit of a concern,” said Delacour. “With a five-horse field, you never know what's going to happen, but it didn't change her running style as that's how she likes to race. Javier timed it perfectly and she came with a good kick.

“Two starts ago [in the Prix Saint Alary], they were surprised because she was a little revved up and she never settled. They couldn't cover her up and she was pretty aggressive. Ever since, they've been trying to get her to relax. So, we tried to work her in the same way in the morning and put her behind horses and come with a nice run and that's what she duplicated in the afternoon. It was very exciting.”

Delacour was uncertain about Magic Attitude's next start. “We'll see. One race at a time,” he said. “The Queen Elizabeth [on Oct.10 at Keeneland] is in 21 days and might be coming back too quick. We'll let her tell us.”

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