Bellafina shortens up in distance for Test

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – With the only two poor performances on her form having come around two turns in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and Kentucky Oaks, trainer Simon Callaghan has decided to turn Bellafina back to seven furlongs to kick off the second half of her 3-year-old campaign here Saturday in the Grade 1 Test.

An extremely competitive field of seven 3-year-old fillies was drawn for the Text on Wednesday and, along with Bellafina, includes Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress, Covfefe, Jeltrin, Please Flatter Me, Royal Charlotte, and Trenchtown Cat.

Bellafina has not started since finishing a disappointing fifth as the 9-5 favorite going 1 1/8 miles in the Oaks. She had closed her juvenile season with a similarly unexpected fourth-place effort, also as the 9-5 choice, in the 1 1/16-mile Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

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Otherwise, Bellafina is nearly perfect with six victories in seven starts, including three Grade 1 wins. She also is undefeated and untested at seven furlongs, having won the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante at 2 and Grade 2 Santa Ynez earlier this season by a combined margin of 12 3/4 lengths.

“Obviously, the Oaks was disappointing so we wanted to give her a little bit of time, give her a freshening after that,” Callaghan said. “It also made sense to start her back at seven furlongs since her two most emphatic wins have been at that distance. And while it seems she could get two turns in a smaller field with a comfortable trip, potentially it appears she’s a better filly at seven-eighths than going further.”

Callaghan said Bellafina couldn’t be doing any better coming into her local debut.

“We’re really happy the way she’s training up to the Test, she’s in really good form, and I’m expecting her to fire a big race, although obviously it’s not going to be an easy spot,” Callaghan said.