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Owner Brant Has Three Chances To Win Race Named After His Champion Turf Mare Just A Game

Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Longines Just a Game drew a field of five talented older fillies and mares to tackle one mile over the Widener turf course at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The Longines Just a Game, named in honor of Peter Brant's 1980 Champion Female Turf Horse, has been won by Breeders' Cup winners Tepin, Stephanie's Kitten, Perfect Sting, Rushing Fall, Intercontinental, Newspaperofrecord and Tapitsfly.

A winner of top-flight races around the world, including the 2020 Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and a pair of Breeders' Cups, Brant will be represented by a trio of capable Chad Brown trainees in search of his first Just a Game score.

Leading the charge is 6-year-old dual Grade 1 winner Regal Glory, a daughter of Animal Kingdom, who has won six of her past eight races, with her worst effort being a fourth in this race last year behind Godolphin's Althiqa. She exits consecutive victories in the Grade 1 Matriarch in November at Del Mar; the Grade 3 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf in January at Gulfstream Park; and the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley in April at Keeneland. Regal Glory will be ridden by Jose Ortiz from post 2.

“She's training super and you can see from her races that she's never been better,” Brown said. “She has exceeded all expectations this season. She's the top turf mare in the country until proven otherwise. It would be great to get it done for Peter.”

Speak of the Devil, a $2.2 million Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale graduate, was an emphatic winner of her stateside bow in the Grade 2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile on May 7 at Churchill Downs, out-kicking stablemate In Italian by 2 3/4-lengths in the process.

A five-time winner in 14 starts in France prior to joining Brown, she will be looking for her first top-level victory, but has gone quite close before. Last August, she was a head third in the Group 1 Prix Rothschild at Deauville and in June 2020 she was a nose second in the Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Pouiches [French 1000 Guineas] – both over one mile. Flavien Prat has the return call from post 3.

In Italian has yet to finish out of the exacta in five starts, including a victory in Grade 3 Honey Fox in March at Gulfstream. The daughter of Dubawi will be ridden once again by Irad Ortiz Jr., breaking from post 4.

“Speak of the Devil has come out of her race well and all signs say that she's a mare who is moving forward,” Brown said. “With In Italian, I think it depends on the ground for her. She's training well.”

Gary Barber and Team Valor International's Wakanaka was a distant third in the aforementioned Churchill Distaff Turf Mile and second in the Honey Fox.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the 4-year-old daughter of Power was a classic winner in Italy, landing the Group 3 Premio Regina Elena [Italian 1000 Guineas] in April 2021. Joel Rosario rides from the outermost post 5.

“I think she is training better than ever,” said Barry Irwin, principal of Team Valor. “She will appreciate a return to racing around one turn.”

William Sims' Leggs Galore ships east for trainer Phil D'Amato on the strength of three consecutive stakes victories, including the Grade 2 Buena Vista on March 5 at Santa Anita over this distance. She will be ridden by Ricardo Gonzalez from the inside post.

The Just a Game is slated as Race 4 on Saturday's 13-race card which features a first post of 11:20 a.m. Eastern with the Belmont Stakes slated as Race 11 at 6:44 p.m.

National television coverage of Belmont Stakes Day will begin on FS2, where America's Day at the Races will air from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. before coverage shifts to CNBC from 3 to 5 p.m. and NBC from 5 to 7p.m. America's Day at the Races will then return to FS2 from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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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Champion Echo Zulu, Coming Off Lone Defeat, Has Four Rivals In Acorn

Breeders' Cup winner and reigning Eclipse Award Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Echo Zulu will look to recapture the dominant form she displayed in her first five starts when cutting back to a one-turn mile in the Grade 1, $500,000 Acorn for 3-year-old fillies on Saturday, Belmont Stakes Day, at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The Acorn – one of eight Grade 1 events on a loaded card that will culminate with the 154th running of the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets – will give Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen his first opportunity to see how Echo Zulu responds to a loss.

