Belmont: Clement, Terranova both have pair in Mohegan Sky

ELMONT, N.Y. – Contention runs deep in Saturday’s $90,000 Mohegan Sky Stakes, in which trainers Christophe Clement and John Terranova each have two fillies capable of winning the 1 1/16-mile overnight stakes.

Clement sends out Federation and Check the Label – the fourth- and fifth-place finishers, respectively in the Grade 2 Beaugay, in the Mohegan Sky.

Federation had run three solid races before that, winning two allowance races at Tampa before finishing second to Zagora in the Grade 3 Hillsborough.

In the Beaugay, Federation found herself on the lead before fading to fourth behind Winter Memories.

Clement said the soft ground had more to do with Federation’s finish that day than did being on the lead.

“I think she will enjoy the firm turf on Saturday,” Clement said. “She’s an improving kind of filly.”

In 2010, when trained by Graham Motion, Check the Label won the Grade 1 Garden City at Belmont. The Beaugay was her first start since finishing seventh in a stakes over the synthetic surface last October at Presque Isle.

“I thought she was going to run better than that. She hadn’t run for [seven] months before that – maybe she needed the race,” Clement said.

Terranova sends out Magical Cat and My Redbyrd. Magical Cat won a first-level allowance race in her North American debut on April 20. In the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay, she was declared a non-starter after she was in the hands of the assistant starter when the gates opened.

“Off that experience we want to get her back on track,” Terranova said. “She’s a very smart, very classy filly doesn’t seem to be affected mentally by a lot of things.”

My Redbyrd won an overnight stakes at Aqueduct off a six-month layoff before finishing fifth in the Grade 3 Violet at Monmouth.

Terranova said that My Redbyrd was in season about a week before the Violet and was “a little flat in that race. She still ran a decent race without looking like she gave it a 100 percent.”

Others in the Mohegan Sky include Sure Route, Prize Catch, Bubbly Jane, Arch Support, Dealbata and The Underling.