Egyptian Mau rides the rail and is up in time in the Belmont Turf Sprint, NYRA Photo
Jon Forbes
Egyptian Mau skimmed the rail in the stretch under jockey Antonio Fresu to post a 31-1 upset on Thursday at Belmont Park in a thrilling renewal of the Grade 3, $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint.
The lone female entered in the six-furlong inner turf sprint for 3-year-olds and up, Egyptian Mau was unhurried in sixth along the backstretch as sharp-breaking pacesetter Jean Valjean led through an opening quarter-mile in 23.19 seconds and a half in 45.83 over the firm turf.
Fresu asked Egyptian Mau for run nearing three-sixteenths pole, and the 6-year-old mare closed determinedly inside Waralo and Chasing Liberty to strike to the front in the final yards en route to a neck victory. Waralo edged Chasing Liberty by a head for second, with last year’s Belmont Turf Sprint winner Alogon finishing an additional 1 1/4 lengths behind in fourth.
Egyptian Mau, who was bred in South Africa, returned $64.10 for a $2 win wager as the second highest price in the field of 10 and completed six furlongs over Belmont’s inner turf course in 1:08.85.
“Usually she’s very slow, but today, she broke better,” said Fresu, who joined the New York riding colony at the start of the Belmont Park fall meet. “I dropped her in on the rail and I said, ‘OK, I’ll try and save some ground.’ She’s no favorite, so you ride her a little bit more conservatively and try to get what you can. When everything was opening, I took it and the filly was very game – that was the main thing. She was brave to go through there.”
Trained by Hall of Famer Neil Drysdale for Team Valor, Egyptian Mau was making her first start in 5 1/2 months as she was fifth last out in the Grade 2 Giant’s Causeway in April at Keeneland. She prepared for the Belmont Turf Sprint with eight official workouts at Belmont dating back to August 10.
“That was probably the winning move [going up the inside] and Neil Drysdale is an outstanding trainer,” said Fresu, who rode Egyptian Mau for the first time in the Belmont Turf Sprint. “Everybody knows him and if he brought her here, it’s because he thought this filly could have a chance in this type of race.”
John O’Donoghue, assistant to Drysdale, was pleased with Egyptian Mau’s performance off the layoff in the Belmont Turf Sprint.
“Very game,” said O’Donoghue. “I thought she might get a little tired in the last part because she’s been off for quite a while, but she fought right to the end. That’s how she likes to run. It was very exciting to watch and exceeded our expectations.”
The Belmont Turf Sprint was the second win in North America for Egyptian Mau, who closed her three-start 2025 campaign with a victory in an optional claiming race going downhill last October at Santa Anita Park. Prior to the Giant’s Causeway, she was fourth in the Grade 3 Las Cienegas in January and sixth in the restricted Wishing Well in February, both at Santa Anita.
Bred by Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein, Egyptian Mau in her native country won the 2023 Group 3 HSH Princess Charlene Starling and was second in the Group 1 Douglas Whyte Thekwini for prior trainer Lucky Houdalakis.
With her Belmont Turf Sprint victory, Egyptian Mau, a bay daughter of 2018 Grade 3 Dixie winner Fire Away, improved her record to 4-2-2 from 15 career starts, earned $110,000, and became the first filly or mare to win the race in 11 editions.
Twenty Six Black, the 9-5 favorite, finished fifth and was followed home by Spiced Up, Jean Valjean, Card Trick, Spirited Sol, and Let My People Go. Creditworthy was scratched at the starting gate.
Live racing resumes on Friday at Belmont with a nine-race card headlined by the Listed $175,000 Artie Schiller in Race 8, co-featuring the $175,000 Bertram F. Bongard in Race 2, and the rescheduled $175,000 Joseph A. Gimma in Race 3. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
General admission at Belmont Park is available for $7 when purchased in advance and provides fans with access to grandstand seats on most days, all areas within the first floor of the grandstand and the backyard. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/tickets/.
America’s Day at the Races presents daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. 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 fall 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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