OZONE PARK, N.Y.— French-bred Lady Day (FR), a close relative to dual Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Treve, will make her first start on this side of the pond in Thursday’s third race at Belmont at the Big A – a nine-furlong allowance optional claimer on the outer turf for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.
Trained by Chad Brown, the daughter of Motivator is out of the Fuisse mare Toride – a half-sister to Treve, who is also by Motivator. Lady Day, who captured the Prix la Sorellina last year at La Teste De Buch, has not raced since finishing fourth last September at Chantilly in the Group 3 Prix Bertrand de Tarragon.
The two-time winner was listed in the Arqana Horses of Racing Age Sale, where she was consigned by her former trainer Frederic Head but did not meet the nearly $580,000 reserve.
Peter Bradley, whose Bradley Thoroughbreds co-owns Lady Day with Gainesway Stable, Cambron Equine and Kurz Equine Investments, acquired the filly following the sale.
“We bought her just about a year ago at the Arqana Sale. She RNA’d and we made a deal with Freddie Head to purchase her,” Bradley said. “She acted like she’s got an awful lot of talent. She was a stakes winner over there, so we knew it was there. She’s been working with some of Chad’s nicer fillies and keeping pace with them. It’ll be interesting. They were running her at a mile over there and I feel like she could use more distance.”
Lady Day came up with several “minor issues” according to Bradley, which pushed back her North American debut. She worked at Palm Meadows Training Center in South Florida earlier this year before being sidelined and resumed serious business at Belmont Park in late August.
“It was just one thing after another, nothing but minor setbacks. When you put three minor setbacks together, it becomes one major thing,” Bradley said. “It was nothing worth retiring, but it just kept her on the shelf. She’s been acting like a nice filly in the mornings, and we’ll see if she’s as good as we hope she is.”
Hall of Famer Javier Castellano has the call from post 2 aboard Lady Day in the compact field of six.
NYRA Press Office
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