Owned by L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds, the three-time Grade 1-winner was 5-for-5 entering the 1 1/8-mile Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks on May 6 at Churchill Downs and pressed pacesetter Yuugiri before tiring late and finishing fourth as Secret Oath bested the 14-horse field on the wet fast track.

But the daughter of Gun Runner, the 2017 Horse of the Year who Asmussen also trained, will return to Belmont for the first time since romping to a 7 1/2-length victory in the Grade 1 Frizette in September at the Acorn distance. That effort was part of an award-winning juvenile campaign in which Echo Zulu won the Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga Race Course in September in her second career start and followed the Frizette with a gate-to-wire 5 1/4 length score in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies in November at Del Mar that secured Eclipse Award honors.

In her 3-year-old bow, Echo Zulu again utilized her front-running ability to go the distance, wiring a six-horse field to win the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks in edging Hidden Connection by a nose in March before her first out-of-the-money effort last month in Louisville. She will now try to use her speed going just one turn on Belmont's Big Sandy.

“I'm very comfortable with her going back to the mile with how brilliant she is,” Asmussen said. “She made a good account of herself on some very trying circumstances in the Oaks, but I'm extremely happy about the opportunity to back her up to the one-turn mile at Belmont, where she ran a brilliant race in last year's Frizette.”

Jockey Joel Rosario, aboard for her last four starts including the Breeders' Cup, Frizette and Fair Grounds Oaks victory, will have the return call from post 5.

“I thought she ran great in the Oaks to miss being second by a length and off one race for the year,” said Dave Fiske, Winchell's racing and bloodstock advisor. “I thought she did really well. As fast as she is, you'd have to figure she's going to be more effective around one turn.

“She seems to be as fast as she's always been,” Fiske added. “I watched her work last week and her exercise rider couldn't have been standing any taller, any straighter in the irons. He just had hands on her withers and never moved.”

While Echo Zulu will be cutting back in distance, Godolphin homebred Matareya will be stretching out for trainer Brad Cox following three consecutive wins in sprints. The Pioneerof the Nile filly started her 3-year-old year with a 5 1/4-length win going six furlongs against allowance company in February at Fair Grounds and proved just as effective when stepping up in class, cruising to an 8 1/2-length victory in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Beaumont in April at Keeneland.

On the same day as the Kentucky Oaks, Matareya handled a faster track than Echo Zulu ran on later in the day, posting a 2 1/4 length victory over Pretty Birdie in the seven-furlong Grade 2 Eight Belles.

The Acorn will mark Matareya's first route of the year. Previously, she concluded 2021 with a runner-up effort in a one-mile allowance tilt on New Year's Eve at Oaklawn Park. With a 4-2-0 record in seven starts, her only off-the-board effort game in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades in her second career start in October at Keeneland.

Matareya will put her winning streak on the line in her Belmont debut as Cox goes for his second career Acorn win following Monomoy Girl's triumph in 2018. Flavien Prat will be in the irons from post 4.

Dream Lith will return to the main track after running fifth in her turf debut in the Grade 2 Edgewood on May 6 at Churchill for trainer Robertino Diodoro. Before her sojourn on the grass, the Medaglia d'Oro filly made five consecutive graded stakes starts on the main track, including a fifth in her second career appearance in the Grade 1 Spinaway won by Echo Zulu at the Spa.

Dream Lith, owned by Cypress Creek Equine and Arnold Bennewith, capped her 2021 campaign with a victory in the Grade 2 Golden Rod going 1 1/16 miles in November at Churchill.

In her 3-year-old year, Diodoro has kept entering Dream Lith against stellar competition, where she ran sixth in the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra in February at Fair Grounds, fifth in the Grade 3 Fantasy in April at Oaklawn and fifth last out. Diodoro said he's hoping the experience gained in her high-level races will help nurture her talent.

“The key is to get her to relax,” Diodoro said. “She's her own worst enemy and we're slowly working on making headway with her to get her to relax. She can get washy in the paddock and post parade just with her nerves, but improving that comes with maturity and schooling and we're getting there with her.”

