Belmont Park: Dealbata dangerous in Noble Damsel off near-miss in last

Barbara D. Livingston

Dealbata (right) will have a chance to avenge her half-length De La Rosa loss to Julie's Love (left) when the two meet in Saturday's Noble Damsel.

ELMONT, N.Y. – In two rides aboard Dealbata, Ramon Dominguez has a win and a second aboard the 4-year-old Irish-bred filly. Dominguez said he was more impressed with Dealbata’s half-length loss in last month’s De La Rose Stakes at Saratoga than her one-length win in the Mohegan Sky here in June.

Saturday, Dealbata will get a chance to avenge her loss to Julie’s Love in the De La Rose when she faces that rival and seven others in the Grade 3, $150,000 Noble Damsel Stakes run at one mile over Belmont Park’s Widener turf course.

Dealbata, owned by Martin Schwartz and trained by Chad Brown, has won 4 of 7 starts in her career. She ended her 3-year-old season with two victories in France before taking the Mohegan Sky here in June. In the De La Rose, Dealbata was last, 13 lengths off the pace, before rallying to come within a half-length of Julie’s Love at the wire.

“I was very happy with her race [at Saratoga],” Dominguez said Thursday afternoon at Belmont. “It was one of those fast tracks where speed was holding and we had a bad draw. I tried to save ground, she really came flying. A couple more jumps she gets up. As impressive as she was winning here I was even more impressed with her last race.”

Dealbata had a very impressive five-furlong workout over a yielding Belmont turf on Monday, going 22.73 for the final quarter of a five-furlong move done in company with Diana Stakes runner-up Dream Peace.

In the De La Rose, Dealbata was conceding seven pounds to Julie’s Love. Saturday, they both carry 120 pounds.

Julie’s Love has three wins from four starts in North America and since being transferred to trainer Graham Motion. Among her wins was a front-running score in a second-level allowance race at Belmont in June. Her only defeat in the U.S. was a one-length loss behind Gitchee Goomie and Hessonite in the Grade 3 Dr. James Penny Memorial at Parx in July.

“I think she’s very honest and very straight forward,” Motion said. “The one race she did end up on the lead was because of a lack of speed in the race. I think she prefers to settle off the pace a little bit.”

Trainer Christophe Clement sends out the uncoupled entry of Naples Bay and Federation in the Noble Damsel. Naples Bay was beaten a head by Julie’s Love in the aforementioned allowance race at Belmont and was fifth in the Dr. James Penny before she won a second-level allowance at Monmouth.

Federation, beaten 1 1/2 lengths by Dealbata in the Mohegan Sky here in June, comes off a 2 3/4-length allowance victory at Saratoga on Aug. 27.

La Cloche, a half-sister to Winter Memories, won the Voodoo Dancer Stakes at Belmont in July, her third win from seven career starts at Belmont. Most recently, she finished fifth behind Julie’s Love and Dealbata in the De La Rose.

“She ran two huge races in a row and they need more than four weeks to recover,” trainer Jimmy Toner said. “I just feel like she didn’t show me that kick last time. I do feel like those big races they take more out of them than what you think they do. Now she’s had plenty of time between races.”

Embarr, a winner of three straight, Law of the Range, Silver Screamer, and Kya One complete the field.