Belmont Park: Awesome Feather could be ready to race in a month

Barbara D. Livingston

Awesome Feather, pictured training in June at Belmont Park, could return to the races in about a month.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Awesome Feather, last year’s champion 2-year-old filly who has not raced yet this year, breezed five furlongs in 1:00.98 over Belmont Park’s main track Monday morning. It was her third breeze since returning to the work tab after a two-month hiatus.

“Awesome Feather is doing really well, we’re taking it week to week with her,” trainer Chad Brown said. “She went nice and smooth and well within herself.”

Awesome Feather has not raced since she completed a perfect 6-for-6 campaign with a 2 1/4-length victory in last November’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. She was then owned by Fred Brei’s Jacks or Better Farm and trained by Stan Gold.

Two days after the Breeders’ Cup, Awesome Feather went through the auction ring at Fasig Tipton’s November mixed sale, where she was purchased for $2.3 million by Frank Stronach. Before Awesome Feather was able to get back into training, a lesion was found in a tendon that needed time to heal.

Awesome Feather made it back to the work tab on May 24 and breezed five times through June 21 before Brown had to stop on her again.

“She was only two works from running,” Brown said. “She had some minor things come up that required a little bit of time. We started her back up, and she’s been good ever since.”

Awesome Feather resumed breezing at Belmont Park on Aug. 30, working four furlongs in 48.11 seconds. She followed that up Sept. 5 with another four-furlong move in 49.69.

“If all goes well, eventually she could be ready to run in a month,” Brown said.