Diodoro said the conditions last out, with inclement weather causing a softer surface, made it more difficult to assess her ability on the turf and did not rule out a return engagement in the future.

“I don't think we got a true read on the grass with her,” Diodoro said. “It rained several minutes before the race and turned into a pretty soft turf course and she just didn't like it, but I think at some point in her career, we'll try her again on the grass.”

Dream Lith will break from post 1 with Ramon Vazquez set to ride.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will send out Repole Stable and Woodford Racing's Inventing for her stakes debut. The Union Rags filly started her career in April and posted runner-up efforts in each of her first two starts, starting at Gulfstream Park and continuing last out when second to Olga Isabel on May 6 at Churchill. She completed her preparation on June 4, working in company with Malathaat through a four-furlong breeze in 48.75.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will be aboard from post 2.

Rounding out the field is Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Long Valley Stables' Divine Huntress for trainer Graham Motion.

The sophomore daughter of Divining Rod [post 3, Luis Saez] posted a maiden win in December at Parx Racing and followed one more later with a smart optional-claiming score. She has finished off-the-board in her last three outings, all in graded company.

The Acorn is slated as Race 3 on Saturday's 13-race card which features a first post of 11:20 a.m. Eastern with the Belmont Stakes set for Race 11.

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‘Win And You’re In’ Jaipur Attracts 13 Turf Sprint Specialists

LRE Racing and JEH Racing Stable's Casa Creed returns to defend his title against a loaded field of 13 contenders in Saturday's Grade 1, $400,000 Jaipur, a six-furlong Widener turf test for 3-year-olds and up at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The Jaipur, which offers a “Win and You're In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in November at Keeneland, is slated as Race 8 on Saturday's 13-race card. First post is 11:20 a.m. Eastern.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the 6-year-old Jimmy Creed bay was a 10-1 upset winner of the Jaipur last year, closing from eighth under Junior Alvarado to post a two-length score over stablemate Chewing Gum.

Casa Creed followed with a third-place effort in the one-mile Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap in August at Saratoga Race Course and a close fifth in the six-furlong Grade 3 Turf Sprint at Kentucky Downs. He completed his season with an eighth-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile in November at Del Mar.

Casa Creed made his first two starts this season in the Middle East, finishing a close second to recent Group 1 Yasuda Kinen-winner Songline in the Group 3 Turf Sprint Cup in February at King Abdulaziz in Saudi Arabia and a close fifth in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint in March on the Dubai World Cup undercard at Meydan.

“He went to Saudi and Dubai and ran well there in an international race. He finished well,” Mott said.

Casa Creed blitzed a half-mile in 47.88 seconds Sunday over the Belmont dirt training track in company with Grade 1-winner Obligatory, who is entered in Friday's Grade 2 Bed o' Roses at Belmont.

“He worked good,” said Mott, who also won the Jaipur with Harp Islet [1989], Elusive Quality [1998] and Around the Cape [2006]. “He went with Obligatory and they worked well. They went right together.”

Luis Saez has the call from post 4.

Trainer Wesley Ward, who won the 2014 Jaipur with Undrafted, will saddle Lael Stables' Arrest Me Red [post 5, Irad Ortiz, Jr.].

The 4-year-old Pioneerof the Nile colt matched a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure last out with a 1 3/4-length score in the Grade 2 Turf Sprint on May 6 at Churchill Downs. The effort equaled his figure for a front-running one-length score in the Grade 3 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational in October. A six-time winner from nine starts, Arrest Me Red has banked $638,500.

R.L. Johnson's True Valour, who has raced at distances ranging from 5 1/2-furlongs to 1 1/8-miles, seems to have found his niche in turf sprints for trainer Graham Motion.

The 8-year-old Kodiac bay joined Motion's barn late in 2020 and tried his luck in a pair of graded turf routes, finishing off-the-board in the Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill and the Grade 2 Dinner Party at Pimlico.

True Valour then shortened up to 6 1/2-furlongs in November 2020 at Woodbine Racetrack, posting a prominent half-length score in an optional-claimer on Tapeta.

