Belmont Park: Miss Behaviour and Gracer go at it again in Matron

This content is part of a free preview of DRF Plus. Click to learn more.

ELMONT, N.Y. – On July 22, Phil Schoenthal walked into the paddock at Parx with his unstarted 2-year-old filly Miss Behaviour feeling pretty good about his chances. Well before the race, the filly had a sensational workout at Bowie, one that prompted many phone calls from friends and agents who had heard about it.

“I got to the racing office at Parx and one of the entry clerks says ‘I heard you got a real speed demon,’ ” Schoenthal said. “I thought, ‘The word’s out on this horse, she’s going to be even money.’ We’re walking over to the paddock, I look up, she’s 14-1. I couldn’t believe it. It almost got to the point I lost confidence.”

Miss Behaviour would win that five-furlong race by 2 1/2 lengths at odds of 12-1 over Gracer, the 6-5 favorite. After both fillies came back to win their next start, Miss Behaviour and Gracer meet again in Sunday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Matron Stakes for juvenile fillies going six furlongs at Belmont Park.

The two Pennsylvania-bred fillies top a seven-horse field entered in the Matron, which shares billing with the Grade 2 Futurity on an 11-race program. Miss Narcissist, who was cross-entered in an overnight stakes Saturday at Finger Lakes, will run here trainer Linda Rice said.

Miss Behaviour, a daughter of Jump Start, came out of that Parx maiden race to win the $104,000 Sorority Stakes at Monmouth Park by 8 1/4 lengths. Schoenthal’s not sure what to make of that race in that his filly went fast early, but got her last quarter in 27 seconds.

“Even though she crawled home, nobody was making up any ground on her,” Schoenthal said. “Was she much the best that day against an inferior group?”

Miss Behaviour will break from post 5 under Gary Cruise.

Miss Behaviour has won both of her starts despite battling foot issues, which led Schoenthal to equip his filly with glue-on shoes on both her front feet for this race.

“She’s responded well in training,” Schoenthal said.

Gracer came out of her runner-up finish to Miss Behaviour to win a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race by 6 1/4 lengths at Saratoga in her next start. Trainer Tony Dutrow said he didn’t have his filly fully cranked for her debut.

“I thought I would only need Gracer 75 percent for her first race, that’s where she was,” Dutrow said. “We got beat on the square. She had trained excellent from there, which led me to take her to Saratoga. We were feeling you’re going to have to be good to beat her that day.”

Though Gracer showed speed in both of her starts, Dutrow is confident she can sit just off the pace, and loves that his filly drew the outside post.

Sweet Whiskey ran very fast winning her debut before finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Spinaway, which was run over a very sloppy track.

Court Dancer, Art of the Game, and Ocean Boulevard complete the field.