Graham Motion (Coady Photography)
Nagirroc Confirmed for G3 Manila
G1 Beverly D. Possible Target for Spendarella
NYRA Press Office
ELMONT, N.Y.— Trainer Graham Motion will be in pursuit of his first triumph in the Grade 1, $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Belmont Oaks Invitational when he sends graded/group stakes winners Speirling Beag and Mission of Joy for the 10-furlong turf test for sophomore fillies on July 8.
Walmac Farm, Gainesway Stable and Haras d’Etreham’s Speirling Beag defeated colts when a narrow winner of the Group 3 Eyrefield in October at Leopardstown for her former trainer Jim Bolger. The daughter of Mastercraftsman made her sophomore debut for trainers Alessandro and Giuseppe Botti in April when fifth in the Group 3 Prix Penelope going 1 5/16 miles at Saint Cloud in France.
Speirling Beag arrived at Motion’s primary division at Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Maryland in late May and has been training forwardly toward the Belmont Oaks.
“The idea when she arrived was to look at this race, so we plan to proceed,” said Motion, who captured this race with Check the Label [2010] when it was run as the Garden City Handicap. “She’s handled everything well. We haven’t had any hiccups with her since she came. She arrived around the end of May, but she’s been straightforward and pretty respectful in her breezes.”
Speirling Beag worked five furlongs in 1:01.80 over Fair Hill’s synthetic surface on Monday and will work once more before the Belmont Oaks.
Bred in Ireland by Ennistown Stud, Speirling Beag is out of the unraced Cape Cross mare Starscape.
Motion also will saddle RyZan Sun Racing and Madaket Stables’ Mission of Joy, who captured the Grade 3 Regret on June 3 at Churchill Downs. The Kitten’s Joy chestnut earned a career-best 90 Beyer Speed Figure for the 1 1/2-length triumph, which followed a troubled third in the Grade 3 Edgewood on May 5 over the same course. There, she stalked from mid-pack, lacked racing room in upper stretch and stumbled, but was tipped out a path wide and managed to grab third place.
“She was unlucky at Churchill a couple starts back, but she sure made up for it last time,” Motion said.
Bred in Ontario by Sam Son Farm, Mission of Joy is out of the Smart Strike mare Smart Mission whose half-sister Irish Mission was a dual Sovereign Award winner in Canada.
Motion also confirmed ultra-consistent graded stakes winner Nagirroc for the one-mile Grade 3, $250,000 Manila for sophomores on July 7 at Belmont.
Owned by Little Red Feather Racing, Madaket Stables and William Strauss, the bay son of Lea was acquired privately following a runner-up effort on debut at Indiana Grand for his former trainer Jim Corrigan. After winning his debut for Motion in a six-furlong maiden in September, he then won his graded stakes debut in the Grade 3 Futurity going the same distance in October at Belmont at the Big A.
Nagirroc was second in his 2023 debut in a strong renewal of the Grade 3 Transylvania in April at Keeneland in a race that saw the third-place finisher, Webslinger, subsequently capture the Grade 2 American Turf and Audubon at Churchill. Nagirroc followed with a victory in the James W. Murphy on May 20 at Pimlico in his first start with blinkers.
Motion said the equipment change has proved beneficial to the horse.
“I have to think they made a difference based off the way he ran the other day,” Motion said. “In fairness to him, the race at Keeneland came back a very good race. Everyone who finished around him came back and won. The form of that race was very good and I think the blinkers did help him.”
Motion also provided an update on Gainesway Stable’s New York homebred Spendarella, who has not breezed since finishing second to In Italian in the one-mile Grade 1 Just a Game on June 10 at Belmont. While the nine-furlong Grade 1, $500,000 Diana on July 15 at Saratoga Race Course is not ruled out, Motion said he could be more inclined to lean toward the Grade 1 Beverly D. on August 12 at Colonial Downs.
“I’m on the fence about running there,” said Motion regarding the Diana. “I’m going to think about that. I’ll probably nominate but I could easily see myself looking at a race like the Beverly D.”
Spendarella picked up a trio of New York-bred year-end honors in 2022, taking home Horse of the Year as well as Champion 3-Year-Old Filly and Champion Female Turf Horse on the back of a prosperous season that saw her win 4-of-5 starts led by a score in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks.