“It was my racing manager, Jane Buchanan, who said to me, 'We keep trying to stretch this horse out, I wonder if he just wants to sprint,'” recalled Motion. “And she was absolutely right. That win turned our program around with him.”

He finished a close third in the Turf Sprint Championship in November 2020 at the Big A and in January 2021 was second, defeated less than a length, in the Grade 2 Joe Hernandez at Santa Anita.

True Valour was a close-up sixth under Joel Rosario, defeated 2 1/4 lengths in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint in March 2021 at Meydan.

“That was a weird race,” Motion said. “Joel and one other guy chose to stay on the far side and everyone else came to the grandstand side, so he was kind of lost the whole race and was only beaten a couple lengths. I don't blame Joel at all. The six-furlong straightaway is a weird race. I don't think it was a bad effort.”

The bay horse returned to action in April at Laurel Park, wiring the 5 1/2-furlong King T. Leatherbury over firm footing. With Feargal Lynch up, True Valour set splits of 21.89 and 44.35 en route to a swift score in 1:02.10.

“He surprised me that day that he was so sharp,” Motion said. “I didn't anticipate him being on the lead and he did it so nicely. This is the kind of horse we thought he was.”

Motion said True Valour relishes his work and has trained well into the Jaipur.

“He does not act like an 8-year-old. He loves it. He's very active,” Motion said. “I breezed him a couple weeks ago and I told the crew I was going to give him the weekend off. We gave him the first day off and they came back and told me I could not give him another day off. We had to do something with him because he was just so full of himself. He's a really likeable character.”

True Valour will burst from post 3 under Lynch.

La Marca Stable's Scuttlebuzz [post 8, Javier Castellano], a 5-year-old The Factor gelding, went from claim-to-fame last out with a one-length score in the Elusive Quality on April 30 at Belmont while making his stakes debut in his 17th career start.

Trained by Rudy Rodriguez, Scuttlebuzz was claimed for $30,000 out of a winning effort in April 2021 at Aqueduct and has since posted a record of 9-5-1-1 for current connections.

The grey, who posted a bullet five-eighths work in 1:00.09 on May 26 over Big Sandy, garnered a career-best 101 Beyer for his Elusive Quality score.

Scuttlebuzz, bred in the Empire State by Lawrence Goichman, is out of the stakes-placed Elusive Quality mare Elusive Rumour, who also produced the multiple stakes winner Myhartblongstodady [by Scat Daddy].

Rounding out the field is Filo Di Arianna [post 9, Jose Ortiz], a Group 2 winner in Brazil for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse; the Rusty Arnold-trained Gear Jockey [post 12, Jose Lezcano], who won the Grade 3 Turf Sprint in September at Kentucky Downs; Gregorian Chant [post 13, Joel Rosario], winner of the Grade 3 San Simeon last year at Santa Anita for conditioner Phil D'Amato; multiple graded-stakes winner Change of Control [post 1, Manny Franco] for trainer Michelle Lovell; the Saffie Joseph, Jr. trained multiple stakes winner Chasing Artie [post 11, John Velazquez]; stakes winner Smokin' Jay [post 10, Junior Alvarado] for conditioner Kelsey Danner; stakes winner Whatmakessammyrun [post 7, Flavien Prat] for trainer Jamie Begg; graded-stakes-placed Omaha City [post 2, Marcos Meneses] to be saddled by Amzadali Jehaludi; and three-time winner Greyes Creek [post 6, Tyler Gaffalione], who adds blinkers for conditioner Paulo Lobo.

Saturday's 13-race card features a first post of 11:20 a.m. Eastern with the Belmont Stakes slated as Race 11 with a post time of 6:44 p.m.

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‘She’s Like Tom Brady’: Champion Letruska Faces Tough Task In Quest For Ogden Phipps Repeat

The Grade 1, $500,000 Ogden Phipps has had no shortage of legendary matchups in its 53 editions and will continue that pattern this year as defending race winner Letruska will face the formidable Malathaat in the 1 1/16-mile test for older fillies and mares at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The Ogden Phipps is one of three Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” races on the lucrative Belmont Stakes card, awarding a berth into the Grade 1 Distaff to the winner. Other Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races on the card are the Grade 1 Jaipur [Turf Sprint] and Grade 1 Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap [Dirt Mile].

