Belle Belisa has the talent to win Virginia Oaks
In the words of her trainer, Belle Belisa did everything wrong when she made her career debut Aug. 10 at Colonial. The one thing she did right was go out and win that nine-furlong maiden race, earning a start Tuesday in the $150,000 Virginia Oaks.
About the trainer: That would be Michael Dickinson, a master horseman who has spent the last year working to tame Belle Belisa’s demons and bring forth her ample talent.
“Whatever she’s doing she’s in a bloody rush,” said Dickinson, who now trains a string of just six at his Tapeta Farm in Maryland.
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Belle Belisa “was terrible in the paddock, terrible in the gate,” Dickinson said.
The filly briefly dislodged jockey Charlie Marquez before the race began.
“She’s tough,” Dickinson said.
But Belle Belisa settled into a rhythm racing midpack, briefly tried to lug in past the three-sixteenths pole, but straightened her path and ran strongly to the wire, winning by one length, going away. Can she improve enough to win the nine-furlong Virginia Oaks? Maybe.
Belle Belisa, by Lope de Vega, is one of 12 in the Virginia Oaks, which could have Out of Sorts, Invincible Gal, or Flippant as a mild favorite.
Out of Sorts, by Dramedy, finished second and third in Laurel stakes on dirt last year, but has been kept to grass racing this season. A one-run closer, she went from a first-level allowance score to win the Christiana Stakes on July 3 at Delaware Park before struggling home sixth on Aug. 8 in the Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational. Some combination of a class rise, a stretch to 1 3/16 miles, and racing without Lasix caused Out of Sorts to take a step back, but she gets Lasix again Tuesday while dropping back down in class. Her trainer, Brittany Russell, also entered the capable filly Adelaide.
Invincible Gal, trained by Graham Motion, ran into traffic trouble finishing fifth while racing in blinkers and on Lasix for the first time in a in a July 31 Saratoga turf allowance race. Jose Ortiz, who rode Invincible Gal to a second-place finish last year in the Tepin Stakes, will have to work a trip from a wide draw with a filly who’d prefer to race from a stalking position.
Flippant, in from Kentucky for trainer Victoria Oliver, also rates a strong chance. She won a 1 1/4-mile maiden race on turf, then closed into a fast pace for a half-length victory Aug. 7 at Ellis Park in the Dueling Grounds Oaks Preview.
Kitten’s Joy Stakes
The $100,000 Kitten’s Joy, a one-mile grass race for 2-year-olds, drew just six entrants, but Gold Heritage still could offer value in the win pool.
Tiz the Bomb is the likely favorite here, with Robby Albarado riding for trainer Ken McPeek. Tiz the Bomb exits a 14 1/4-length maiden victory in an off-turf Ellis Park mile. Making his second start, Tiz the Bomb, the 3-5 favorite, went straight to the front and drew steadily clear. But the competition he faced that afternoon was hapless. He’s by Hit It a Bomb, a turf horse during his racing career, and has grass influences in his female family, but Tiz the Bomb hasn’t raced on turf.
Gold Heritage has and looked extremely good doing so, despite earning just a 50 Beyer in an Ellis turf-sprint debut victory July 23. Trained by Andrew McKeever, Gold Heritage settled near the back of a 12-horse field before finding his best stride in upper stretch, closing hard on the leaders through the final furlong to win by 1 1/4 lengths. He proceeded to gallop out far in front of his rivals and has the pedigree to support the notion that he could be better routing than sprinting.
Old Nelson Stakes
If Bellagamba had a race in her since December, and if the $150,000 Old Nelson were longer than 1 1/16 miles, the Argentine import would look pretty strong Tuesday at Colonial. But at a distance possibly short of her best, and in her first start since being imported from Argentina and turned over to Argentine expatriate trainer Ignacio Correas, Bellagamba could play second fiddle to Tuned.
Tuned, a Great Britain-bred French import trained by Motion, really sparked to life this past winter in Florida. Then in an April allowance race at Keeneland, she ran into a strong performance from the Chad Brown-trained filly Pocket Square and finished second. Tuned ran the only poor race of her North American career June 12 in the Mint Julep at Churchill, but rebounded with a solid Colonial second-level allowance victory July 20 that should have her set to win the Old Nelson.
Bellagamba was a Group 1 winner over 1 1/4 miles in Argentina in the Enrique Alcebal last November. She needed most of the long San Isidro homestretch to find her best stride.
◗ Big Boss Ben needs only to repeat his Aug. 6 turf-sprint maiden win at Ellis Park to capture the $100,000 Rosie’s Stakes for 2-year-olds over 5 1/2 furlongs on grass. Big Boss Ben, drawn inside six rivals, led and faded in his first two races, one on dirt, the other turf, but settled off another horse and finished well last out. That performance is superior to anything his rivals have put forth.