Beldame a strategic spot for Forever Unbridled

ELMONT, N.Y. – After Forever Unbridled got beat with a troubled trip in the Grade 1 Odgen Phipps here in June, trainer Dallas Stewart said he would never again run her in a one-turn race.

But the allure of the Grade 1, $400,000 Beldame was too much to ignore, and thus Forever Unbridled is back at Belmont, ready to compete in the one-turn, 1 1/8-mile race as a potential stepping-stone to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita on Nov. 4.

Stewart said he might have been hasty in saying that he’d never run her in a one-turn race again, frustrated over the traffic trouble Forever Unbridled got into when second in the Phipps under Joel Rosario.

“He just had her in a bad spot,” Stewart said.

What’s attractive about the Beldame is that the race does not include any of the heavy heads of either the older filly and mare division or the 3-year-old division. Yes, Grade 1 winners Off the Tracks and Paola Queen are in the field, but they are 3-year-olds who have yet to prove that they want to run this far.

“It’s a Grade 1, $400,000 – you got to go around there and run,” Stewart said this week. “Nothing’s a given.”

Stewart’s enthusiasm for the Beldame has waned somewhat due to a forecast that called for rain Friday into Saturday morning. Forever Unbridled has never raced over a wet track, and Stewart would prefer not to start running her over one now. He and owner Charles Fipke could wait until race day to decide whether to run.

“We want to run, she’s there, she trained great today,” Stewart said Friday from Kentucky. “She’s never run in the mud. She might love it.”

Forever Unbridled breaks from post 2 under Rosario.

Off the Tracks is unproven at 1 1/8 miles, but two of her best races came in middle-distance, one-turn races at Belmont. She won the Grade 1 Mother Goose at 1 1/16 miles on July 2, three weeks after she finished second to Carina Mia in the Grade 1 Acorn going a mile.

“It’s a mile and an eighth no matter how you slice it, but she seemed to run well in the Acorn and the Mother Goose, so she seems to like Belmont and has run well in one-turn scenarios,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who has won the Beldame five times.

John Velazquez rides Off the Tracks from post 7.

Paola Queen has faced Off the Tracks three times, finishing ahead of her twice, including in the Grade 1 Test, which she won at odds of 55-1.

Though the Test was at seven furlongs, trainer Gustavo Delgado believes “longer distance is better for her.”

Luis Saez rides Paola Queen from post 6.

Tiger Ride, Rachel’s Temper, Going for Broke, and Penwith complete the field for the Beldame, which goes as race 10.

Key Contenders

Forever Unbridled, by Unbridled’s Song

Last 3 Beyers: 101-98-99

◗ Though usually given plenty of time between races, she comes back five weeks after running third in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign off an 11-week layoff.

“The next race is going to be really, really tough,” Stewart said, referring to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. “We want to be dead ready. She really came out of the race sharp. Looking at her now, she’s ready to run back. This could make her tighter and more on game going to California.”

Off the Tracks, by Curlin

Last 3 Beyers: 86-87-96

◗ The last time she raced around one turn at Belmont, she won the Mother Goose in front-running fashion.

◗ Her lone try on an off track came in the Gulfstream Park Oaks, around two turns, and she finished third as the 4-5 favorite.

“It was a bit of a quirky surface that she didn’t handle great,” Pletcher said. “But every track is different when it’s wet. I wouldn’t come to the conclusion that she does not handle an off track based on that one race.”

◗ Velazquez could work out a nice stalking trip from the outside post in the seven-horse field.

Going for Broke, by Blame

Last 3 Beyers: 86-88-89

◗ Had a three-race winning streak snapped when beaten seven lengths by the undefeated champion Songbird in the Grade 1 Alabama at 1 1/4 miles.

◗ She is 2 for 2 at Belmont, including a maiden win in the slop going a mile in May.