St. George Stable's Kentucky homebred Letruska, a 6-year-old daughter of Super Saver, was last seen earning a determined repeat victory in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap on April 23 at Oaklawn Park. Ridden by Jose Ortiz, Letruska set the pace for the 1 1/16 miles and was met with a challenge by returning rival Clairiere at the top of the lane, but rebroke and dug in to secure the victory by 1 1/4 lengths.

“Nothing that happens with her is a surprise,” said trainer Fausto Gutierrez. “She keeps on confirming what we believe about her. To win two Apple Blossoms, she's part of history.”

Letruska began her career in Mexico with Gutierrez where she was undefeated in six starts, including a pair of Group 1 wins in 2019 in the Clasico Esmeralda and Clasico Diamante. Gutierrez shipped Letruska to Gulfstream Park in December of 2019 where she won her American debut in the Copa Invitacional del Caribe going 10 furlongs. Her upward trajectory continued in 2020 with a pair of Grade 3 wins in the Shuvee at Saratoga Race Course and the Rampart at Gulfstream.

The bay mare rocketed to stardom in 2021 when she defeated two-time Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl by a nose in the first of her two Apple Blossom triumphs. The win kicked off a series of graded victories that would earn her the Eclipse Award for Champion Older Dirt Mare and was one of four Grade 1 victories for her last year.

“After she won the first Apple Blossom against Monomoy Girl, she keeps proving why that happened,” said Gutierrez.

In last year's Ogden Phipps, there were few tense moments for Letruska as she broke sharply and quickly established the lead to win easily under Ortiz, who rode her for the first time after his brother, Irad Ortiz, Jr., was forced to miss the race when he sustained an injury in a spill the week prior.

She went on to go 5-for-6 in her outings leading up to this year's Ogden Phipps, including a trio of Grade 1 victories in the Personal Ensign at Saratoga, the Spinster at Keeneland and her repeat Apple Blossom triumph.

Letruska was expected to give a big performance in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff to close out her 5-year-old campaign in November at Del Mar, but was a well-beaten 10th after she and Private Mission dueled through blistering fractions to lead the field of 11 through the nine furlongs.

“It was just a bad race,” Gutierrez said. “Every race and track is different. It was a suicidal pace for all the horses and the pacesetters paid the consequences. I never imagined I would have a horse with the obligation to win every race.”

Gutierrez said there was no question whether Letruska would come back for a 6-year-old campaign after the Breeders' Cup.

“The plan was that if we have a horse who has the chance to win like her, we'll run her. My exercise rider told me the other day that she feels like a first-time starter 2-year-old. We don't get a lot of horses like this one, and she's ready to win. She's like Tom Brady,” Gutierrez said, with a laugh.

The only time Letruska has faced Malathaat was in the Breeders' Cup Distaff. Gutierrez said he is confident Letruska has the class to take on any challengers.

“Whatever is coming for us, we need to accept it. This is the way,” said Gutierrez. “We have a horse has won 10 graded stakes in 20 months at different tracks and conditions.”

Jose Ortiz will be aboard from the inside post.

Letruska will face no shortage of formidable foes, including the three-time Grade 1 winning Malathaat for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.

Owned by Shadwell Stable, Malathaat was a $1.05 million yearling purchase at the 2019 Keeneland September Sale and is out of the Grade 1 winning A.P. Indy mare Dreaming of Julia, who won the 2012 Grade 1 Frizette at Belmont for Pletcher.

The bay daughter of Curlin enters from a gutsy win in the Grade 3 Doubledogdare on April 22 at Keeneland, her first race since she closed out her sophomore campaign with a close third-place effort in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff in November at Del Mar. In the Doubledogdare, Malathaat was rated 5 1/2 lengths off the pace in fifth under regular Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez and swung three-wide in the turn to inch away to her three-quarter length score over returning rival Bonny South.

