Belmont Park, Race 1 – Saturday, July 8, 2023
By 2YO EdgeMan
BEL1:070823 – Five and one-half furlongs over the dirt. Eight fillies have been entered and set to compete. Only two have done so in the afternoon before – one once and one two times – the remaining six will be having at it for the first time in their young racing careers. Good Magic, War Front, Munnings, Winstar’s Always Dreaming and Unified are the standout sires, along with First-Crop Sire Catalina Cruiser. Bill Mott will saddle two and Fernando Abreu, Belmont heroine Jena Antonucci, John Terranova II and Rudy Rod will each tighten the girth on one. Honestly, not a super exciting bunch top to bottom (like you’ll soon see at Saratoga), but there is certainly one that is tremendously interesting. Let’s take a gander…
#1 – Sugar N Spice (8/1) – The ‘iron horse’ of this group (well, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, she’s only been out twice), this filly has been in the money both times that she’s run (both at Gulfstream Park). Last out, this home-bred wondered around a bit while on the lead late and was ultimately caught, but only beaten by a half length and earned the runner up money while hanging an decent E-Speed Fig of 72 in the 4 ½ furlong dash. Trainer Abreu has opted not to work her since her last afternoon event. This filly is by Adios Charlie and from a dam that is now 23 years old. Mom was an excellent racer in her day, amassing $647K in prize money by winning 12 of her 34 starts. She’s also thrown one that won at first asking at two in Japan. Jose Ortiz will manage the reins for the initial time on this gal.
#2 – Magic Cross (6/1) – The first of two conditioned by Bill Mott, this one is previously unraced. The combination of Good Magic and a Tiznow mare produced this filly who sold for $112,500 at Keeneland last September as a yearling (33/81). Mom was a disappointment on the track, only managing one win from four tries and earning a paltry $17,000. Workouts have been plentiful, starting with five down at Payson Park and then seven more up at The Spa on the Oklahoma training track. In fact, her last was on the turf. All in all, her moves have been ‘typical Mott’, nothing flashy, however she did cover four furlongs on 6/6/23 in the relatively quick time of 49.19 (3/23). Jose Lezcano is listed as this gal’s rider.
#3 – Exhilarate (5/2) – Bill Mott’s second entry into this one comes from the tremendously successful race mare – Elate. She only won $2.6 million and two Grade 2s along with five other races, including a win in her only race as a two-year-old which was at Aqueduct in November of her initial campaign, earning an EBSF of 88. She actually buzzed a phenomenal EBSF of 119 in one race, as a 4YO. And don’t forget about the sire of the one making her debut today – War Front. She’s a home-bred from Claiborne Farm & Adele Dilschneider who, like Magic Cross above, started her workout regime at Payson Park (four there, including one on the grass), before shipping up to Saratoga and working seven times over the Oklahoma training strip (her last was on the lawn). On 6/14/23, she zipped off a bullet going a ½ mile in 48.45 seconds (1/44). Mott’s #1 man, Junior Alvarado will be her pilot for the day.
#4 – La Picasita (8/1) – Munnings is responsible for this filly who is trained by the now world famous, Jena Antonucci. She went through the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Summer Yearling Sale in 2022 and demanded $125K (53/91). Mama was unraced and this will be the first for this gal. From a prep perspective, she’s been out on seven mornings in South Florida at GP. Her best was a move of 48.48 seconds back on 6/17/23 (8/66). Tyler Gaffalione will get the leg up.
#6 – Devil at Midnight (3/1) – The Track Handicapper’s second pick on the list of Morning Line odds will be making her second foray into the world of competitive racing. In that race, back in mid-June at Belmont, she didn’t break sharply, but made the lead before being collared at the head of the lane and wound-up finishing in the show position (beaten by 4+ lengths and notching an EBSF of 69). She’s by Unifed out of another Tiznow mare, this one went 0 for 11 on the track. Trainer Melanie Giddings has pumped a fast work into her at Belmont since her last run – she went 4f in 47.95 seconds for a bullet move (1/45). Shaun Bridgmohan gets a second chance to guide.
Pick – #3 Exhilarate – Typically we shy away from most first-time starters from the Bill Mott barn (just because his numbers with firsters is low), but this filly could very well be a monster. As mentioned above, her mama (also trained by Mott) won at first asking, so she could be precocious. She’s clearly got talent – as shown in her work three weeks back at The Spa. Additionally, it just does not seem like this is a very deep field, so we are going with this filly. She currently shows that she’s up for auction in the Game of Silks.
If Exhilarate is what I think she may be, this is a ‘must watch’ race. Hey, it’s two-year-olds running for a purse of $90,000, so it will be fun no matter what happens. Tune in and enjoy.