Pletcher said he chose to run Malathaat in the Doubledogdare over the Grade 1 La Troienne on May 6 at Churchill Downs when her training showed she was ready to run.

“It was really just a matter of her getting ready sooner than the La Troienne was coming up,” Pletcher said. “The fact that she won the Ashland there [at Keeneland] played some influence in it as well as the Breeders' Cup being there this year. I felt like a little more experience at Keeneland is good, and it gave us some more extra space in between the Phipps. I was pleased with the way she ran and she trained super since then.”

Malathaat's sparkling resume also includes a memorable victory over Grade 1 winner and returning foe Search Results in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks last May where she overcame trouble at the start to score a neck victory. She went on to earn a 1 1/2-length win over fellow Ogden Phipps aspirant Clairiere in the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga Race Course. She was awarded the Eclipse Award for Champion 3-Year-Old filly for her outstanding campaign.

Pletcher said the filly has changed for the better in her 4-year-old season.

“She's carrying her weight really well this year,” Pletcher said. “She looks phenomenal and I'm super happy with her.”

Malathaat will be returning to a one-turn race for the first time since winning the one-mile Tempted at Aqueduct Racetrack in her juvenile season.

“It's a one-turn race so that will change the dynamics a little bit,” Pletcher said. “Letruska will likely be the pacesetter, so we'll have to keep an eye on her. It's a deep field with a lot of quality fillies in here. I'm looking forward to it.”

Velazquez will be aboard Malathaat from post 3.

The royally-bred Clairiere is in search of her second Grade 1 victory for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and owner/breeder Stonestreet Stables. The bay Curlin filly posted a seasonal debut win at Fair Grounds in optional claiming company ahead of her game runner-up effort to Letruska in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom.

Out of 2016 Ogden Phipps winner Cavorting, Clairiere has competed against the best in her division since her juvenile campaign. She picked up her first graded win at 3 with last-to-first victory in the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra at Fair Grounds, the start of a sophomore campaign that saw her earn four graded placings and a Grade 1 triumph in the Cotillion at Parx Racing in September.

“I think she's better than she was last year,” Asmussen said. “She's more mature and is simply a bigger, better, stronger and faster filly. She is carrying on her family tradition proudly. With her being one of the most impeccably bred horses there is in training, being by Curlin and out of Cavorting.”

Joel Rosario, who has ridden Clairiere in her two starts this year, rides again from post 4.

Klaravich Stables' Search Results is also in search of her second Grade 1 victory, entering from a redemptive win in the Grade 2 Ruffian on May 8 over Big Sandy. Trained by Chad Brown, the 4-year-old daughter of Flatter improved from a disappointing third-place finish as the 3-5 favorite in the Grade 3 Distaff on April 9 at Aqueduct.

Prior to the Distaff, Search Results was away from the races for eight months after a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Test behind the victorious Bella Sofia. Her sophomore season was highlighted by a half-length win over Obligatory in the Grade 1 Acorn at Belmont, which came on the heels of her narrow loss to Malathaat in the Kentucky Oaks.

“This is a really tough race, but she's training really well,” said Brown. “Unfortunately, she has a habit of not changing her leads, but she has been in her training, so I'm hoping she does it in the afternoon on Saturday.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. retains the mount from the outermost post 5.

Completing the field is the consistent Bonny South, who arrives at the Ogden Phipps from four consecutive graded stakes placings. The Brad Cox trainee was last seen nearly besting Malathaat in the Doubledogdare and earned two Grade 1 placings behind Letruska in the Personal Ensign at Saratoga and Spinster at Keeneland last year.

A homebred for Juddmonte Farms, Bonny South won the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks last year en route to a head victory over multiple graded stakes winner Royal Flag in last year's Doubledogdare.

Flavien Prat will ride the 5-year-old daughter of Munnings for the first time from post 2.

The Ogden Phipps is slated as Race 7 [3:05 p.m. Eastern] on Saturday's lucrative 13-race Belmont Stakes card. First post is 11:20 a.m.

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